Marutta, A Gandharva

Marutta was the son of Avīkṣita and Bhāminī, born in the gandharvaloka and destined from birth to become a cakravartī. Named by an ākāśavāṇī because the Guru Tumburu had repeatedly uttered the word “Marutta” during his svastyayana, he grew to become the foremost king upon the earth, a performer of unparalleled yajñas, and a sovereign whose rathacakra was unhindered across all saptadvīpas. His reign was marked by extraordinary prosperity, a near-fatal confrontation between his father and himself over the matter of protecting nāgas who had sought refuge, and an ultimate resolution that upheld the dharma of all parties. No other king equal to Marutta in bala-vikrama and tejas was said to have been born upon the earth, nor would one be born.

Birth in the Gandharvaloka and the Prophecy

Marutta was born in the gandharvaloka to Avīkṣita and Bhāminī while the couple resided there after their vivāha. As soon as the mahāvīrya son was born, the gandharvas celebrated a great festival. Some performed songs, some sounded the mṛdaṅga, and others played the flute and vīṇā. Groups of apsarases danced, and the clouds roared with a soft sound while showering a rain of flowers. The gandharva-purohita Tumburu arrived at the remembrance of Tanaya and performed the jātakarma and other rites. All the devas, groups of devarṣis, pannaga-kings from Pātāla such as Śeṣa, Vāsuki, and Takṣaka, groups of kings, principal individuals among devas, asuras, yakṣas, guhyakas, and the forty-nine Marud-devas assembled. The city of the gandharvas was filled with the arrived ṛṣis, devas, dānavas, pannagas, and munis.

Tumburu performed the svastyayana for the boy, blessing him as one of mahābala, a great vīra, mahābāhu, and a sārva-bhauma, and praying that the lokapālas including Indra and the groups of ṛṣis grant him vīrya for the destruction of enemies and all auspiciousness. He invoked the Marut winds from all four directions to bestow kalyāṇa, purity, great vīrya, and excellent strength upon the child. After the svastyayana was completed, an incorporeal ākāśavāṇī declared that because the Guru had repeatedly uttered the word “Marutta,” the boy would attain fame by the name Marutta. The divine voice proclaimed that all mahīpālas would be bound by his orders, that he would be the head among all kings, and that being of mahāvīrya and a cakravartī, he would enjoy the earth-circle of seven islands by surpassing all groups of kings. He would be the best among the lords of the earth and the performers of yajñas, and his śaurya and vīrya would be greater than all the kings upon the earth. Hearing these words, the vipras, gandharvas, and the parents of the boy attained supreme bliss.

Arrival in the City and Presentation to Karandhama

Afterward, the rājaputra Avīkṣita took his dear son and, along with his wife Bhāminī, returned to his city. The gandharvas followed them on foot at the time of their departure. Avīkṣita reached the house of his father and performed vandana to Karandhama’s feet with bhakti. The emaciated rājakanyā Bhāminī bowed her head with a sense of lajjā and performed praṇāma. Then Avīkṣita took his young son and spoke to his father Karandhama, who was sitting among kings upon the dharma-āsana. He reminded his father of the pratijñā made during the Kimicchaka vrata performed by his mother, and asked Karandhama to place the grandson in his lap and look at the grandson’s face. Having said this, he placed the son in the father’s lap and described to him the entire vṛttānta that had occurred.

Karandhama, with eyes filled with tears of joy, embraced the grandson and repeatedly praised himself, saying that he had become fortunate. With joy, forgetting other tasks, he honored the arrived gandharvas with arghya and other offerings. In the houses of all citizens in the city, people celebrated a festival with mahā-ānanda, saying that an offspring was born to the king who protected them. Groups of beautiful vilāsinīs performed excellent dances to the music of songs and instruments. The king, with a happy heart, gave dāna of wealth, gems, clothes, ornaments, and cows to the virtuous brāhmaṇas.

