Kāyavya Carita
The Kāyavya Carita is the account of Kāyavya, a robber chief of remarkable character. Bhīshma tells it in Chapter 135 of the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata, in the Āpaddharma Parva (the section on dharma in times of great hardship). Kāyavya lived among robbers, yet he kept a strict code. He protected brāhmaṇas, women, children, ascetics and old parents, and by keeping that code he reached siddhi (spiritual attainment).
Kāyavya’s character
Kāyavya was a nishāda (a forest-dweller) by birth. His father was a kshatriya and his mother a nishāda. He became the leader (nāyaka) of hundreds of dasyus (robbers). He was no ordinary outlaw. Bhīshma describes him as learned, brave, a great scholar and fierce in courage. He was deeply devoted to guarding the dharmas of all the āśramas (stages of life), a knower of Brahman, respectful to his gurus, and a faithful follower of kshatradharma (the duty of a warrior) in all that he did.
He lived in the Pāryātra mountains. He knew everything about animals and the beings of the forest. He understood time and place exactly, and alone he could defeat armies of hundreds. His parents were old and blind, and he looked after them deep in the forest with meat, honey, roots, fruits and fine foods. In this he was a devoted son, though his way of living was that of an outcast.
The code he gave his followers
Hundreds of dasyus chose Kāyavya as their chief. He accepted on one condition, that they follow his code. He declared it to them.
- Never kill women, children, the frightened, ascetics, or those who do not fight.
- Never take a woman by force, under any circumstance.
- Always think and act for the good of brāhmaṇas, and fight in their defence if needed.
- Never break the holy acts of brāhmaṇas, that is, their satya (truth), their marriages and their rites.
- To honour brāhmaṇas is to honour the devas, the pitṛs and all guests (atithis).
- Give wealth to raise up brāhmaṇas, even at one’s own cost.
- No one who insults or harms brāhmaṇas can be protected anywhere in the three worlds. Such a person falls like darkness before the rising sun.
Some brāhmaṇas, out of dharma, would not take food that they suspected was stolen. For them Kāyavya would quietly put proper food at their own homes before dawn and slip away, so that their vow of purity would not be broken.
The siddhi of Kāyavya
His followers honoured his code and kept it. All of them turned away from pāpa (sin) and gained puṇya (merit). Kāyavya himself protected the sādhus, turned his men away from adharma, and lived by his inner code of protection. He reached great siddhi.
Bhīshma ends the teaching with a promise. Whoever thinks on this Kāyavya Carita every day will be free from fear of all the beings of the forest and of wild animals. Even a wicked person who keeps such a code becomes like a bull among beasts, afraid of nothing in the forest.
Where the account stands
The Kāyavya Carita stands at Chapter 135 of the Āpaddharma Parva. It comes right after a series of teachings on how kings may act in times of great emergency.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Āpaddharma Parva, Chapter 135