Talk:R̥ṣi of the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad

By Vishal Agarwal

All sections of the Vedic Saṃhitās are traditionally associated with a R̥ṣi, the seer to whom the mantras were revealed, who experienced them inwardly, and who transmitted them to others. Since the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad forms part of the Saṃhitā, it too has a designated R̥ṣi, namely Dadhyañc Ātharvaṇa.. In the Vedic tradition, it is considered imperative to know the name of the R̥ṣi associated with a body of mantras and something of his background, for such knowledge is believed to shed light on the deeper meaning of the mantras revealed by the Divine to the seer..

R̥ṣi Dadhīchi is the more commonly used name of Dadhyañc Ātharvaṇa. His name indicates that he was the son of Atharvan, the ancient priest whose name is associated with the Atharvaveda. His own son, in turn, was Pippalāda, after whom the Paippalāda recension of the Atharvaveda is named, and who is traditionally regarded as the teacher of the Praśna Upaniṣad, one of the ten major Upaniṣads.

Ashvinī Kumāras, the twin brothers, were unique Devatās because they had the knowledge of reviving dead people back to life. Indra thought, “My advantage over them is that I have spiritual wisdom, which they do not possess. But if they acquire that spiritual knowledge too, then they might threaten me and become the Kings of the Devatās in my place.” Therefore, out of fear and jealousy, Indra ordered that if anyone taught spiritual wisdom to the Ashvinī Kumāras, that teacher’s head would split into a thousand pieces.

The Ashvinī Kumāras were upset when they heard of Indra’s decree. They went to a very pious R̥ṣi Dadhīchi and requested, “O R̥ṣi, no one dares to teach us the spiritual wisdom of the Vedic scriptures.

Therefore, we request that you stand up to Indra. We will replace your head with that of a horse, and when that horse head splits, we will replace it again with your original head.” Out of kindness, R̥ṣi Dadhīchi agreed and taught the spiritual wisdom to the twin brothers. As soon as he had done so, Indra hurled an axe and beheaded the R̥ṣi. The Kumāras then re-grafted the head of the R̥ṣi back to his torso when the horse's head had broken into pieces. R̥ṣi Dadhīchi regained his life and his original form. Meanwhile, Indra, the king of Devas, with the help of their Guru Brihaspati, led them to many victories against their evil Asuras. Unfortunately, after several victories over Asuras, Indra became too proud and arrogant. One day, he even insulted Guru Brihaspati, with whose guidance and prayers he had won the battles in the first place.

Brihaspati left the palace of Indra. When this news reached the Asuras, they thought, “Without the guidance and prayers of Brihaspati, the Devas are no match for us. Let us attack their kingdom and defeat them.” The guess of the Asuras was correct, and the Devas lost one battle after another. Indra then decided to get another Guru for guidance so that he could be victorious over the Asuras again. This new Guru was Vishvarūpa, the three-headed son of R̥ṣi Tvashtā. With the help of Guru Vishvarūpa, the Devas became stronger again. Now they could face the attacks of the Asuras bravely. But Indra noticed that they were still not as strong as how they used to be when Brihaspati was their Guru earlier.

One day, Indra discovered that Vishvarūpa was secretly helping their enemy, the Asuras, too. This meant that Devas and Asuras were now evenly matched and neither could defeat the other completely.

Indra was very angry at his Guru for his secret betrayal. In a fit of anger, he beheaded Guru Vishvarūpa. When R̥ṣi Tvashtā heard that his son Vishvarūpa had been killed by Indra, he decided to take revenge. He performed Yajnas and created an evil monster named Vritra, who would help the Asuras against the Devas. Now, the Asuras were led by the evil giant Vritra, and they defeated the Devas several times. Indra and his Devas tried hard, but they could not defeat the Asuras even once. Eventually, the Asuras even drove the Devas, including Indra, out of heaven and occupied it. Indra had no choice but to approach Bhagavān Vishnu for help.

But Vishnu replied, “Vritra can be killed only with a weapon made from the bones of a R̥ṣi who has meditated a long time, who is pure and therefore whose bones have become charged with spiritual power. At this time, Dadhīchi is the only R̥ṣi whose bones can give a strong enough weapon.”

Now Indra was in a fix. He had been extremely cruel to R̥ṣi Dadhichi once in the past, even beheading him. But the Ashvin Kumāras, the twin physicians of the Devas, had restored his head and had brought him back to life then. Indra went to the twins and said, “You had once brought back R̥ṣi Dadhichi to life. Perhaps, if you ask him to give you his bones, he might agree.”