Education and Mastery of All Vidyās

Marutta grew like the moon of the śuklapakṣa, becoming a source of prīti to his father and the dearest one even to ordinary men. At the appropriate time, the boy first learned the vedas from the ācārya, and thereafter learned the dhanur-vidyās. When he completed all the śāstras, he became an expert in sword-fighting, dhanur-vidyās, and the application of other śāstras. Being humble with modesty and being a favorite of the Guru, he acquired the complete astra-vidyās from Bhārgava, who was born of the Bhṛgu lineage. Having acquired the astras, he became successful by becoming an expert in the dhanurveda. Not only did he become an expert in dhanur-vidyās, but he also became proficient in all vidyās. At that time, there was none better than him among all.

Karandhama’s Retirement and Avīkṣita’s Refusal

Hearing all matters about his daughter and hearing of the worthiness of the grandson, King Viśāla also became happy. Upon seeing the face of the grandson, Karandhama, whose desires were accomplished and who conquered enemies with strength and buddhi, performed many yajñas, gave many dānas to seekers, and performed good acts well. While governing the earth with strength and buddhi according to dharma, after some time, desiring to go to the forests, Karandhama spoke to his son Avīkṣita. He said that he had become old and desired to go to the forest, and asked Avīkṣita to accept the kingdom. He declared himself successful in all matters and said that nothing remained except the rājyābhiṣeka.

Avīkṣita, hearing the father’s words, desired to go to the forests himself and spoke with humility. He declared that he would not govern the earth because the insult that had happened in his heart had not gone away. He asked his father to appoint someone else to the kingdom. He said he had been a prisoner released by his father, not through his own vīrya, and therefore had no pauruṣa. Those who have pauruṣa alone govern the earth, and one who was incapable of protecting himself could not govern a kingdom. He declared himself endowed with dharma equal to the female caste, having been released from bondage through the effort of the father, and asked how such a man could become a ruler of the earth.

Karandhama told him that the father is not separate from the son, and the son is not separate from the father, and therefore being released by him was not like being released by a stranger. Avīkṣita replied that he could not turn back the speed of the mind, that an extreme sense of lajjā was awakened in his heart due to being released by his father. He declared that the man who enjoys wealth earned by the father, is released from danger by the father, and is known only by the name of the father would be better not born in the kula. He said that whoever earns wealth by himself, attains fame by himself, and is released from sorrows by himself, may that state occur to him.

When the rājaputra gave the same reply even after the father prayed many times, King Karandhama made his grandson Marutta the king of the kingdom.

Marutta’s Coronation and Reign

Marutta, having obtained the kingdom from his pitāmaha with his father’s approval, began to govern the kingdom well while causing delight to groups of friends. King Karandhama, with his heart restrained in mind, speech, and body, took his wife Vīrā and went to the forest to perform tapas. There, Karandhama performed difficult tapas for a thousand years, abandoned his body, and attained Indra-loka. His wife Vīrā, for another hundred years, growing matted hair and performing tapas, desired the sālokya of the mahātma husband who had attained svarga. Eating roots and fruits, she stayed in the āśrama of Bhārgava, dwelling among the wives of twice-born ones and being devoted to their service.

Having obtained the rājya from his pitāmaha with the permission of his father, Marutta protected all the prajā according to dharma, just as a father protects his biological sons. Following the orders of the ṛtviks and the purohita with śraddhā, the mahīpati performed many yajñas according to vidhi with abundant dakṣiṇas. In the saptadvīpas, his rathacakra was unhindered. His movement was continuous in the sky, pātāla, and the waters. Devoted to his own kriya, having obtained wealth, Marutta conquered the devas headed by Indra through mahāyajñas. All other varṇas, being diligent in their respective karmas, performed iṣṭāpūrta and other kriyas with the wealth acquired from those karmas. Being protected by the mahātma Marutta, the earth competed with the residents of the tridaśāvāsa. That yajvī Marutta attained prominence not only among the rulers of the earth; even Indra, the lord of devas and performer of a hundred yajñas, was surpassed by him in the matter of performing yajñas.

