Jayanta
Jayanta is the son of Indra, the king of the devas, and of Śacī. Indra is also called Śacīpati. Jayanta lives in the celestial realms. In the Araṇya Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa he is the central figure of the Kākāsura episode. Out of foolish curiosity about the power of Rāma, he took the form of a crow and wounded the foot of Sītā. Rāma’s Brahmāstra then chased him. In the end he gave himself up at the feet of Rāma. The episode shows śaraṇāgati, complete surrender. It also shows what comes of testing the power (śakti) of Bhagavān Rāma for mischief instead of with devotion.
Who he is
Jayanta is the son of Indra and was born of Śacī. He was a deva and the heir to the throne of Svarga. So he had great power and trust in his own strength. That trust led him into a grave error while Rāma, Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa lived in the forests. The error nearly cost him his life and his eye.
The test and what followed
During the forest exile of Rāma, Jayanta was seized by a foolish curiosity. He wished to test the power of Rāmacandra, the prince of the Solar dynasty. He took the form of a crow (kāka), flew to where Sītā was sitting, and pecked her foot hard enough to draw blood. Having done this act against the beloved of Bhagavān Rāma, he flew away.
Rāma felt compassion, but he also felt righteous anger at the insult to Sītā. He took a blade of grass and charged it with a mantra. It became a terrible Brahmāstra. The Brahmāstra followed Jayanta through all the realms.
Jayanta gave up the crow form, took back his own shape and fled in fear to his father Indra. Indra saw how grave his son’s act was. He scolded him and drove him away. Jayanta then fled to Brahmaloka and then to Kailāsa, looking for shelter. This is just as Durvāsa Maharṣi once fled in fear from the Sudarśana Cakra. But no one would give shelter to one who had offended Rāmacandra.
A verse in the Kākabhuśuṇḍi tradition speaks of this:
For one who plots against Dāśarathi, even a mother becomes death, a father becomes Yama, nectar becomes poison, a friend becomes an enemy, and the Gaṅgā becomes the Vaitaraṇī.
(Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa)
Nārada’s advice and Jayanta’s surrender
Jayanta had no shelter in any of the three worlds. He met Nārada Maharṣi, who gave him the one useful piece of advice.
O Jayanta! Only Rāmacandra of the Solar dynasty can protect you from this Brahmāstra. Go at once and take shelter at his feet.
With nothing else left, Jayanta went before Rāmacandra, fell at his lotus feet and begged for mercy. By nature Rāma protects those who surrender to him (śaraṇāgati-vatsalatā). He chose not to kill Jayanta. As a fitting punishment for the offence, Rāma took away the sight of one of Jayanta’s eyes, so that Jayanta became eka-akṣa (one-eyed). So Jayanta lived. He had learned that an offence against Bhagavān Rāma cannot be undone, and that complete surrender saves a life.
What the episode shows
The Kākāsura episode shows three things.
- No power in the three worlds can protect one who offends Rāma.
- An offender who comes with complete surrender is protected, not destroyed.
- The compassion of Rāma does not cancel the result of the offence. Jayanta was saved, but he carried the mark of his mistake.
It also shows that once Rāma has released the Brahmāstra, it cannot simply be called back. The only way out is for the offender to surrender to the one who released it.
Sources
- Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa