Virochana

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Virochana ( Sanskrit विरोचन virocana ) is one of the Daityas , a group of demonic rulers , in Indian mythology .

myth

Virochana is the son of Prahlada and father from Bali . Another son is Kalanemi , who was killed by Vishnu .

In the epic Ramayana , Virochana is mentioned as the father of Manthara , a deformed servant who convinced Kaikeyi , Queen of Ayodhya , that her son Bharata should inherit the throne and that Rama should be banished.

A granddaughter of Virochana on her mother's side named Vajrajvala became the wife of Kumbhakarna , the brother of the demon king Ravana in the Ramayana.

In the Atharvaveda Virochana is mentioned in a hymn addressed to Viraj . Viraj does not appear there as a male principle of creation, but as a divine cow. Virochana is known as her beloved calf.

Virochana and Sudhanvan

The Mahabharata tells of a dispute between Virochana and Sudhanvan , the son of Angiras , one of the seven Saptarishis , at the center of which is Prahladi, Virochana's father. It is about the primacy of Brahmins over Asuras and above all about truthfulness. So Virochana wooed the beautiful Keshini ( केशिनी keśinī ) and one day visited her. Sitting with him in a pavilion, Keshini asked him if it was possible for Sudhanvan to sit on the same bench as him. Virochana responded to this challenging question and replied that he saw no reason why Sudhanvan should not sit on a bench next to him, since the Daityas were descended directly from Brahma : “We, O Keshini, are the best and highest of all creatures and without Doubt, the world belongs to us. ”To which Keshini replied that Sudhanvan would appear here tomorrow and then we'll see.

When Sudhanvan appeared the other day, as a Brahmin, he naturally refused to sit on the same level or bench with Virochana, whereupon the latter vigorously reviled him. Sudhanvan replied that only two Brahmins of the same age and knowledge, two Kshatriya , two Vaishya or two Shudra could sit on a bench at the same height, no one else. Virochana then challenged him to bet on that question. The price should be gold, cattle, horses, whatever. Sudhanvan refused such a price; rather, everyone should bet his life. But who should be the judge? Sudhanvan rejected both gods and humans as judges and suggested that Virochana's father, Prahladi known for his love of truth, be the judge. Virochana was satisfied with it and both went to Prahladi. He, conjured up by Sudhanvan in a pictorial speech and referred to the terrible karmic consequences of any lie, had to admit that, like Angiras, the father of Sudhanvan, is superior to him, so Sudhanvan is superior to Virochana. So the question was decided and Virochana had gambled his life away. But Sudhanvan did not insist on collecting this debt and contented himself with humiliating Virochana: the latter had to wash his feet in front of Keshini's eyes, and then his life was given.

Virochana and Indra

In the Chandogya Upanishad it is told that Indra as the representative of the gods and Virochana as the representative of the demons went to Prajapati in order to be instructed by him about the self ( atman ). After Indra and Virochana had devoted themselves to the practice of Brahmacharya for 34 years under the guidance of Prajapati , Prajapati asked them what they wanted to know now. They replied that they were looking for the self. Prajapati replied that the self is what you see yourself as and instructed them to look at their reflection in a bowl of water and say what they saw now. Both replied that they saw themselves, skin and every single hair, everything was there. Now Prajapati instructed them to clean themselves, put on their best clothes, and try again. When asked what they were seeing now, they replied that there they were themselves, washed and dressed in the best possible way. Prajapati then told them that this was the true, immortal self, whereupon both of them went away satisfied and in good spirits.

Virochana, coming home, then spread the teaching that the physical self is the only true self to be worshiped. Only by serving yourself can one achieve the right thing in this and that world, which is why one calls someone without any piety a “true demon” to this day. The demons' custom of hanging their dead with garlands of flowers and jewelry also comes from the fact that they think that a decorated corpse keeps the treasures given to it in the other world. Indra, on the other hand, considered himself, was not satisfied and returned to Prajapati, where after 101 years as its Brahmachari he attained the true knowledge of the Atman.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ virocana . In: Monier Monier-Williams : Sanskrit-English Dictionary . Clarendon Press, Oxford 1899, p. 983, col. 2 .
  2. ↑ Ramayana I, 29
  3. ↑ Vishnu-Purana I, 21
  4. ↑ Ramayana I, 25
  5. ↑ Ramayana VII, 12
  6. ↑ Atharvaveda VIII, 10.22
  7. ↑ Mahabharata V, 35.1686ff and II, 66.2890ff
  8. ↑ Chandogya-Upanishad VIII, 7.2-8.5