Utathya and Brihaspati were the two sons of Sage Angira. Though Brihaspati gained more notoriety as the guru of devas, they were both recognized for their profound wisdom and insight. Mamata was the wife of Utathya, and Tara was the spouse of Brihaspati.
 |
| Image by Marlon Sommer from Pixabay |
Brihaspati once visited Utathya's place. While his brother was off somewhere, Brihaspati had a conversation with Mamata, who informed him that her unborn child had learned Vedas while still inside her. Following a brief talk, Mamata and Brihaspati got into an argument over certain issues. From her womb, Mamata's unborn son supported her mother. Enraged, Brihaspati cursed him, saying that he would always be shrouded in darkness. Thus, the son of Utathya, who was born blind, went by the name Dirghatamas (dirgha means long or extended; tamasa means darkness).
Despite being blind from birth, Dirghatamas was a knowledgeable person who was well-versed in the Vedas. Twenty-four hymns from the first mandala of the Rig Veda (hymns 1.140 to 1.164) are attributed to him. He had several sons from his marriage to Pradveshi. However, his sons tarnished his reputation. The vile conduct of his sons caused his pupils to desert him as well. At his advanced age, he felt entirely helpless and insignificant.
Dirghatamas once asked his wife why she was always irritated with him. In response, his wife said that because he was blind, he was unable to protect and take care of his family. Even though he gave them a means of subsistence, it was inadequate to meet all of their expectations. She was compelled to raise her sons by herself. She told him that she would no longer bear his burden. Enraged, Dirghatamas told his wife that her only responsibility was to look after him and her sons, and she miserably failed to do so.
His wife got furious hearing that. She asked her sons to throw their father into the river. So the wreched sons put the old Sage in a raft and drove him down a river. The river raft traveled down its course, crossing numerous places, before the elderly sage was finally rescued by a king by the name of Bali.
Son of Sutapas and Prishni, Bali was a Chandravanshi monarch and an ardent devotee of Lord Brahma. He was the ruler of an eastern kingdom known as Anava. He had no son. As he came to know that the person he rescued was a renowned sage and authority of the Vedas, he asked for his blessings to have a son.
In pursuance of this, he gave his queen Sudeshna instructions to see the sage and give him her undying devotion. But rather than provide for a poor old brahmin who had been driven from his own home by his own sons, she chose to send a maidservant. She gave birth to eleven sons, the renowned sage Kakshevan being the oldest. The king thought them to be his sons.
Kakshevan was once perfectly reciting a few hymns. When Bali heard it, he appreciated Dirghatamas saying that, despite being a khatriya, his son was reciting like a brahman under his tutelage. But with his disappointment, Dirghatamas told the king that he was not at all the king's son.
Bali became demoralized as he learned everything. Following this, his queen went to apologize to the sage, who then gave her the blessing of having five sons. The names of the five sons were Suhma, Kalinga, Pundra, Vanga, and Anga. Splitting his kingdom into five parts, King Bali gave each son one part. Thus, the five sons led to the establishment of five eastern kingdoms.
Comments
Post a Comment