The Ashvin Kumāras went to R̥ṣi Dadhichi with Indra’s request. Indra too went along with them. The R̥ṣi said, R̥ṣi Dadhichi smiled and said, “Aren’t you the same person, Indra, who had tried to kill me earlier? But it is the duty of R̥ṣi munis to forgive and forget. And even more important, if I do not forgive him and do not give you my bones, then because of his past actions, many innocent Devatās and other creatures will suffer. Therefore, I will forgive Indra and permit you to take my bones.” Indra came forward and bowed to R̥ṣi Dadhichi, who blessed him and forgave him.

R̥ṣi Dadhichi then sat in meditation until his soul left his body and merged with Bhagavān Vishnu. Indra then used the weapon Vajra, crafted from his bones. When the Asuras invaded again, led by the monster Vritra, a very fierce battle took place. Indra hurled the Vajra repeatedly at Vritra and slashed his arms and legs. But, Vritra refused to die, and even with his remaining body, continued to kill thousands of Devas.

Indra then advanced toward Vṛtra from the front. Vṛtra drew in a deep breath and drew Indra into his stomach. From within the demon’s body, Indra began to rend him with the Vajra, tearing his way outward. He created an opening in Vṛtra’s abdomen and emerged through it. Streams of blood gushed forth from the demon’s body, and before long Vṛtra lay dead.

Indra breathed a sigh of relief. The Devas rejoiced in their victory as the defeated Asuras fled the battlefield. Thereafter, Indra approached Bṛhaspati, his preceptor, and humbly apologized for his earlier disrespectful conduct. Bṛhaspati accepted Indra’s apology and returned to heaven, resuming his role as guide and counselor to the Devas.

Kṛṣṇa’s Teaching to King Yudhiṣṭhira

In the Āśvamedhika Parva, the fourteenth book of the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa explains the deeper significance of Indra’s victory over Vṛtra to Yudhiṣṭhira in the following words:

“Indra could not defeat Vṛtra as long as he kept attacking Vṛtra from outside. It was only after Indra went inside Vṛtra that he was able to kill the demon. In the same way, whenever we face problems in our lives, we must not fight them half-heartedly just from the outside. If we fight problems without trying our best, they will not go away. They will keep coming back, just like Vṛtra kept attacking Indra even after losing an arm or a leg. But, if we attack the problems from inside by involving ourselves completely in the fight, wholeheartedly, and defeat them completely, then alone can we get rid of them so that they will never bother us again.”

Continuing his instruction, Kṛṣṇa further addressed Yudhiṣṭhira as follows:

“King Yudhishthira, the second thing you must learn from the Indra–Vritra battle is this: Indra got into serious trouble and had to face Vritra due to his own fault. Had he kept his pride in control, he would not have annoyed his Guru Brihaspati. And had he kept his anger in control, he would have found a better way to deal with his second Guru Vishvarūpa. Therefore, the true reason for problems in our life is not others, but our own negative and evil feelings like anger, pride, greed, etc., within our minds. These evil feelings are our true enemies. It is very easy to defeat our enemies outside in the world. But a real victor is he who defeats the enemies of anger, pride, greed, jealousy, etc., within his own mind.”

Symbolic Interpretation in Relation to the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad

The symbolism of this narrative may be applied to the interpretation of the mantras of the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad in the following manner. Tvaṣṭṛ represents the cosmic Creator, whose son Viśvarūpa signifies the manifold forms of material existence. Viśvarūpa’s three heads symbolically correspond to the three Guṇas: sattva, rajas, and tamas, that constitute Prakṛti.

These guṇas bind and delude the individual through Vṛtra, whose very name denotes “that which covers” or obstructs wisdom. The bones of Dadhīchi are symbolically understood as the mantras of the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad themselves. Through their assimilation, Indra, representing the awakened ātman, fashions the weapon of spiritual insight by which the binding forces of the guṇas and the inner enemies they generate may be overcome.

When the discerning intellect disregards the counsel of the guru represented in the narrative by Bṛhaspati, the created world, fashioned by Tvaṣṭṛ, overwhelms the individual. However, by taking refuge in spiritual wisdom as revealed in the Upaniṣadic mantras, one may transcend inner weaknesses and attain mastery in both the material and spiritual domains.