Hi Friends!
Today let us take forward the twisting-turning tales we started quite some time back, about the weekday names, and the divine/semi-divine entities they are named after. As usual, there are stories that are new, and some which are repeated. Those that are new, let’s discover together; and those that are repeated, let’s rediscover their connection to this context.
Day 6 – Friday
The sixth day of the week is called ShukraVaar, or the Day of the Bright/Clear One. There is an alternate meaning as well (which we will discuss later). But as a literal meaning this will do. It is named after Sage Shukra, the graha who is the representative of the planet Venus. He was also the preceptor, or guru of the Asuras. In this role he holds the opposing role to that of Brihaspati, the preceptor of the Devas, we met last time, as the presiding deity of Day 5.
Shukra, who may also been named as Rishi Usana, was the son of Sage Bhrigu.
Bhrigu was one of the mind-born sons of Lord Brahma, but didn’t get a star in the saptarishi mandal, or the Big Dipper. He in fact is credited for compiling the original treatise on astronomy (and astrology) of the Indian body of knowledge, called the Bhrigu Samhita. So while his brothers were the stars, Bhrigu told us how to recognise them, and learn from them.
Coming back to the story of Usana or Kavya, later and better known as Shukra.
As his core stories are going to be interesting (and many), let’s cover the seventh day of the week and the graha (or planet) connected to its name in another post. We would try and cover the additional two grahas (which are not actually planets) that make up the navagrahas, in the same post.
Tales of Shukra
Start of deva-guru and asura-guru contest
Brihaspati and Usana were cousins, sons of Sage Angirasa and Sage Bhrigu, respectively. In fact they studied together under the tutelage of the bright Angirasa. The stories are not clear, but may be
- due to preferential treatment by Angirasa to his own son in comparison to his brother’s son; or
- due to normal cousin/co-learner rivalry, or
- Brihaspati being chosen by Aditya Indra as deva-guru instead of him;
Usana decided to become the preceptor of the asuras, and the antagonist to Brihaspati.
How Usana got the name Shukra
There are two versions of this story. We will cover one of them.
Once Usana decided to usurp the wealth of the god of wealth, Kubera. This he proceeded to do by controlling Kubera, against his own will, and transferring the riches to himself. As Kubera was an ardent devotee of Shiva, he invoked the Mahadeva to help him against the plundering Usana.
Knowing he was out-classed by the mighty Mahadeva, Usana decided to hide. He chose the top of Shiva‘s trident to hide. Shiva looked for the miscreant for some time, and when he realised where Usana was hiding, he was (understandably) angry. So he caught hold of the bhargava (son of Bhrigu), and swallowed him. This was an embarrassing and uncomfortable situation for Usana. Instead of taking an antagonistic stance, he decided to propitiate the easily pleased Shankara. He started singing paeans in the glory of Shiva. This pleased Shiva, and he allowed Usana to come out of his body. The chastised Usana exited Shiva’s body through his urethra.
So two things happened. One, as Usana was (kind of) reborn from the body of Shiva, he was considered (like a) son by Shiva henceforth. And second, as he came out from the orifice from which fluid containing certain cells called shukra-anu, he was named as Shukra.
Gentle aside, this story is part of the tales told within the grand tale called Mahabharata. Many of these tales give differing versions, and may have been a way that the poet-bards tried to keep their audience entranced and interested. A simple reason of Shukra being named so may be that the planet Venus (with whom he is identified with) is the brightest planet amongst those visible by naked eye. And one meaning of the word shukra is “bright” or “clear”.
How Vishnu was cursed to take incarnations
It so happened that devas were more often than not victorious against their half-brothers, the asuras. Sage Usana realised that, for his disciples to win against the disciples of Brihaspati, he would need to gain better knowledge (“vidya”) than Brihaspati.