Saṃvarta and the Golden Yajñas

Saṃvarta, the son of Aṅgiras, the elder brother of Bṛhaspati, a mahātma and a treasure of tapas, was the ṛtvik of Marutta. There was a mountain named Muñjavat made of gold, served by the devas. Through the power of his tapas, the ṛtvik Saṃvarta plucked its peak and brought it for the king. Through that peak, while making the king perform yajña, Saṃvarta made the entire bhūmi-bhāga and the pure buildings into sarva-kāñcana. The groups of ṛṣis, just as they repeatedly perform vedādhyayana, always sang gāthās relying on the caritra of Marutta, declaring that no yajamāna equal to Marutta was born on the earth-circle. In his yajña, the entire assembly and the prāsādas were kāñcana-maya. Indra was intoxicated with somapāna and the groups of brāhmaṇas with dakṣiṇas. The superior devas like Indra themselves were serving food and other things to the brāhmaṇas.

None was equal to the mahīpati Marutta. Because their houses were ratna-pūrṇa, the brāhmaṇas abandoned gold. During his yajña-kāla, the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, and vaiśya varṇas obtained all things like kāñcana-maya prāsādas. Because they were wealthy, they too were giving dānas. Those śiṣṭa-puruṣas whose manorathas were fulfilled in his yajña, having received the wealth given by him, performed yajñas separately in various lands.

The Warning of Vīrā and the Serpent Crisis

During Marutta’s rājya-śāsana and prajā-pālana, one day a tapasvī came and spoke to him, declaring that his pitāmahī had sent him with a message after seeing the tāpasa-maṇḍala being tormented by the viṣa of madonmatta serpents. The tapasvī conveyed Vīrā’s words: that Karandhama had protected the earth well and gone to svarga, that Avīkṣita had abandoned the kingdom and gone to the forest, and that Vīrā herself, being interested in tapas, was residing in the Aurva-āśrama. She said that during Marutta’s śāsana, an occurrence was happening that had never taken place in the rājya of his pitāmaha or other ancestors. She declared that without doubt he was pramatta or an ajitendriya attached to bhogas, and that he had not appointed spies, making him incapable of knowing the duṣṭa from the aduṣṭa.

The message stated that groups of bhujangas possessing fangs had come from pātāla and bitten seven munisutās. The pools were polluted by urine and feces. The havis were polluted by sweat and excrement. For this reason, the munis, knowing that an aparādha had occurred, were performing nāgabali. All the munis were capable of turning the serpents into ashes, but they had no adhikāra to do so; Marutta alone was the authority for that task.

The tapasvī further conveyed the teaching that rājaputras can enjoy bhoga-janita sukha only as long as the abhiṣeka-jala has not fallen on their heads. A king must constantly assess who are the friends, who is the śatru, what is the strength of the śatru, who is the mantrī, which kings are on his side, whether he has wealth and strength, who among the people are attached and who are virakta, who have been divided by enemies, who are well-situated in dharma-karmas, who are fools, who is worthy of punishment, who is worthy of protection, and who should be ignored. Considering deśa and kāla through sāma and bheda, the king must appoint spies unknown to other spies, and must appoint spies even among all ministers and others. Being always bhoga-parāyaṇa was not appropriate for a king. Kings do not bear the body for bhoga but for the cause of protecting the earth and one’s own dharma. By protecting the earth and one’s own dharma well, though there is great kleśa in this birth, akṣaya-sukhas are attained after going to svarga. Abandoning bhoga, the king must accept the kleśa of protecting the earth. During his śāsana, he did not even know the sorrow caused to the ṛṣis by the serpents because he had not appointed spies. The king must punish the duṣṭas and protect, for by this he attains the sixth part of the dharma-phala. If he did not protect śiṣṭa-puruṣas when duṣṭa groups performed such acts out of pride, he would without doubt experience pāpa. The pitāmahī told him to reflect on what was kartavya and do it, and to follow whatever seemed appropriate.

Marutta’s Response and the Saṃvartaka Astra

Hearing the words of the tāpasa, King Marutta became ashamed. Saying “reproach to me, the cārāndha,” he sighed deeply. He took up the bow and reached the Aurva-āśrama very quickly. He bowed his head and performed vandana to Vīrā-devī, his pitāmahī, and performed praṇāma to the tāpasa groups according to vidhi. They praised him well with blessings. Afterward, the king saw the seven tāpasas who were bitten by serpents and lying dead on the earth. Before the munis, the mahīpati repeatedly reproached himself and declared that the duṣṭa bhujangas had insulted his strength and were hating the brāhmaṇas. He called upon the entire world, along with devas, daityas, and men, to see what state he would bring upon those serpents.

