Gautama Kṛtaghna

Gautama was a brāhmaṇa who had fallen into poor and low circumstances. He is the chief wrongdoer in the Kṛtaghnopākhyāna, the account of the ungrateful man, in the Āpaddharma Parva of the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata.

He lived among caṇḍālas. He went to the sea coast and was treated with great kindness by the crane king Nāḍījaṅgha. He then received rich gifts from the rākshasa king Virūpāksha. On the way back he killed Nāḍījaṅgha in his sleep, for food. This is the act of kṛtaghnatā (ingratitude) that defines him. Virūpāksha had him put to death, but even rākshasas and robbers would not take his body. At Nāḍījaṅgha’s own request, Indra revived him. The account ends by saying that ingratitude has no nishkṛti (atonement).

Background and fallen state

Gautama had sunk so low that he lived in a caṇḍāla settlement. This was a great fall for a brāhmaṇa. The Kṛtaghnopākhyāna begins with him in this state. He was still visiting an old friend who had himself fallen into caṇḍāla society. The text does not say how he came to this state.

Even so, beings of far higher dharma received him with generosity and care. He answered them with betrayal.

Welcome by Nāḍījaṅgha

Gautama travelled toward the sea coast and met Nāḍījaṅgha, the king of the cranes. Nāḍījaṅgha was the son of Kaśyapa and a Dākshāyaṇī, and he was linked with the assembly of Brahmā, though none of this showed outwardly.

Nāḍījaṅgha welcomed Gautama as a guest (atithi) with no thought of gain. He fed him fish caught from rivers linked with Bhagīratha’s route of the Gaṅgā. He fanned him with his wings to ease his tiredness. He made a resting place of leaves and flowers. In the morning he gave Gautama a warm word of recommendation to his close friend Virūpāksha, the rākshasa king.

The feast of Virūpāksha

Gautama came to Mēru-vraja, the city of the rākshasas, with Nāḍījaṅgha’s recommendation. Virūpāksha received him at the great Kārtīka Pūrṇimā feast, which he gave every year for a thousand qualified brāhmaṇas. At this feast Gautama:

• was welcomed among the thousand brāhmaṇas and honoured with full ritual honours
• was fed from golden vessels set with gems, filled with the finest food mixed with honey and ghee
• was given the golden vessel itself
• was given more gifts of diamonds, vaidūrya gems, rubies, deer skins, woollen shawls and cash

He left Mēru-vraja loaded with gold and gems, far more than anyone in his state could hope for. All of it came from Nāḍījaṅgha’s friendship and recommendation.

The killing of Nāḍījaṅgha

On the way back Gautama was tired and hungry. He came again to the aśvattha tree where Nāḍījaṅgha lived. Nāḍījaṅgha met him with the same warmth and care as before. The crane lit a fire to protect him and lay down to sleep near him.

While Nāḍījaṅgha slept, Gautama struck him with a burning brand and killed him. He cooked the flesh and went away. He killed for food the one who had sheltered him, fed him, sent him with a recommendation to a rich patron, and welcomed him again on his return. He did this while carrying the gold that Nāḍījaṅgha’s friendship had won for him.

Capture and death

Virūpāksha’s son later found Nāḍījaṅgha’s bones at the aśvattha tree. He found Gautama and captured him. Virūpāksha ordered that Gautama be killed and his flesh shared among the rākshasas.

The rākshasas refused to eat the flesh of a kṛtaghna (ungrateful person). They said his body was too impure, even for beings who would usually eat human flesh. The body was cut apart and thrown to robbers, and they refused it as well.

Revival

The milk of a divine cow, a Dākshāyaṇī, rained on Nāḍījaṅgha’s funeral pyre and revived him. He then went to Indra and made a remarkable request: that Gautama, the very man who had killed him, be brought back to life. Indra was moved by this greatness of heart and revived Gautama with amṛta (the nectar of immortality). Nāḍījaṅgha then sent Gautama home with his gold.

The revival did not atone for Gautama’s act. The account states it plainly:

kṛtaghno nāsti nishkṛtiḥ

For the ungrateful person there is no atonement. The revival was an act of Nāḍījaṅgha’s friendship (mitrabhāva).

The teaching of the account

In the Kṛtaghnopākhyāna Gautama is the example of the opposite of atithi-dharma (the duty to a guest) and mitra-dharma (the duty to a friend). He received hospitality three times: from a being of divine descent, through a recommendation to a generous king, and again on his return. He paid for each with the worst act.

The account teaches that kṛtaghnatā is a fault so grave that it has no atonement of equal kind. Brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa) has an atonement. Kṛtaghnatā has none.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Āpaddharma Parva, Chapters 168–173