Based on his past misadventure, Usana believed that Lord Shiva could help in this regard. For that purpose, he set-off to do difficult penance to please Lord Shiva, and in the meantime advised the asuras to lay low and fend for themselves. Interestingly the king of the Asuras at that time, may have been Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakashipu, and devotee of Vishnu who killed Hiranyakashipu by taking the avataar of Narasimha.
As per Usana‘s advice, the asuras took refuge in the ashrama of his father, Rishi Bhrigu, and mother Rishi-patni Kavyamata. So, the asuras awaited there the return of Usana, immersed in dreams of soon attaining supremacy over their foes/half-brothers.
The devas waited for a chance to attack the relatively weaker asuras, before the return of Rishi Usana. They got that chance when Bhrigu went for a short journey away from his ashrama. The devas attacked in full force, led by Indra and supported by Vishnu. The asuras ran towards Kavyamata, and beseeched her to save them. Besides being the spouse of the knowledgeable Rishi Bhrigu, and mother to the powerful Rishi Usana, Kavyamata was strong on her own right, with her store of penance, good deeds, and adherence to duty. With her immense power, Kavyamata easily immobilised the devas.
The story diverges slightly, based on whether you believe that (a) the bright one’s (devas) are always righteous and their actions right, or (b) in a conflict wrongful actions are done by contestants, be they “bright” or “right”.
In the “bright” is “right” form of the tale, Kavyamata got drunk by her power, and began planning to take over the dominion of Indra for herself. To punish her for this unrighteous attempt to usurp the Indra-asana (the seat of Indra) while Indra was nidra-sanna (under the spell of sleep), Vishnu beheaded Kavyamata. This is the form of tale used as an example later by Rishi Vishwamitra to convince Raghava Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, to attack and kill a female rakshashi called Tadaka.
There is another form which I find more believable. It is similarly convoluted in logic, yet I find it slightly more acceptable. As the devas had broken the rules of rightful conflict and attacked the asuras while they were helpless, the asuras also were no more tied up these rules. The asuras started to take advantage of the situation and attacking their paralysed half-brothers. The terrified Indra, requested Vishnu to correct the situation by whatever means possible. Rishi Bhrigu was nearby and had the wherewithal to revive his wife even from death. Knowing that it would be temporary, Lord Vishnu beheaded Kavyamata.
Whatever have been the thoughts and motives on both sides, Lord Vishnu summoned his Sudarshana Chakra, and beheaded the mother of Usana. While the asuras looked down with distress at the headless body of Kavyamata, the recently re-awakened devas looked up with fear at the approaching figure of rightfully wrathful Rishi Bhrigu. He looked at the macabre tableau, and understood the course of events.
Enraged and distraught with the unacceptable murder of his wife, he cursed Vishnu to be incarnated again and again, and to feel all kinds of losses and pains, including the pain of being apart from his wife.
After that he used the power of penance to revive Kavyamata. The devas went away suitably chastised, and the asuras continued their wait for Usana, and the promise of power.
The Story of Shukra’s Long-term Penance and Short-term Marriage
After the unsuccessful attack at Bhrigu‘a ashrama, Indra sent his daughter Jayanti to the site of Shukra‘s penance. The penance was a way to punish the body to show one’s devotion. Shukra (earlier known as Usana) planned to stay with head downwards and inhale the fumes from a smoky fire.
In the stories there are many a times multiple forms of the same narrative.
In one form of the tale, Indra hadn’t learnt from the misfiring of his past attempts and had sent Jayanti to break the penance of Shukra. Jayanti started by adding chillies and other nasty stuff in the smoky fire. This caused blood to ooze out of the eyes and nostrils of Shukra, as he inhaled the obnoxious fumes. This made Jayanti aghast and repentant, and then she started to take good care of Shukra while he undertook the penance.
In another form of the story, Indra was repentant immediately after his misadventure at Bhrigu‘s ashrama, and sent Jayanti to take care of the bhargava (Shukra, son of Bhrigu), so that his anger towards the devas (for the temporary murder of his mother) would be subdued. Jayanti never tried to cause any roadblocks to Shukra‘s penance, and took care of him from the way go.
