Trita
Trita, “the third”
Atirātra has other meanings too: see all meanings of Atirātra.
Trita was one of three ancient ṛshi brothers named Ekata, Dvita and Trita. The names mean “the first”, “the second” and “the third”. The Mahābhārata tells of Trita in the Trita-kūpa Upākhyāna, in the Śalya Parva. His jealous brothers Ekata and Dvita threw him into a well and left him trapped there. From inside the well Trita did a yajña (fire ritual) with whatever he could find, using simple things in place of the proper tools. The devas were pleased, and he was freed. The well became the holy tīrtha (place of pilgrimage) called Trita-kūpa on the Sarasvatī river.
The three brothers
Trita was the youngest of three brothers. Ekata was the first, Dvita the second and Trita the third. The Ṛgveda and the Mahābhārata both name the three ṛshis together. They are linked with the three realms (earth, atmosphere and svarga) and with Vedic ritual.
The Trita-kūpa account
The three brothers were travelling together. On the way Ekata and Dvita grew tired and resentful of carrying Trita’s share of the load. When they came to a well, they pushed Trita in and left him trapped inside.
Alone at the bottom of the well, Trita did not give up. He decided to do a yajña for the devas with whatever was at hand. He used:
- plants and herbs found in the well, in place of soma
- thorns and branches, in place of kuśa grass (darbha)
- well water, in place of ghṛta (clarified butter)
He offered this yajña with exact mantras and with devotion. The devas accepted his offering and heard of his plight. In the end he was freed. The well became the holy Trita-kūpa tīrtha, “Trita’s well”, on the banks of the Sarasvatī.
Trita in the Ṛgveda
In the Ṛgveda, Trita Āptya is a divine being linked with Indra and the slaying of Vṛtra. His work in the order of the world is tied to the cleansing of pāpa (sin) and the restoring of order.
Trita in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa names Trita three times among the great maharshis.
Sūta tells Śaunaka that when Bhīshma, the crest-jewel of the Bharata line, lay on his bed of arrows, brahmarshis, devarshis and rājarshis gathered to see him. Among the holy maharshis who came with their disciples were Parvata, Nārada, Dhaumya, Vyāsa, Bṛhadaśva, Bharadvāja, Paraśurāma, Vasishṭha, Indrapramada, Trita, Gṛtsamada, Asita, Kakshīvān, Gautama, Atri, Viśvāmitra, Sudarśana, Śuka, Kaśyapa and Aṅgiras. Bhīshma honoured them all, and honoured Śrī Kṛshṇa, on whom he meditated in his heart. (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 9)
Śrī Śuka Maharshi tells Parīkshit that Trita was one of the thirty ṛtvijas whom Dharmarāja Yudhishṭhira chose, with the leave of Śrī Kṛshṇa, for his Rājasūya. (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 74)
At the great gathering at Samantapañcaka, Dvita, Trita and Ekata came together, named one after the other, among the maharshis who came to see Balarāma and Śrī Kṛshṇa. Śrī Kṛshṇa honoured them and spoke of the glory of the mahātmās, and these maharshis then served as ṛtviks at the yajña of Vasudeva. (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 10, Chapter 84)
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Chapter 37
- Ṛgveda (mention of Trita Āptya)
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 9; Skandha 10, Chapters 74, 84