Keśidhvaja
Keśidhvaja was a king of the Janaka line, the kings of Videha. He was the son of Kṛtadhvaja and the grandson of Dharmadhvaja. He was a master of ātma-vidyā, the knowledge of the self, and he lived this knowledge while still ruling as a king.
The Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa tells his story in the sixth Aṃśa. He is best known for teaching the full system of yoga to his cousin Khāṇḍikya, whom he had earlier defeated and driven out of the kingdom.
Lineage and character
Keśidhvaja was born in the Janaka line. These kings of Videha are known throughout the Purāṇas for joining royal power with deep knowledge of the self (adhyātma). His grandfather Dharmadhvaja had two sons. Mitadhvaja followed the path of ritual action (karma-mārga). Kṛtadhvaja followed the path of the self (adhyātma-mārga). Keśidhvaja was the son of Kṛtadhvaja, so he carried on the adhyātma tradition in the family.
The Purāṇa calls him ātma-vidyā-viśārada, one who is expert in the science of the self. His knowledge did not take him away from the world. He was also a king who performed yajñas (fire rituals) and kept all the duties of his station.
The conflict with Khāṇḍikya
Keśidhvaja and his cousin Khāṇḍikya, the son of Mitadhvaja, were rivals for the kingdom. Keśidhvaja stood for the adhyātma path, and Khāṇḍikya for the karma path. In the war between them, Keśidhvaja won. He defeated Khāṇḍikya in battle and drove him out. Khāṇḍikya went into the deep forest with only his ministers and his purohita (household priest).
After this victory Keśidhvaja went on with his duties. He performed many yajñas. Through this path of action he hoped to burn away all his stored karma and reach liberation. He did not give up action. He acted without any attachment to its fruit, which is nishkāma karma.
The journey to the forest
During one of his yajñas, a tiger killed the gharmadhenu, the cow used in the morning rite. The ṛtvijas (priests) did not know the right prāyaścitta (act of atonement). A chain of questions passed through Kāśeruka, Bhārgava and Śunaka. It led to one answer: the only person in the world who knew the prāyaścitta was Khāṇḍikya, his enemy, who lived in the forest that no one could easily reach.
Keśidhvaja did not hesitate. He put the completeness of his yajña above his pride and above any look of weakness. He drove his own chariot into the deep forest to ask his beaten enemy for the knowledge.
The teaching
Khāṇḍikya gave Keśidhvaja the prāyaścitta. Keśidhvaja used it and finished the yajña. Then he thought over what he had done. He saw that he had received a teaching from Khāṇḍikya without giving guru-dakshiṇā (a gift to a teacher). He went back to the forest at once, a second time.
Khāṇḍikya offered to let Keśidhvaja choose what he wished to give. Keśidhvaja waited for Khāṇḍikya to name his wish. Khāṇḍikya, to the surprise of his ministers, did not ask for the kingdom. He asked for the knowledge of liberation, the one teaching that ends all kleśa (affliction).
Keśidhvaja admired this request and taught the whole of yoga. He taught:
- the nature of avidyā (ignorance);
- the picture of the pot, water and fire, for the relation between the ātman, the antaḥkaraṇa (inner instrument) and prakṛti;
- the yamas and niyamas;
- āsana and prāṇāyāma, both sādhāraṇa and nirbīja;
- pratyāhāra;
- dhāraṇā on both the mūrta (with form) and amūrta (without form) aspects of Bhagavān Vishṇu;
- dhyāna on the particular form of Bhagavān Vishṇu;
- the three bhāvanās;
- samādhi, in which all bhāvanā dissolves into pure ātma-saṃvit (knowledge of the self).
He also taught the three śaktis of Bhagavān Vishṇu: Parā, Kshetrajñā and Avidyā-karma.
Liberation through desireless action
After he gave this teaching, Keśidhvaja stayed in the world. He did his royal duties, his yajñas and every required act with full detachment from their fruits. The Purāṇa calls this anabhisaṃhitam karma, action done with no aim at its result.
Through this steady nishkāma practice, his stored karma was slowly burnt away. When the load of karma was finished, Keśidhvaja reached ātyantika-siddhi, the final and lasting liberation, the ātyantika pralaya of the individual jīva.
Sources
- Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Shashṭhāṃśa, Chapters 6–7