Jayādhvaja
Jayādhvaja was one of the five outstanding sons of Kārtavīryārjuna (also called Kṛtaujas), the famous thousand-armed king of the Haihaya line in the Yādava dynasty. His four brothers were devoted to Bhagavān Śiva. Jayādhvaja was a bhakta (devotee) of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa tells his story. It holds a deep talk about the Supreme and about which deva kings should worship. It ends with the Sudarśana cakra of Bhagavān Vishṇu appearing when he remembered it, and giving him victory over a terrible rākshasa.
Lineage
Jayādhvaja belonged to the Haihaya branch of the Yādava dynasty. This is the line that comes down from Yadu through Sahasrajit, Śatajit, Haihaya, Dharma, Dharmanētra, Kīrti, Saṃcita, Mahishman, Bhadraśreṇya, Durgama, Andhaka and then Kṛtavīrya. Kṛtaujas (Kārtavīryārjuna) was the fourth son of Kṛtavīrya.
Kārtavīryārjuna had hundreds of sons. Five of them were especially outstanding: Śūra, Śūrasena, Kṛshṇa, Dhṛshṇa and Jayādhvaja. The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Pūrvārdha, Chapter 22.
Devotion to Nārāyaṇa
The first four brothers were Śūra, Śūrasena, Kṛshṇa and Dhṛshṇa. They were well known as devotees of Bhagavān Śiva, following the path of their father Kārtavīryārjuna. Jayādhvaja was known as a devotee of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. He was wise, devoted to dharma, and had taken full refuge in Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa.
His brothers questioned this choice. They said it was not the right dharma for him, and that their father was well known for his devotion to Bhagavān Śiva. Jayādhvaja answered clearly and without anger:
“This is my highest dharma. All kings in the world are born from a part (aṃśa) of Vishṇu. The one who rules the worlds and cannot be conquered is Vishṇu, and he alone is worthy of worship. He himself bears the three forms (mūrtis): sāttvika, rājasika and tāmasika. These rule creation, preservation and dissolution. So for kings, who carry the weight of rule, Bhagavān Keśava Vishṇu is the right deva.”
His brothers replied that Rudra is the deva who gives moksha (liberation) to those of sattva nature. Jayādhvaja said that each person should follow the dharma that fits him, and that it is not the counsel of munis to take up another person’s dharma.
The talk ended in harmony. A passage from Brahmā himself says that Jayādhvaja’s choice of Nārāyaṇa was right for a king who is ruling. It also says that one who knows the abheda (oneness) of Vishṇu and Śiva should worship Vishṇu without rejecting that oneness. The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa tells all this in the Pūrvārdha, Chapter 22.
The battle with the rākshasa Videha
At one time a terrible rākshasa named Videha came to the city of the five brothers. His power was so great that all beings feared him. The weapons of all five kings could not harm him. Videha’s śūla (spear) met and defeated each weapon:
- Śūra’s raudra-astra
- Śūrasena’s paurushāstra
- Kṛshṇa’s prājāpatya-astra
- Dhṛshṇa’s vāyavya-astra
- Jayādhvaja’s kauberāstra and āgneyāstra
The five princes ran away in fear. Only Jayādhvaja stayed.
At that moment Jayādhvaja turned his whole mind to the Supreme: to Vishṇu, the master of the worlds, the Ādipurusha (the first Person), the faultless one whom jñāna (knowledge) cannot fully measure. As soon as he remembered Nārāyaṇa, the husband of Lakshmī, the Sudarśana cakra appeared before him, blazing with the light of ten thousand suns. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself had once gained this Sudarśana cakra by worshipping Śaṅkara through tapas (austerity). With it Jayādhvaja killed the rākshasa Videha. The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Pūrvārdha, Chapter 22.
Gratitude and further teaching
After the victory Jayādhvaja honoured the great ṛshi Viśvāmitra, who was present, and seated him with full respect. Viśvāmitra saw how deep Jayādhvaja’s devotion to Nārāyaṇa was. He taught him the highest nature of Vishṇu. All beings arise from Vishṇu and return into him. He lives in the guha (the cave of the inner heart). He is beyond the highest akshara (the imperishable). He is ānanda-svarūpa (his form is bliss) and paramākāśa-rūpa (his form is the supreme space).
With Viśvāmitra’s guidance, Jayādhvaja performed a great yajña (fire ritual) in worship of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. The great ṛshis Gautama, Agastya and Atri took part. In that yajña, Bhagavān Vishṇu himself appeared. The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Pūrvārdha, Chapter 22.
What the Purāṇa says of this account
The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa says that whoever always listens to the account of Jayādhvaja’s parākrama (heroic deeds) is freed from all pāpa (sin) and reaches Vishṇuloka, the world of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Sources
- Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 22