Ṛbhu
Ṛbhu, simply known as Ribhu, Sanskrit: ऋभु, Telugu: ఋభువు, Hindi: ऋभु.
Ṛbhu was a muni and a mind-born son (mānasa-putra) of Brahmā, the four-faced (Caturmukha). He was born knowing the truth of non-dual Brahman. He took Nidāgha, the son of Pulastya, as his disciple and taught him the highest advaita. Ṛbhu then came to Nidāgha twice, after long spans of time, to see whether the teaching had taken root. On the second visit he gave Nidāgha the riddle of the elephant and the king, and Nidāgha attained firm advaita and mukti (release). Jaḍabharata tells this account in the Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa.
Who he is
The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa names Ṛbhu as a mānasa-putra of Brahmā. He was born from Brahmā’s creative thought and not by ordinary birth. From birth he had tattva-jñāna, direct knowledge of non-dual Brahman. This was his own nature (sahaja). He did not need to be taught.
He was not cold or distant. He chose to be a guru and took a disciple. For thousands of years he cared whether his disciple had truly taken the teaching into himself. (Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Dvitīyāṃśa, Chapter 15)
Ṛbhu and Nidāgha
Ṛbhu accepted Nidāgha, the son of Pulastya Maharshi, as his disciple. He gave him the full viśesha-vijñāna, the knowledge of the highest truth. The teaching was advaita:
- The many kinds of beings, devas, humans, animals and plants, are only a layer of name and form (nāma-rūpa) laid over the one undivided Brahman, which shines by itself.
- The ātman in all beings is one and the same.
- Knowing this oneness, free from all pride in being separate (dvaitābhimāna), is the only liberation.
After he gave this teaching, Ṛbhu went away to see how deeply his disciple had taken it in. He came back after one thousand divine years. (Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Dvitīyāṃśa, Chapter 15)
The first visit
After a thousand years Ṛbhu went to Vīranagara, a fine city built by Pulastya on the banks of the river Devikā. Nidāgha lived there. Ṛbhu arrived as the vaiśvadeva (the daily offering to all the devas) was being finished. Nidāgha met him at the door and gave him full ātithi-dharma, the duty of hospitality. He washed his feet and gave him a seat of honour. His wife prepared food at his direction.
Nidāgha served Ṛbhu various foods. Ṛbhu asked about the food in the house, and Nidāgha served what had been made with care. While Ṛbhu ate, Nidāgha stood near him with folded hands, attentive and respectful. After the meal Ṛbhu taught him more about the nature of paramārtha (the highest truth), and Nidāgha listened with full attention.
Ṛbhu was satisfied with the visit. But he was still unsure whether the knowledge of advaita had become ātma-siddha, firm in Nidāgha’s own experience, or whether it was only a teaching held in memory. (Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Dvitīyāṃśa, Chapter 15)
The second visit and the riddle of the elephant and the king
After another thousand years Ṛbhu came again to Vīranagara. This time the city was celebrating. A king was entering the city on the back of a great elephant, with his followers and the sound of a procession. A crowd had gathered. Nidāgha stood apart from the crowd, alone, holding samidha (sacrificial wood) and darbha grass. His throat was dry from fasting.
Ṛbhu came to him, bowed and asked, “You look like a learned man. Why are you standing here apart?”
Nidāgha said he was keeping away from the crowd because the great king was entering the city.
Then Ṛbhu put the riddle: “I see them together but not separately. Which one is the king, and which are the others?”
Nidāgha pointed to the one seated high on the elephant and said that was the king.
Ṛbhu pressed on: “You have shown me the king and the elephant as one. You have not shown me each by itself. What is the difference? Which is the elephant, and which is the king?”
Nidāgha answered, “The one below, who carries, is the elephant. The one above, who is carried, is the king. Is not the relation of carrier and carried (vāhya-vāhaka) known to all?”
Ṛbhu then asked Nidāgha to show this in practice. Nidāgha climbed up and sat on Ṛbhu’s shoulders, like a king on an elephant.
Ṛbhu asked, “Now, if you are above like the king, and I am below like the elephant, who are you? And who am I?”
Nidāgha was pierced to the heart. The guru’s question took apart the very difference he had just drawn so surely. He came down from Ṛbhu’s shoulders, fell at his feet, and said, “You are none other than my guru, Ṛbhu Maharshi. I know you. Only a mind shaped by advaita-saṃskāra would turn the example upside down in just this way.” (Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Dvitīyāṃśa, Chapter 16)
Ṛbhu declares advaita
Ṛbhu said, “Yes, I am Ṛbhu. I came before out of love for you as my disciple (guru-snehāt), to give you the teaching on advaita. I have come again now, out of the same love. I have given you this teaching in brief (saṃgraha). Paramārtha is advaita, knowledge free from all division, such as the division of beings into devas and the rest (deva-ādi-bheda). That alone is the highest truth.”
Then Ṛbhu left. Nidāgha had now been shown the truth by living example and not only by words. He entered lasting advaita-nishṭhā (firm standing in advaita). He saw all beings as not separate from himself. He became brahma-para (absorbed in Brahman) and attained mukti. (Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Dvitīyāṃśa, Chapter 16)
Where the account is told
Jaḍabharata tells the account of Ṛbhu and Nidāgha to King Rahūgaṇa. Just as Ṛbhu showed Nidāgha advaita by living example, Jaḍabharata has just shown Rahūgaṇa by the dialogue about the palanquin. (Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Dvitīyāṃśa, Chapters 15–16)
Sources
- Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Dvitīyāṃśa, Chapters 15–16