Mādālasā and Kuvalayāśva
This is one of the best-known narratives of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. It follows Ṛtadhvaja, also called Kuvalayāśva, the son of king Śatrujit. The account tells of adventure, love, treachery, satī and a rebirth. At its heart is the teaching of Mādālasā. She sang ātma-jñāna (knowledge of the self) to her first three sons as lullabies. She taught the fourth son, Alarka, the pravṛtti-mārga, the path of active life. Her last gift to Alarka was a golden ring with teachings written inside it, to guide him in a crisis.
Ṛtadhvaja and the Nāga friendship
Ṛtadhvaja, son of king Śatrujit, was a prince of great beauty, courage and virtue. The two sons of the Nāga-king Aśvatara came to his court every day to play with him. They could not stay away, so strongly did his character draw them.
Aśvatara asked his sons why they were so devoted to a human prince. They described Ṛtadhvaja at length: his learning, his courtesy, his generosity, his courage and his friendship. The king was deeply moved. He decided to do something great for his sons’ friend.
The ṛshi Gālava and the horse Kuvalaya
The brahmin Gālava came to king Śatrujit and gave him a wonderful horse named Kuvalaya. It could travel through all the worlds without tiring.
Ṛtadhvaja was sent with this horse to guard Gālava’s āśrama. An asura named Pātālaketu had taken the form of a boar and was troubling the tapas of the ṛshi. Ṛtadhvaja struck Pātālaketu with an arrow. The asura fled underground to Pātāla. Ṛtadhvaja followed him on horseback.
Mādālasā found in Pātāla
In Pātāla, Ṛtadhvaja found a bright golden city with no people in it. Deep inside he found Mādālasā, the daughter of the Gandharva-king Viśvāvasu. Pātālaketu was holding her prisoner.
Mādālasā’s companion Kuṇḍalā helped him, and so did the divine cow Surabhī. Through them he learned Mādālasā’s story. She had been taken away from svarga. Kuṇḍalā urged the marriage, and Tumburu the Gandharva stood as the holy witness. Ṛtadhvaja married Mādālasā there in Pātāla.
He destroyed Pātālaketu’s forces with the Tvāshṭrāstra and went home with his bride.
Tālaketu’s trick and Mādālasā’s satī
Some years later Tālaketu, the brother of Pātālaketu, came in the disguise of a muni. He tricked Ṛtadhvaja into guarding his false āśrama. Then he slipped away and went to the royal palace. He told Mādālasā that Ṛtadhvaja had been killed.
Mādālasā loved her husband deeply and could not face life without him. On hearing the news she gave up her life at once, performing satī. The palace was filled with mourning.
Aśvatara’s ārādhanā and the vara from Bhagavān Śiva
Aśvatara, the Nāga-king, was full of grief for his son’s friend. He set out on a tīrtha-yātrā.
First he went to the Plakshāvataraṇa tīrtha in the Himālaya. There he performed intense tapas to Devī Sarasvatī. She appeared. She gave Aśvatara and his brother Kambala complete mastery of all music: the seven svaras (notes), the forty-nine tālas (rhythms), and all the rāgas and gānas of the three worlds.
Next, Aśvatara and Kambala went to Kailāsa. For a long time they honoured Bhagavān Śiva with music in the three kālas (times of the day). Bhagavān Śiva was pleased and asked them to name a vara (a boon). Aśvatara said: “Let Mādālasā be reborn by your grace, with full memory of her past life and with yogic wisdom.”
Bhagavān Śiva told him to perform a śrāddha for the departed Mādālasā and to eat the middle piṇḍa himself. Aśvatara did so. Mādālasā was reborn from Aśvatara’s middle hood.
Ṛtadhvaja’s second marriage and Mādālasā’s teaching
The Nāga princes brought Ṛtadhvaja to Pātāla. There Aśvatara showed him the reborn Mādālasā. She had full memory, yoga-jñāna (knowledge of yoga) and kshānti (patience) from her earlier birth. Ṛtadhvaja was united with her again, and they went home.
In time three sons were born. To each of them Mādālasā sang lullabies of ātma-jñāna. She sang that the body is made of five elements, that names are only conventions, and that the ātmā is beyond birth and death. These three sons became nirguṇa yogīs and renunciants.
Then the king asked Mādālasā to teach the fourth son. She named him Alarka. He was to learn the pravṛtti-mārga, the path of active life and duty in the world.
The ring of wisdom
For many years Mādālasā taught Alarka:
- the duties of a king
- the duties of the varṇas and āśramas
- gṛhastha-dharma (the duty of a householder)
- śrāddha-kalpa (the rules of śrāddha)
- sadācāra (good conduct)
Then she prepared to go to the forest with Ṛtadhvaja. Before leaving, she gave Alarka a golden ring. Teachings for the spiritual life were written on the inside of it. She told him: “When you face suffering you cannot bear, or grief, or confusion, and you do not know what to do, take out this ring and read what is written. It will guide you.”
That writing became Alarka’s greatest help when his brother Subāhu attacked him and the kingdom was lost.
Sources
- Mārkaṇḍeya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 22–41