Reṇuka (Nāga Messenger)
Reṇuka is a mighty being of great tejas (radiance) and bala (strength). He moves through Rasātala and is called both a nāga (serpent) and a gaja (elephant). Brahmā sent him, with the agreement of the devas, as a messenger to the Diggajas. The Diggajas are the great elephants who carry the earth. Reṇuka was to ask them about the secret of dharma (dharma-rahasya) that they guard. His mission and the answer he received make up the Diggaja-Rahasya. It is one of the ten teachings of the Rahasya-Dharma cycle in the Anuśāsana Parva of the Mahābhārata.
This Reṇuka is a different person from Reṇukā, the wife of Jamadagni and mother of Paraśurāma. They are named in a different chapter of the Anuśāsana Parva.
Brahmā’s commission
Brahmā spoke to the devas and to Indra. He told them of a being of great bala and tejas who moves through Rasātala, a great nāga and gaja named Reṇuka. With the devas’ agreement, Brahmā said that Reṇuka should be sent to the Diggajas. These mighty elephants stand at the four (or eight) directions and carry the whole earth with its mountains and forests. Reṇuka was to learn from them the dharma-rahasya that only they hold. The devas were in full agreement and their minds were calm. They sent Reṇuka to the earth-bearing elephants. This is told in Chapter 132.
The mission to the Diggajas
Reṇuka came to the Diggajas. He told them that the devas and pitṛs (ancestors) had given him leave to come. He greeted the great elephants with respect as mahā-balas (very mighty ones) and asked them to tell him the dharma-rahasya that they hold as their own.
The Diggajas then taught Reṇuka the whole rite. It is done in the month of Kārtika, in the dark fortnight (kṛshṇapaksha), on the eighth day (ashṭamī), under the star Āśleshā. The one who does it must be free of anger and must keep restraint in food. He makes an offering of jaggery-rice with a special mantra. The mantra calls on the undying, undecaying nāga kings and their great-bodied children. The offering is placed in an anthill after sunset, on a bed of elephant-flowers, using black cloth and ointments.
This rite draws on the bala of Nārāyaṇa, who once carried the earth himself, passed on through the serpent kings. It lifts from the Diggajas the weight they carry without rest from below. When a person does it with fasting (upavāsa) for a full year, he gains puṇya (merit) equal to a hundred years of hospitality (ātithya) to the elephants of all three worlds.
The devas, the pitṛs and the great ṛshis heard this account from Reṇuka. They honoured him greatly for bringing back so precious a secret. This is told in Chapter 132.
His role
In this account Reṇuka is the honoured go-between. Brahmā and the devas trusted him to approach the Diggajas and bring their closely guarded teaching back for all. The episode belongs to the Rahasya-Dharma cycle. In that cycle, a series of dūtas (messengers) go between different kinds of beings (pitṛs, devas, elephants, nāgas) to gather teachings. These are then passed on to Bhīshma and finally to Yudhishṭhira. This is told in Chapter 132.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 132