Out of krodha, Marutta took the saṃvartaka astra for the sake of the destruction of the entire nāga-kula residing in pātāla. All the nāgalokas were suddenly blazing with the tejas of that mahāstra and were being burned in an unstoppable manner. Due to the fear caused by the astra, the agitated pannaga groups began to make cries. Some bhujangas, with their tails and hoods burning, abandoned their clothes and ornaments and, taking their wives and children, left pātāla and took refuge with Bhāminī, the mother of Marutta, because she had previously granted them abhaya.

The Nāgas Seek Refuge with Bhāminī

All the serpent groups, being terrified, approached Bhāminī and, with prostrations and trembling voices, asked her to remember what they had previously requested of her in Rasātala. They pleaded with the vīra-mātā to prevent her son and grant them their lives. They said that all the nāgalokas were being burned by his astra-agni, and that other than her, there was none else to give refuge. The sādhvī Bhāminī, hearing their words and remembering her previous words of abhaya, spoke in agitation to her husband Avīkṣita. She reminded him of what the bhujanga groups had requested of her in pātāla regarding her son, and that those bhujangas, now being burned by the tejas of the son, had taken refuge with her out of fear. She said that she had previously given them abhaya, and that those who had taken refuge with her were surely also taking refuge with Avīkṣita. She asked him to prevent Marutta, saying that by his words and by her request, the son would become pacified.

Avīkṣita replied that Marutta had surely attained krodha due to a great aparādha, and that he considered the anger of the son to be impossible to prevent. The nāgas then spoke to Avīkṣita directly, saying they had sought refuge with him, and reminding him that kṣatriya groups bear śastras only for the cause of protecting distressed men. Hearing the words of the nāgas and being requested by his wife, Avīkṣita declared that he would go and speak to the son to protect the nāgas, for it was not appropriate to abandon those who had taken refuge. He further declared that if Marutta did not perform the astra-upasaṃhāra upon his words, he would prevent the son’s astra with his own astras. The superior kṣatriya Avīkṣita took bow and arrows and, along with his wife, immediately went to the Bhārgava-āśrama.

The Confrontation Between Father and Son

Avīkṣita arrived and saw Marutta holding the bow with the śastra aimed. The ugra śastra was spread in all directions with flames. The earth was illuminated by the mahā-vahni coming from the astra, and the intolerable, ghora, and terrifying fire had spread even into pātāla-loka. Avīkṣita saw King Marutta with his face crooked and eyebrows frowned, and spoke to him, ordering him to withdraw the astra and not be angry. Many times, in his words, the order of varṇas was lost due to emotion. Marutta, hearing the father’s words and looking at him repeatedly, without abandoning the bow in hand, performed praṇāma to the parents with respect and spoke. He declared that the pannaga groups were offenders toward him, that during his śāsana, disregarding his strength, the nāgas had entered the āśrama and bitten seven munikumārakas, and that the evil-natured serpent groups were polluting the sacrificial fires, houses, and pools of the ṛṣis. He asked his father not to say anything in this matter and not to prevent him from slaying the serpent-killers of brāhmaṇas.

Avīkṣita told him that if the serpents had killed brāhmaṇas, they would attain naraka after death, and asked him to cease the astra-prayoga and honor his words. Marutta declared he would not forgive the sinful ones, saying that if he did not punish them, he too would go to naraka, and asked the father not to prevent him. Avīkṣita then told Marutta that the pannaga groups had taken refuge with him, and asked his son, even to protect his dharma, to reduce his krodha and withdraw the astra. Marutta refused again, saying he could not abandon his own dharma to protect his father’s words. He declared that by punishing those worthy of punishment and protecting the śiṣṭa-puruṣas, the king attains all puṇya-lokas, while by ignoring such, naraka-prāpti occurs.

Though the father and the mother repeatedly prevented him, Marutta did not withdraw the astra. Avīkṣita then warned Marutta that these terrified pannaga groups had taken refuge with him, and that since Marutta continued to harm them despite being prevented, a fitting pratikriya was necessary. He declared that Marutta was not the only astra-vitta on the earth-circle, and that he too had acquired many astras. With eyes copper-red from krodha, Avīkṣita tightened the string on the bow and took up the kālāstra. When he was about to discharge the kālāstra, the mountains and the entire world along with the oceans, already heated by Marutta’s saṃvartāstra, became agitated.

