Dīnanātha and the Naramedha Yajña
Chapter 12 of the Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of King Dīnanātha, a king of the Dvāpara Yuga. He was a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, but he had no son. On the advice of the ṛshi Gālava he began a Naramedha yajña (a human sacrifice) to win a son.
His messengers took a brāhmaṇa boy by force. On the road the great ṛshi Viśvāmitra felt deep compassion and offered himself in the boy’s place. Viśvāmitra promised that the yajña would give the king a son even without a victim. The king performed it, Viśvāmitra gave the boy back to his parents, and the king received a son within the year.
King Dīnanātha and Gālava’s advice
In the Dvāpara Yuga there was a king named Dīnanātha. He was a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu and a performer of yajñas, but he had no son. He asked the ṛshi Gālava politely: “O best of ṛshis, O ocean of compassion, tell me by which puṇya (merit) a son is born. I shall do it by your order. The life of men without a son is useless.”
Gālava answered: “O king, perform the yajña called Naramedha. Then you will have children with all good qualities.”
The search for a fit man
The king asked what kind of man was fit for the yajña. Gālava said: “He who has a handsome body, a charming face and knows all the sacred texts is fit. One who is crippled, dark-complexioned or a fool is not fit.”
The king sent messengers with much wealth from country to country and from village to village to look for such a man. After searching many regions, they came to Daśapura. This city was crowded with virtuous brāhmaṇas and beautiful women.
There they found a brāhmaṇa named Kṛshṇadvija. He had three sons and a devoted wife. He kept the sacred fire, served his parents, and was always busy in the worship of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Kṛshṇadvija’s grief
The messengers came to Kṛshṇadvija and asked for a son for the yajña. They offered a lakh of gold coins. Kṛshṇadvija and his wife heard the demand and were struck with grief, as if dead.
Kṛshṇadvija said: “What is the use of wealth, gold, life or house? O messengers, if you have come to take my son, who removes the darkness of grief from my life, then take me, an old brāhmaṇa, instead.”
The messengers were angry. They left the gold in his house and were about to take a son by force. Kṛshṇadvija wept with joined palms. He could not choose which son should go. His wife heard the messengers ask for the younger son. She struck her own head hard with a hammer and cried: “I shall never give you my youngest son!”
The middle son goes
The middle son was full of modesty and was weeping. He said to his parents: “Who would be the protector if the mother gives poison to her son, or the father sells his son, or the king snatches away everything?”
He bowed to his parents and went with the king’s messengers. After their son left, the brāhmaṇa couple were so consumed by grief that they wept until they became blind.
Viśvāmitra steps in
On the way to the king’s city the messengers passed the āśrama of the ṛshi Viśvāmitra. It was full of disciples, and young deer came there freely. Viśvāmitra stopped them and asked what they were doing. They told him they were taking a brāhmaṇa’s middle son as the victim of a Naramedha.
The ṛshi was moved by deep compassion. He said: “Let even my life depart; the boy should be happy. Those who in this world give up their life like a blade of grass for a child, a brāhmaṇa, or their master, obtain the eternal worlds.”
Then he told the messengers: “Leave this brāhmaṇa boy. Quickly take me instead. This is an excellent boy. He has taken birth in this world but has not yet found happiness. Why should he die?”
The messengers said they could not take him without the king’s order, and they went on to the city. Viśvāmitra also came with them to the king’s yajña hall.
The yajña without a victim
The messengers told King Dīnanātha what the ṛshi had done. The king doubted whether the yajña could succeed without a victim. Viśvāmitra said to him: “O king, when the yajña is performed, a mighty son will be born. Do not doubt this. My visit shall not be without fruit.”
The king trusted Viśvāmitra’s word. He joyfully performed the yajña with full offerings, with the help of all the ṛshis.
The boy is returned and the parents see again
Viśvāmitra then took the brāhmaṇa’s middle son and went to Daśapura. He came to Kṛshṇadvija’s house and said: “O brāhmaṇa, you are staying at home.”
Kṛshṇadvija, still blind, answered: “O ṛshi, I stay here as if dead. The king took my son by force. When he left, our eyes went blind from weeping.”
Viśvāmitra said: “See your son. Take him back.” Both parents were filled with joy and came out. By the perfect power of the ṛshi’s grace, their eyes at once received sight again. For a long time they drank in the lotus-like face of their son with their bee-like eyes. Again and again they bowed to the ṛshi and said: “O ṛshi, you have given us back our lives.”
Viśvāmitra, the ocean of kindness, blessed them and went back to his āśrama. There, by the grace of Bhagavān Vishṇu, he practised great tapas (austerity).
The birth of the king’s son
After some time King Dīnanātha received a son. The boy was handsome and fit to be a king, like the moon in the ocean. The king was free from grief and enjoyed his wealth like a deva on earth.
The lesson of the account
The account shows the great puṇya of protecting a brāhmaṇa at the cost of one’s own life and wealth. One who protects brāhmaṇas by giving his life and wealth goes to the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu, from which return is hard. Viśvāmitra’s readiness to take the child’s place is shown as the highest act of dharma, and his siddhi (perfect power) heals the blind parents when they see their son again.
Sources
- Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 12