Mukunda the Brāhmaṇa

Mukunda was a brāhmaṇa whose story is told in the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa. The barber Candaka killed him out of jealousy and greed, and his bones lay at the place of the killing.

Later his bones were carried, without anyone intending it, to the Kośala Tīrtha inside Indraprastha. A tīrtha is a holy place of pilgrimage. Both Mukunda and his killer Candaka attained moksha (liberation) there. The account shows the great power of that tīrtha to free even people who had no devotion in mind.

Background

Mukunda was a brāhmaṇa who lived in the region around Indraprastha, as the Uttara Khaṇḍa describes it. He is shown as an innocent man of dharmic conduct who met his end through another man’s violence. His story is given as an example of the limitless grace of the holy tīrthas of Indraprastha. This is in Chapter 209 of the Uttara Khaṇḍa.

The killing by Candaka

Candaka, a barber, killed Mukunda. He acted out of jealousy and out of the wish to take something that belonged to Mukunda.

By this act Candaka took on the brahmahatyā pāpa (the sin of killing a brāhmaṇa). This pāpa has severe results. The killer is condemned to wander in suffering, and both the victim’s ātmā (soul) and the killer’s remain bound. The bones of the dead Mukunda stayed at the place where he was killed. This is told in Chapters 209 and 210.

Freedom at the Kośala Tīrtha

Mukunda’s bones were later carried to the Kośala Tīrtha, which lies in the very holy area of Indraprastha. They were carried by the flow of water or by some other means. The moment the bones reached the tīrtha, the pāpa that had gathered was washed away. Mukunda’s ātmā was freed and went up to a higher realm.

Later Candaka came to the tīrtha. When his contact with it was complete, he too attained moksha, in spite of the weight of his pāpa. This is told in Chapters 211 and 212.

What the account teaches

The account of Mukunda and Candaka is one of many in the Uttara Khaṇḍa about Indraprastha. They teach that the tīrthas there carry so much grace that they free beings whatever the manner of their death and whatever karma (action and its result) they had gathered. Mukunda was freed only because his bones touched the tīrtha by chance, not because he did any act of devotion. Chapter 212 gives this teaching.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 209–212