After the successful completion of the thousand years of penance, Lord Shiva was pleased and taught the mritasanjeevani vidya (the knowledge of reviving from death) to Shukra.
Elated by his success, Shukra decided to return to his disciples, the asuras. At that moment he became aware of the beautiful Jayanti. He became aware that she had attended to his well-being during his long and arduous penance. Pleased by her, he decided to grant her a boon. Jayanti asked a chance to be his wife for ten years (some versions say a thousand years). Shukra agreed to stay with her for the time being. By his mystical power he created a place where the newly wedded couple could stay, hidden from and undisturbed by anyone. A daughter was born of this union, who was named Devayani, or the one who came from the devas. We will meet her again in our journey through various stories. In fact she was the mother of a prince called Yadu, the first born son of a chandravanshi king called Yayati. From this Yadu came the various tribes called Yadavas, a notable member of which is Vaasudeva Krishna, the much loved avataar of Lord Vishnu, who plays an important role in the epic tale of Mahabharata.
After the pre-agreed duration of his marriage with Jayanti, Shukra returned to guide and mentor the asuras, who now could be killed but would be revived through his mritasanjeevani vidya. An interesting way of looking at this “power” granted to the asuras is to look at what part of nature is associated with them.
The devas, or the bright one’s, are associated with all that is strong above the mortal plane; the sun (Vivaswan or Surya-Deva) and the moon (Chandra-Deva), as well as the phenomenons there like rain (Indra-Deva), fire (Agni-Deva), wind (Vayu-Deva), and surface water (Varuna-Deva). They cannot be destroyed, and hence the devas are said to have amrita, the elixir of immortality.
The asuras, or the powerful one’s, are associated with all that is strong below the mortal plane; the mineral wealth (prosperous Daityas), the subterranean sources of water (water-dwelling Danavas), and even the fertile growth from the primeval forests. These get depleted and/or consumed from time to time, but the ancients observed that in the next site of discovery or the next season, they are found again. Be it minerals, be it ground water, or the fertility of the ground. Hence the asuras are said to have mritasanjeevani vidya, the power to be rejuvenated after destruction.
Before we end, there is an interesting story about the return of Shukra to the asuras. This is most probably a later insertion in the tales of old (puranas), but even that tells a story.
So, while Shukra conducted his thousand year penance and ten years of marital bliss with Jayanti, Indra asked his preceptor Brihaspati to do something about the growing strength of the asuras. Brihaspati, the patron planet of intelligence, decided the best way was to impersonate the absent Shukra, and misguide the asuras. So that’s what he did. In this time, Brihaspati explained to the asuras that they should stop following the earlier practices. They should follow the path of non-violence (ahimsa) towards one and all. They should reject the Vedas, and their penance should not be to please the Brahma or Shiva, but for self understanding. This made the asuras physically weak without the powers from penance or boons, and they stopped seeking revenge and undertaking wars with the devas.
If this sounds uncannily like a description of a religion which may have existed from ancient times, and had a meteoric rise in India around the second half of the first century till the end of tenth century of the Common Era (50 -1100 CE), you would understand why I mentioned that this is a later addition.
Anyway, when Shukracharya returned, he admonished his disciples. The asuras at first thought the “real” Shukracharya, was the one who was teaching them ahimsa. This angered Shukra so much that he cursed his disciples that inspite of superior strength they would always ultimately face defeat from the devas, and went away.
Realising his work was done, Brihaspati came back to his actual form and fled the scene. The asuras then went and apologised to Shukra, and asked to return as their mentor and guide. We can see the strength of personality of Shukra, that knowing fully well that his disciples will always face defeat due to his curse spoken in anger, he still agreed to continue and work towards helping them win.
With this, let’s end for today. In the next post let’s look at the last day of the week and the stories of the planetary lord it is named after, as well as two of the navagrahas, which are not actual planets. And no these aren’t Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, Eris or Pluto.
Tales from Indian Mythology from a Story Keeper 
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