Indradyumna in the Mahābhārata

Indradyumna is an ancient and righteous king whose account is told in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata, Chapter 199, within the Mārkaṇḍeya Samāsyā Parva. In his life he performed countless yajñas (fire rituals) and gave a vast number of cows in go-dāna (the gift of cows). He was given a place in svarga (heaven). After an immeasurable length of time his fame on earth faded. When no mortal remembered him, the devas said that he could no longer stay, and he was cast out.

He came down to earth and went to Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi to learn whether anyone knew him. Mārkaṇḍeya sent him on to a chain of ever older beings: the owl Prāvārakarṇa, the crane Nāḍījaṅgha and, last, the ancient tortoise Akūpāra. Akūpāra knew him with tears. It said that the very lake in which it lived had been made by the hooves of the countless cows Indradyumna had given. On the strength of this living witness a divine chariot appeared, and Indradyumna went back to svarga. This Indradyumna is a different king from the Pāṇḍya king of the Gajendra Moksha account.

Who he was

Indradyumna was a king of great righteousness who lived in a very distant age. It was so long before the Pāṇḍavas that even the undying Mārkaṇḍeya could not say for certain that he had known him. In his life he did great acts of dharma. He performed agni-cayanas, the building of Vedic fire-altars, many times. In the words of Akūpāra, there were a thousand of them. He gave cows in go-dāna in such numbers that the streams of cattle moving through the land churned the ground and made a lake. His puṇya (merit) kept him in svarga for an immeasurable time.

Cast out of svarga

The rule for living in svarga is that a person may stay there only as long as his good deeds are remembered and honoured on earth. Fame, the living memory of a person’s goodness in the world, is the very means by which his puṇya is kept up in the higher worlds. When no one on earth still remembered Indradyumna’s deeds, the devas said that his place in svarga had ended. He was cast out and came down to earth.

The search for a witness

On reaching earth, Indradyumna went to Mārkaṇḍeya. Mārkaṇḍeya is the ancient ciranjīvin (one who lives for ages) of the Bhṛgu line. He had lived through many kalpas (ages of the world) and was the oldest human witness who could be found. He received the king warmly. He said that he could not say for certain that he remembered Indradyumna. But he said there were creatures older than himself, or more focused on a place and its time, who might know. He named the owl Prāvārakarṇa of the Himālaya.

The chain of ancient witnesses

Indradyumna took the form of a horse, as an act of humility and respect for the great ṛshi, and Mārkaṇḍeya rode on his back. In this way they went to find each witness in turn.

The owl Prāvārakarṇa was asked and thought deeply, but could not say that it knew him. It knew of the crane Nāḍījaṅgha, who lived at a lake nearby and was older still. They went there.

The crane Nāḍījaṅgha also thought carefully but could not say for certain that it knew him. It knew of the tortoise Akūpāra, who lived in the depths of the same lake and was ancient beyond ordinary measure.

Akūpāra knows him

Akūpāra was called up from the depths. It came out and saw Indradyumna. At the sight of the king its eyes filled with tears and its whole body shook with strong feeling. It steadied itself and spoke in a voice that carried the weight of countless years:

“How could I not know him? Do I not remember? This great king performed a thousand agni-cayanas. He gave countless cows in go-dāna, streams of cattle so many that their hooves, moving through this land, made this very lake in which I now live. I live in the waters of his merit. The lake itself is the witness of his gift. This man I know.”

The recognition was complete. It was written into the land itself. The lake was Indradyumna’s dāna (gift) made lasting in the world.

Return to svarga

As Akūpāra finished speaking, a divine chariot came down from svarga. The voice of the devas said that Indradyumna’s fame had not died. The lake stood as a lasting witness to his deeds, and the creatures living in its waters still remembered him. His place in svarga was given back to him.

Indradyumna thanked Mārkaṇḍeya, Prāvārakarṇa and Nāḍījaṅgha, and above all Akūpāra. Then he rose in the divine chariot.

The teaching

Mārkaṇḍeya told this account to the Pāṇḍavas. He drew from it the teaching that the puṇya of a righteous king does not stay shut inside him. It goes out into the world through the lasting effects of his gifts. Indradyumna gave cows so freely that the cattle themselves shaped the earth and made a lake. That lake, a visible trace of his generosity, went on witnessing to his goodness when all human memory of him had faded. Dāna that leaves a lasting mark in the world makes puṇya that the mere passing of time cannot easily put out.

Mārkaṇḍeya also spoke of Śrī Kṛshṇa’s rescue of king Nṛga from naraka (hell). Both acts are dharma put to work, setting right the record and bringing righteous souls back to their rightful place.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 199 (Mārkaṇḍeya Samāsyā Parva)