Raṅgavidyādhara

Raṅgavidyādhara was a gandharva (a divine singer) who was cursed by the ṛshi Pulastya and born as the leader of a herd of wild boars (śūkara). His story is told in the Bhūmi Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa, inside the Sukala-caritra (Chapters 41–47). During the royal hunt of Ikshvāku Mahārāja, he fought with great courage. He died in battle with Ikshvāku. His animal body fell away, and he rose to svarga (heaven) in his divine form as a gandharva.

The curse and the animal birth

The Bhūmi Khaṇḍa says that Raṅgavidyādhara was a gandharva who was cursed by Pulastya Maharshi and was born as a boar (vārāha). The reason for the śāpa (curse) is not given in the passages available. As a boar he became the leader of a boar clan, raised sons and kept a family. All through this he kept in mind the principles of dharma. This is told in Chapter 47.

The battle with Ikshvāku’s men

When Ikshvāku’s great hunt came into the forest, Raṅgavidyādhara, in his boar form, became the chief fighter. He drove back hundreds of hunters, killed horses and destroyed elephants. He stood against pāśas (snares), cakras and every weapon used against him. His family fought beside him, and his sons were killed one by one. He himself was struck again and again, but he did not fall.

All through the battle he behaved as a vīra (true warrior). He did not run away. He faced his enemies and protected his family to the end. His wife, a sow (śūkarī), urged him to retreat with their sons. He refused. He spoke of vīra-dharma, the duty of a warrior. A warrior who retreats from battle gains pāpa (sin). A warrior who faces the enemy is honoured in all three worlds. Death in righteous battle is the path to svarga and frees one’s ancestors. This is told in Chapters 43–44.

The teaching to his wife

Before the last stage of the battle, Raṅgavidyādhara gave his wife a teaching on dharma. He spoke clearly about death in battle. He taught that:

• A warrior who retreats from his enemy out of fear of death gains pāpa and is blamed in all three worlds.
• A warrior who stands facing the enemy and dies gains the fruit of a bath in the Gaṅgā (gaṅgā-snāna) with every step he moves forward.
• Those who die in battle reach the tīrtha (holy place) of the warriors, and from there they reach Vaishṇava-loka.
• A vīra‘s death in battle lifts up his ancestors.

He spoke these words in the body of a wild boar. This is told in Chapters 44–45.

Liberation

Ikshvāku himself, on horseback, struck the final blow, and the boar fell on the open battlefield. At once the devas came down from their vimānas (divine chariots) and showered flowers on the fallen boar. The animal body fell away. Raṅgavidyādhara rose in his divine form as a gandharva, with four arms, divine robes and the tejas (radiance) of a divine being. He went up to svarga in a divine vimāna. The curse was over. The time of the animal birth had ended through the honour of dying in battle at the hands of a great king of dharma. This is told in Chapter 44.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 41–47 (Sukala-caritra)