Indradyumna the Brāhmaṇa
Indradyumna is the brāhmaṇa whose story opens the Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa. In an earlier birth he was a great king. At the time of the samudra-mathana (churning of the ocean) he saw Lakshmīdevī rise from the ocean and saw Bhagavān Kūrma in his cosmic form. Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa promised him a birth in a brāhmaṇa family with memory of his past lives. He was born again as promised, received divine jñāna (knowledge) from Bhagavān Vishṇu himself, and in the end attained moksha (liberation). His liberation is the sacred opening through which the whole Kūrma Purāṇa is told.
Previous birth as a king
In an earlier janma (birth), Indradyumna was a great king of outstanding puṇya (merit). Even Śaṅkara and the other devas could not overcome his inner strength. At the time of the samudra-mathana, the churning of the kshīra-samudra (ocean of milk), this king was among those who saw the great event. He saw Bhagavān Vishṇu take the form of Kūrma, the tortoise. Bhagavān Kūrma held up the Mandara mountain, which served as the churning staff, and carried the weight of the world on his back.
During the churning he saw Lakshmīdevī rise from the ocean. She had four arms and held a śaṅkha (conch), a cakra (discus) and lotuses. She shone like a koṭi (ten million) suns. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself described her as the cosmic Māyāśakti, the very cause of the whole world. The king was deeply moved and took refuge in Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. He saw that Brahmā, Rudra and all the other devas lie within the power of that supreme Purusha.
The vara and the new birth
Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased with the king’s śraddhā (faith) and spoke to him. He said:
“You shall be born in a brāhmaṇa lineage, known by the name Indradyumna, and you shall keep the memory of this past life (jātismara). I shall give you jñāna that is hidden even from the devas, most secret and most high. Through that knowledge you shall in the end merge into me. Live on earth through another portion of mine, without worry. When the Vaivasvata manvantara ends, you shall return to me.”
The king bowed and accepted this promise. He lived out his reign. When he left the body, he went to Śvetadvīpa and lived there with Bhagavān Vishṇu. He enjoyed the unmatched bhoga (enjoyment) of Vishṇuloka. Then, by the command of Bhagavān Vishṇu, he was born again in a brāhmaṇa family.
His sādhana as a brāhmaṇa
Born as the brāhmaṇa Indradyumna, he remembered the Vāsudeva he had known. He gave himself to Parameśvara through vratas (vows), upavāsas (fasts), niyamas (disciplines), homas (fire offerings) and the honouring of brāhmaṇas. He meditated on Mahādeva as living in the hearts of all yogīs, and his life was one of complete dedication.
After some time he was blessed with the darśana (sight) of a divine kalā, a bright and auspicious form that bore the marks of Bhagavān Vishṇu. She said that she was the Māyā of Nārāyaṇa and not separate from him. She said that a person who worships Nārāyaṇa through karma-yoga and the path of jñāna is beyond her reach. She told Indradyumna to follow karma-yoga and then the path of jñāna, and to worship Nārāyaṇa, who has no beginning and no end.
The vision of Bhagavān Vishṇu and his teaching
Following her instruction, Indradyumna practised the highest dhyāna-yoga (meditation) on Nārāyaṇa. After many days Bhagavān Vishṇu himself appeared before him. He wore yellow garments (pītāmbara) and was the universal Yogīśvara. Indradyumna bowed down and offered a deep stotra (hymn of praise). In it he praised Bhagavān Vishṇu as nirguṇa (beyond qualities), nirvikāra (free of change) and ānanda-svarūpa (of the nature of bliss), the one who can be known only by the lamp of jñāna. Moved by his bhakti (devotion), Bhagavān Vishṇu touched him with both hands. By that divine touch Indradyumna directly knew the nature of Paramātman.
Bhagavān Vishṇu then gave the upadeśa (teaching). Maheśvara is to be worshipped, he said, by those who follow varṇāśrama-dharma, through jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga alone. He described three ways of contemplation. One relates to Bhagavān Vishṇu, one to the visible world (jagat), and one to brahman, which is beyond all three guṇas. These guide the seeker to liberation through devoted practice.
Liberation
Filled with vairāgya (detachment), Indradyumna gave up all activity and left his attachment to sons and family. He rose above the pairs of opposites (dvandvas), pleasure and pain, and worshipped Parabrahma with no desire left. He reached the highest brahma-bhāvana, the state beyond this world that is sought by those who have mastered the breath and gone beyond sleep.
By the greatness of his yoga (yoga-mahimā) he travelled along the path of the sky and came to the Mānasottara mountain. He climbed to the highest abode, which shone like ten thousand suns and which even the devas cannot reach. There he meditated on Paramātman. In that brightness he met the four-faced Brahmā, who embraced him. From his body rose a great tejas (radiance) like moonlight, and it entered the Sūryamaṇḍala, the sacred sphere of Ṛk, Yajus and Sāman. He passed through the first gateway of the yogīśvaras and at last reached the eternal, blissful and indestructible abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu (Vishṇu-sthāna), and attained moksha.
His place in the Kūrma Purāṇa
The story of Indradyumna is more than the account of one ātmā (soul) set free. It is the reason the Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa itself was told. Bhagavān Kūrma first told the whole Purāṇa to Nārada and Indra in answer to Indradyumna’s questions. The ṛshi Romaharshaṇa then tells the munis of Naimiśāraṇya what Bhagavān Vishṇu spoke to Nārada and the others in the presence of Indra. So Indradyumna’s liberation, and his talk with Bhagavān Vishṇu, are the beginning of the whole Purāṇa.
Sources
- Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 1