Durvasas
Durvasas ( Sanskrit दुर्वासस्, durvāsas m. ), Also known by the name Durvasa (Sanskrit दुर्वासा, durvāsā m .) Was a Rishi in ancient India who was known for his quick-tempered temper.
origin
There are various sources regarding the origin of Durvasa. According to a passage in the Bhagavatapurana (4.1) he was one of the three sons of Atri and Anasuya. According to legend, Atri undertook severe ascetic exercises in order to be blessed with a special son. Finally, the gods Brahma , Vishnu and Shiva appeared to him and granted him three sons, each of whom were her emanations . Durvasas was an emanation of Shiva, his brothers were Soma (from Brahma) and Datta (from Vishnu).
In Markandeyapurana (17.9-11) and Vishnupurana (1.9.2) Durvasas is referred to as an avatar of Shiva, while in Brahmapurana (117.2) and Agnipurana (20.12) he appears as the son of Atris and brother of Datta.
Durvasas in the Mahabharata
Durvasas and Kunti
Durvasas was widely feared for his impulsive behavior and curses. Hence, his hosts endeavored to fully satisfy his wishes and avoid any cause for anger and anger. One day, Kunti was given the task of looking after him during a visit and performed her duties in an exemplary manner, even though she was exposed to many provocations by Durvasa. The ascetic, too, was surprised at the young girl's patience and long-suffering and gave her a mantra as a thank you , with the help of which she could call down gods and be of service.
One day when Kunti looks at the sun, she decides to try the mantra and invokes the sun god, who fathered a child with her after assuring her that her son would be a great hero and that her virginity would not be harmed. However, since she is unmarried, she decides, on the advice of her wet nurse, to put the child in a basket. It survives and later plays a significant but tragic role as Karna in the Mahabharata .
Durvasas and Mudgala
Mudgala was a hermit and ascetic who ate food for only two weeks at a time, and then gathered grains for two weeks without being overwhelmed by hunger. He was also known for his generosity. One day Durvasas went to see him to put him to the test and devoured all of the hermit's supplies six times without his complaining. Durvasas then granted him the favor that he could go directly to heaven with his physical body and enjoy a happy life there. But Mudgala realized that one day he would have to return to earth and then experience life there all the more painfully. Therefore he chose another path and achieved perfect peace and the highest inner liberation through meditation.
Durvasas and Krishna
Once the ascetic was looking for hosts to entertain him during his wanderings, but all of them refused. Eventually Krishna invited him to his house and patiently endured Durvasas' strange behavior. At the end he served him rice pudding, which Durvasas consumed in abundance. He then asked Krishna to rub the rest of the food into his body, and his wife, Rukmini, should do the same. After further events and provocations, Durvasas also granted Krishna a favor: as long as people valued food, they would love Krishna in the same way. Furthermore, he would be invulnerable in all areas of the body that he had covered with the food. But Krishna had left out his feet and was later to be fatally wounded at this point by a hunter's arrow, similar to Siegfried in the Nibelungenlied .
literature
- MA Mehendale: Kunti's Relation with Durvasas . In: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 39. Poona 2008. pp. 129-132
- Durvasas and Kunti in: Wilfried Huchzermeyer , Yogis, Yoginis und Asceten im Mahabharata , Karlsruhe 2008, pp. 16-19. ISBN 978-3-931172-26-8
Individual evidence
- ↑ MMS Shastri Chitrao, Bharatavarshiya Prachin Charitrakosha (Dictionary of Ancient Indian Biography, in Hindi), Pune 1964, p. 285
- ↑ Shastri Chitrao (1964), p. 285
- ↑ See explanations in: Wilfried Huchzermeyer, Studies in the Mahabharata. Indian Culture, Dharma and Spirituality in the Great Epic , Karlsruhe 2018, p. 114.
- ^ Studies in the Mahabharata , pp. 114-17
- ^ Studies in the Mahabharata , pp. 120-21
- ^ Studies in the Mahabharata , pp. 122-24