Story of Hundred Rudras

Story of Hundred Rudras

Sage Vasishta was explaining to Sri Rama about the power of Maya. He said ‘I will tell you a story to illustrate this’. He said “O Rama there lived a mendicant who spent all his time in meditation of great intensity. His mind was so purified that he possessed sufficient power to materialize his thoughts. It is said that every thought has got its own reflected image.

One day an idea came to him that he has to try something different than meditation, just like ordinary actions of the people. Once he thought that he should become another person not very erudite, and he became another person called Jivita. Now the mind functioning in the body of Jivata roamed in the streets of a certain town produced by a similar fantasy and then dwelt there.

One day when he slept and dreamt of becoming a Brahmin. So, he became a Brahmin having good knowledge of scriptures. While living thus, he dreamt of a powerful king and he became a King.

The King in his dream thought of an Apasaras, a celestial lady and got transformed. The celestial lady noticed a deer and became that.

This deer, while asleep, saw itself as a creeper with which it was always associated. ‘Oh Rama, even beasts will have in their dream the reflections of objects which their minds have cognized in the waking state’, said the Sage.

The creeper saw a beetle flying around and it was transformed into a bee. Boring its way into the lotus stalk in a pond, it went within looking for nectar. Even the seeming inert worms and other creatures with life have got their own states of consciousness in their own unique planes.

While the bee was swaying itself in the lotus leaves in the waters, an elephant rushed into the waters and agitating them, began to squeeze the lotuses in the tank and the beetles over them. While getting crushed so, the above said bee eyed the elephant into which it was transformed at once. This tusker while ambling in the forest, fell into a pit. Consequently, the mahout of a certain king bound him fast and leading him to a war made it perish. Before its death, it became a bee again through its recollection of bees. The bee in turn became a creeper and saw some swans in the lake nearby. The bee became a swan and started flying around. The swan had a series of incarnations in different wombs before becoming a swan again. This swan flew high, saw Rudra and started contemplating upon him. Thus, the narrative unfolded through interconnected transformations.

Thereupon it attained the form of Rudra who, roving according to his free will and pleasure along with his Ganas in the world of Rudra, became full of Jnana and became Siva Himself. It was in this stage that Rudra began to have a retrospection of all his past lives, through his pure mind. This Rudra having an unobscured vision and a Jnana body, sat in solitude and began to contemplate over the marvels of all his past hundred dreams lives.

Truly wonderful is it to behold Maya deluding all in this universe with the idea that it (the universe) is real while it is as unreal as a mirage in an oasis. Thus, have I been whirling in diverse places of this great forest of Maya. With the creation of my mind, I became in one creation a person by the name of Jivata and many incarnations after that. Let me therefore dive into my past many births and see them face to face. Let me, after observing them fully, relate them to one another and render them a homogeneous whole.

Meditating thus, Rudra traced his way to the former Sannyasi and having awakened him from his trance, concentrated his mind with true Jnana. Thereupon the Sannyasi woke up and looked about himself free from all the reminiscences of his illusory life. Again, did Rudra contemplate upon the illusory form of Jivata along, with the ascetic. Through them, Jivata attained a conscious state and accompanied them both. Then all these three, Rudra, the ascetic and Jivata full of Jnana, with three separate bodies, visited all other incarnations. Being freed from all stains, they all found that the divine Jnana alone incarnated in so many bodies and as so many resplendent Rudras. Thus did all these Rudras attain Jnana. They understood that an un-awakened Jiva cannot see other incarnations while an awakened one could see all present and past. Just as the waves are of same substance, look different, but essentially are one. Each Jiva has its own illusory appearance just as waves appear different in size and shape.

Just as one finds empty space whenever one digs the ground, when this world-appearance is enquired into, it invariably leads to the same consciousness. Differentiated consciousness is bondage and absence of differentiation is liberation.

Rudra, the real one asked others to go to their respective places and play their role till the end of the world-cycle. Each departed to his own realm. Jivata, Brahmin and others then lived in their respective seats along with their consorts, gave up their bodies at the appointed time and merged into Siva Himself.

Author’s note:

This story is from Nirvana Prakaranam of Yoga Vasishta.

Author’s reflections:

1.       While reading it might appear that the transformations were rapid and in quick time. There is a mention that all these transformations took several million years which meant that each life was fully lived before the change.

     That also teaches that we are right now in some chain moving further into other beings based on of current focus.

2.       I recalled the verses given below from Siva Puranam dictated by the great Tamil saint Manikka Vachagar and written down by Siva Himself. There cannot be a better summarization of this story. The saint lists down all the sentient and insentient beings he was borne as and finally found his peace in Siva’s feet.

புல்லாகிப் பூடாய்ப் புழுவாய் மரமாகிப்
பல் விருகமாகிப் பறவையாய்ப் பாம்பாகிக்
கல்லாய் மனிதராய்ப் பேயாய்க் கணங்களாய்
வல் அசுரர் ஆகி முனிவராய்த் தேவராய்ச்
செல்லாஅ நின்ற இத் தாவர சங்கமத்துள்

எல்லாப் பிறப்பும் பிறந்து இளைத்தேன்,

எம்பெருமான்மெய்யே உன் பொன் அடிகள்

கண்டு இன்று வீடு உற்றேன்