Kacha and Devayani

Asuras and Devas were sworn enemies for all eternity. They used to fight frequently, with the asuras usually overpowering the devas in the end. Brihaspati was the guru of devas, and Shukrachaya was the guru of asuras. With one exception, they were almost equally capable. Shukracharya knew the Mritasanjeevani mantra, which could bring life to the dead. Shukracharya used to resurrect the dead asuras following every battle. As a result, after a battle, asuras would quickly restore their power, whereas devas took longer to make up for their loss. 

 

One day the devas made the decision to send someone to steal the secret knowledge of reviving the dead from Shukracharya. After much deliberation, the decision was made to send Kacha, the son of Guru Brihaspati and Devi Tara, to Sukracharya. When he heard this, Kacha decided to accept the task and headed for Shukracharya's ashram. However, he chose to approach Shukracharya honestly and reveal that he was the son of Guru Brihaspati, offering to become his disciple instead of bending the truth. The honesty of Kacha impressed Shukracharya greatly, and he consented to accept him as a pupil. Yet he added that he would teach him everything, with the sole exception of the Mritasanjeevani mantra.

Image by Barbara Milewska from Pixabay

Shukracharya was gradually won over by Kacha's devotion and dedication. Despite the asuras' concerns, Shukracharya grew to like his new pupil even more. The sworn enemy's son had been learning under their guru, and this did not sit well with the asuras. Furthermore, they feared that the asuras would lose their advantage over the devas if Kacha somehow managed to learn the Mritasanjeevani mantra. However, Kacha's physique and conduct also impressed another person in the ashram. She was Shukracharya's daughter, Devayani. Though Kacha always kept some distance between him and his Guru's daughter, Devayani and Kacha soon became friends.

 

Days went by. The asuras' dislike for Kacha grew stronger every day. Despite their feelings that Shukracharya was becoming overly affectionate toward Kacha, they lacked the courage to make Shukracharya expel Kacha from his ashram. Even Devayani's inclination towards Kacha was not unnoticed. So the asuras came up with a plan to kill Kacha. The asuras abducted Kacha when he was grazing a herd of cows one day. He was chopped and fed to the tigers after being slaughtered like a goat.

 

Even though the cattles returned on their own, Kacha did not return in the evening, Devayani thought that something awful had happened. Shukracharya, at her request, sat in meditation and revealed the true story. Using his yogic abilities, he identified each of Kacha's body parts and used the mantra Mritasanjeevani to bring him back to life.

 

Asura became more belligerent after learning that the plan had failed. When Kacha walked into the forest to gather a few herbs, they abducted him once more. After slaying him again, Asuras shredded his body into little pieces and threw them into the sea. However, with Varuna's assistance, Shukracharya retrieved the remains of Kacha and brought him back to life again. Asuras knew this time that Shukracharya would use any means necessary to bring back Kacha, no matter what they did. Consequently, they came up with an idea. There was only one place from which Kacha's life could not be restored by Shukracharya.

 

After a while, the asuras managed to abduct Kacha once more. He was killed, his body was burned, and his ashes were blended with wine. Shukracharya was given the wine, which he drank without suspecting their intention. However, Shukracharya soon sensed that Kacha was inside of him. He realized the asuras had pulled a ruse. Meanwhile, Devayani informed her father that Kacha had been missing for a long time. Shukracharya informed her daughter that Kacha was dead and that he had been consumed by himself. Therefore, there was no possibility of reviving him. 

 

Nevertheless, Deviyani broke down in tears and pleaded her father to find a solution. Shukracharya was finally persuaded to bring him back to life. After partially reviving Kacha inside his belly, Shukracharya told him that the only way to release from there was to burst out of his body. But that will right away kill Shukracharya. Thus, Shukracharya taught Kacha the Mritasanjeevani mantra and how to recite it to bring someone back to life. Kacha learned the mantra deep within his guru's gut. When Shukracharya fully restored his life, he emerged by tearning the abdomen of Shukracharya. However, he used the Mritasanjeevani mantra to bring his guru back to life. Shukracharya was very pleased to see that, in spite of getting the opportunity to kill the guru of asuras, Kacha kept his word and performed the duty of a true disciple. But Shukracharya told Kacha to leave the ashram as soon as possible. The asuras will never let Kacha live once they learn that he obtained the secret knowledge of reviving the dead. 

 

Taking blessings from Shukracharya, Kacha left the ashram to go back to Devalok. But he noticed that Devayani was following him. As Kacha told her to return, Devayani expressed her feelings towards him. She asked Kacha to marry her. But Kacha told her that he used to see her only as the daughter of his guru. Moreover, as he got his life back from Shukracharya and emerged from his belly, his guru is now no less than his father. Thus, Devayani is his sister.

 

Upon hearing this, Devayani became furious and accused Kacha of using her merely to learn the Mritasanjeevani mantra, and now he was trying to distort the truth through words. She cursed him, saying that he would forget the matra as soon as he reached Devalok. As opposed to being upset, Kacha informed Devayani that she had reduced his burden. Although he arrived with that intention, showing Devas how to revive was tantamount to betraying the Shukracharya's trust. However, upon hearing this, Devayani became even more enraged. She screamed at Kacha, claiming that she was the one who persuaded her father to repeatedly resurrect him. Kacha finally lost patience with her constant yelling and cursed Devayani, saying that no sage would merry her since she was not acting like a sage's daughter. And whoever would marry her would break her trust as well. 

 

Saying so, Kacha left for Devalok, and Devayani returned to the ashram as well. The devas were let down by whatever they heard. However, Lord Vishnu intervened to save them and grant them immortality by bestowing on them Amrita, following the samudra manthan. Later, Devayani married Yayati, the Chandravanshi king, who betrayed her trust by developing a relationship with Sharmistha, the asura king Brishaparva's daughter.