Marutta saw the aimed kālāstra and spoke with a loud voice. He declared that his saṃvartāstra was aimed at punishing the duṣṭas, not to kill his father. He asked why the father was discharging the kālāstra at a son who follows the path of truth and always obeys his orders, and why the father was aimed to discharge the astra for his destruction when protecting the prajā was his kartavya.

Avīkṣita declared that he had resolved to protect the men who had taken refuge, and that Marutta was creating an obstacle to this task. For this reason, Marutta could not attain protection from him while being alive. He told Marutta to either destroy him through the strength of his astra and then slay the duṣṭa uraga-kula, or he would slay Marutta with the help of the astra and protect the serpents. He proclaimed reproach to the life of a man who does not protect even those of the enemy-side if they come as distressed ones seeking refuge. He declared that as a kṣatriya, the terrified serpents had taken refuge with him, and since Marutta was doing harm to them, the son was worthy of being slain.

Marutta replied that friends, father, or Guru, if anyone is an obstacle to prajā-pālana, they are surely worthy of being slain by the king. He told his father not to be angry, and that protecting his own dharma was his kartavya, and that he had no krodha toward his father.

The Resolution by the Ṛṣis

Seeing father and son thus resolved on slaying each other, Bhārgava and other munis immediately arrived and stood between the two. They spoke to Marutta, saying he should not destroy the son of well-known deeds. Marutta replied that protecting the śiṣṭas was his chief kartavya and that the bhujangas were duṣṭas, so where was his fault. Avīkṣita declared that protecting those who seek refuge was his kartavya, and that the son who destroys those seekers of refuge was an offender toward him.

The ṛṣis then announced that the bhujangas, with eyes trembling from fear, had said they would revive the brāhmaṇas who had been bitten by the duṣṭa pannagas. Therefore, there was no need for war. They asked both father and son to be pleased, acknowledging that both were superior kings and protectors, and knowers of dharma.

At that time, Vīrā-devī arrived and spoke to her son Avīkṣita, declaring that following her words alone, his son Marutta had become determined to perform the destruction of serpents. She said that when the dead brāhmaṇas were revived, the task would be accomplished, and the seekers of refuge would also be released. Bhāminī spoke that the serpents of pātāla had previously requested her for abhaya, and for that reason she had requested her husband. Now, through her husband and son, the task was accomplished in a beautiful manner.

The Revival and Reconciliation

Afterward, the nāga-devatās revived the brāhmaṇas by removing the viṣa with divine herbs. The mahīpati Marutta fell at his parents’ feet and performed praṇāma. Avīkṣita embraced Marutta with prīti and blessed him, saying: become the destroyer of the pride of enemies and always protect the earth; spend time happily with sons and grandsons; and may your enemies attain destruction. Afterward, receiving the permission of the brāhmaṇas and Vīrā, the two kings mounted the ratha along with Bhāminī and went to their city.

Vīrā’s Attainment and Marutta’s Later Reign

The mahābhāga and pativratā Vīrā, having performed great tapas, attained the sālokya of the husband who had attained svarga. King Marutta, having defeated all four directions of enemies, performed pṛthvī-pālana according to dharma and enjoyed many bhoga-sukhas.

His wives were Prabhāvatī, the mahābhāga daughter of Vidarbha; Sauvīrī, the daughter of Suvīra; Sukeśī, the daughter of the Magadha King Ketuvīrya; the daughter of the Madra King Sindhuvīrya; Kekayī, the daughter of Kekaya; Sairaṃdrī, the daughter of the Sindhu King; and Vapuṣmatī, the daughter of the Cedi King. From the wombs of these wives, eighteen sons were born to that king. Among them, the son named Nariṣyanta was the eldest and best.

The strength of the mahārāja and mahābala Marutta was such that his wheel was unhindered in all seven islands. No other king equal to that rājarṣi, who was endowed with bala-vikrama and limitless tejas, was born, nor would be born. Upon hearing the caritra of the mahātma Marutta, one is released from all sins and attains a superior birth after death.

Source: Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 125 to 128