Talk:R̥ṣi of the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad

By Vishal Agarwal

All the sections of the Vedic Saṃhitās have a ‘Rishi’ to whom they were revealed and who experienced them and taught them to others. This Upaniṣhad, being a part of the Saṃhitā, also has a Rishi named ‘Dadhyanc Ātharvaṇa’. In the Vedic tradition, it is imperative to know the name of the Rishi associated with the mantras and something about him because this knowledge sheds light on the meaning of the mantras revealed by the Divine to the Rishi.

Rishi Dadhichi is the common name of Dadhyanch Atharvan. His name indicates that he was the son of Rishi Atharvan, who gave his name to the Atharvaveda. His own son, in turn, was Rishi Pippalāda, after whom the Paippalāda Recension of the Atharvaveda is named, and who is the teacher of the Prashna Upaniṣhad (one of the ten major Upaniṣhads). The following story is narrated in various later Hindu scriptures about Rishi Dadhichi, as an exemplar of supreme sacrifice for the sake of the greater good of the creation.

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 Rishi Dadhīchi and requested, “O Rishi, no one dares to teach us the spiritual wisdom of the Vedic scriptures.

Therefore, we are requesting you to 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, Rishi 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 Rishi. The Kumāras then re-grafted the head of the Rishi back to his torso when the horse's head had broken into pieces. Rishi 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 Rishi 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 Rishi 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 Rishi 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 Rishi whose bones can give a strong enough weapon.”

Now Indra was in a fix. He had been extremely cruel to Rishi 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 Rishi Dadhichi to life. Perhaps, if you ask him to give you his bones, he might agree.”

The Ashvin Kumāras went to Rishi Dadhichi with Indra’s request. Indra too went along with them. The Rishi said, Rishi Dadhichi smiled and said, “Aren’t you the same person, Indra, who had tried to kill me earlier? But it is the duty of Rishis 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 Rishi Dadhichi, who blessed him and forgave him.

Rishi 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 approached him from the front. Vritra took a deep breath and sucked Indra inside his stomach. There, Indra began to tear the demon from inside with his Vajra. He made an opening in his stomach and came out. Streams of blood came out gushing from Vritra’s stomach, and soon, the demon was dead. Indra heaved a sigh of relief. The Devas celebrated their victory as the defeated Asuras fled. Indra then went to Guru Brihaspati and apologized to him for his past rude behavior. Brihaspati accepted Indra’s apologies and returned to heaven to guide the Devas again.

Krishna’s teaching to King Yudhishthira In the Āshvamedhika Parva or the 14th book of the Mahābhārata, Krishna has explained the true meaning of Indra’s victory to King Yudhishthira in the following words:

“Indra could not defeat Vritra as long as he kept attacking Vritra from outside. It was only after Indra went inside Vritra 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 Vritra 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.

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.”

The symbolism of this story can be applied to understand the Mantras of this Upanishad in the following manner: Tvaṣhtā is the Creator, whose son is Vishvarūpa (all material forms), who has three heads representing the three Guṇas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas) of Prakriti. These three ensnare and delude us through Vritra (meaning ‘that which covers’ our wisdom). The bones of Dadhichi are these mantras of the Īshāvāsya Upaniṣhad, with whose help Indra (our ātmā) can construct the weapon of spiritual wisdom and defeat the three Guṇas and the internal enemies that they create to attain victory in the material and spiritual world. When we do not listen to the sage counsels of our Gurus (Brihaspati in the story), the Divine Lord (Tvaṣhṭā) created world overpowers us, but taking the help of spiritual wisdom, we can overcome our internal weaknesses and enemies.