Śvetaki Upākhyāna
The Śvetaki Upākhyāna tells of King Śvetaki, a very devout and firm ruler who held a long and hard yajña (fire ritual), a twelve-year satra (a long ritual session), in which Agni, the deva of fire, took in the offerings without a break. The steady pouring of ghṛta (clarified butter) left Agni weak, and he went to Brahmā for help. Brahmā told Agni to consume the Khāṇḍava forest to win back his strength. This chain of events is the direct cause of the Khāṇḍavadāha, the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest. The Mahābhārata tells it in the Ādi Parva, Chapter 222.
Śvetaki and the great satra
Śvetaki was a king of unusual devotion and strong spiritual resolve. He wished to hold a great yajña, and not a short one. It was to be a twelve-year satra in which the fire would be fed without rest with offerings of ghṛta.
He looked for brāhmaṇas to serve as priests. The demands of the ritual were extreme: no rest, chanting without pause, and offerings poured into the fire for twelve years without a break. Most brāhmaṇas refused because they could not keep up the pace. Śvetaki found the priests he needed, but the satra was so hard that even those who agreed in the end gave it up.
(Ādi Parva, Chapter 222)
Durvāsa joins and finishes the satra
Determined to finish the yajña, Śvetaki at last turned to the great and fierce ṛshi Durvāsa. Durvāsa was known for his strictness and for his power to bear extreme tapas, and he agreed to serve. Under Durvāsa’s guidance the satra was finished in its full twelve years. The fire took in offering after offering without pause.
(Ādi Parva, Chapter 222)
Agni grows weak
Through the whole satra, Agni received every offering of ghṛta in his flames. Twelve years of unbroken offerings did not strengthen him. They left him tired and overfull. He could no longer take in or digest more offerings. He had taken in so much ghṛta that he was weakened and his power to digest was damaged.
He went to Brahmā and told him how he was. Brahmā listened with kindness and gave him a cure: consume the Khāṇḍava forest, a great forest full of animals, nāgas, birds and creatures of every kind. The food from consuming it whole would bring back his strength and power.
This advice sent Agni toward the Khāṇḍava forest and began all the events of the Khāṇḍavadāha.
(Ādi Parva, Chapter 222)
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapter 222