Ruru

Ruru

Ruru is a young ṛshi of the Bhārgava line, the son of Pramati. Pramati was the son of Cyavana, and Cyavana was the son of Bhṛgu. Ruru is known for the depth of his love for his betrothed Pramadvarā. He is also known for the gift he made to bring her back to life.

Pramadvarā died of a snakebite just before their wedding. Ruru gave half of his own life to her, and she was revived. They were married. Overcome with grief, Ruru then vowed to kill every serpent he met. The Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapters 8–9, and the Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Pauloma Parva, Chapters 8–12, both tell this account. It includes his meeting with the Ḍuṇḍubha snake.

Lineage

Ruru belongs to the great Bhārgava line. His great-grandfather was Bhṛgu Maharshi. His grandfather was the famous Cyavana, the son of Bhṛgu and Pulomā. His father was Pramati, and his mother was Prataṃbī. He was thus the heir of one of the most honoured lines of ṛshis, a line known for great tapas (austerity), mantra-vidyā (knowledge of mantras) and high authority. The Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 8, tells this.

Betrothal to Pramadvarā

Pramadvarā was the daughter of the apsarā Menakā and the gandharva Viśvāvasu. She had been left at birth near a river. The tapasvī (ascetic) Sthūlakeśa found her and brought her up with deep love. She grew into a young woman of rare beauty and good qualities.

Ruru was wandering in the forest when he met her, and he was at once taken with her. His whole heart was filled with love. He told his father Pramati of his wish. Pramati went to Sthūlakeśa’s āśrama and arranged the betrothal. A good muhūrta (auspicious time) was fixed for the wedding. The Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 8, tells this.

The death of Pramadvarā and the gift of half a life

Just before the wedding, while the āśrama was full of festive activity, Pramadvarā walked near the doorway and a serpent bit her. She died before the wedding could take place. The ṛshis who had gathered and her father Sthūlakeśa wept bitterly.

Ruru was broken. He had not embraced her or taken her hand. He had not done even the first rites of the marriage saṃskāra. He walked away from the āśrama and wept alone in the forest. He could not accept a life without her.

A devadūta (messenger of the devas) appeared before Ruru and said, “The devas have set a way. You may give half of your own life, your ardha-āyus, to Pramadvarā. If you agree, she will live.” Ruru agreed at once.

The devadūta went to Dharmarāja himself, together with Viśvāvasu, Pramadvarā’s gandharva father, who had also come down when he heard of her death. Dharmarāja granted the vara (boon). Half of Ruru’s life was given to Pramadvarā, and she was revived. She rose from the ground, alive and whole. The wedding was held on a proper muhūrta. The Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 9, tells this.

The vow against serpents

After Pramadvarā came back to life, Ruru’s grief turned into lasting anger against all serpents. He made a fierce vow that wherever he saw a serpent, he would kill it with his weapon. From then on he went through the forests killing every snake he met.

This vow led him to meet the Ḍuṇḍubha. It was not a poisonous serpent but a harmless grass-snake. It had been a brāhmaṇa named Khagamu, who was cursed by a friend he had once frightened. Their talk became a teaching on dharma, on non-violence, and on the difference between killing in a ritual and killing without reason. The Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 9, tells this.

Why the account is told

In the Devī Bhāgavata, Parīkshit tells the account of Ruru to his own ministers. It is a teaching on the power of mantra-vidyā, the fruit of tapas, and the chance of turning back death by great spiritual means. Parīkshit offers it as a precedent when he is deciding how to answer the curse of Śṛṅgi.

The account in the Ādi Parva

The Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Pauloma Parva, tells the same account within the line of the Bhārgavas. It gives the line as Bhṛgu, Cyavana, Pramati, Ruru. It says plainly that Ruru’s mother is Prataṃbī. It tells of Pramadvarā’s death by a serpent’s bite, the gift of half of Ruru’s life, and her revival.

In the Ādi Parva the harmless serpent that Ruru meets is named Ḍuṇḍubha (written Dundubha in the text), and the brāhmaṇa he was before his curse is named Sahasrapāt. The friend who cursed him is named Khagama. The Devī Bhāgavata names the brāhmaṇa Khagamu. The Ādi Parva gives the teaching ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ (non-violence is the highest dharma) in full, as the closing declaration of the whole Pauloma Upākhyāna.

Sources

• Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapters 8–9
• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Pauloma Parva, Chapters 8–12