The Story of the Ribhus

Once upon a time, there was a sage named Sudhanvan. He belonged to the House of Angiras and was well-versed in the Vedas. But his true interest was in learning the secrets of metalwork. Sudhanvan used to craft the finest and sharpest arrows in the world and knew how to imbue magical power into them. His arrows were so perfect that they always used to hit their targets. Even the gods used to covet the arrows made by him.

Image by Sebastian Nikiel from Pixabay

 

He had three sons: Ribhu, Vibhu, and Vaja. Everyone used to call them the Ribhus. Like their father, they were also gifted craftsmen. However, with their perseverance and creativity, they quickly surpassed Sudhanvan in metalwork. Sudhanvan recognized their capabilities and advised them to please God Tvastri through austerity so that they may become his pupils and learn divine craftsmanship. As told, his sons started severe austerity to please Tvashtri. At last, Tvastri appeared before them and accepted them as his pupils.

Tvastri was once among the most prominent and venerated gods. He was a skilled craftsman among the gods, and he used to make divine weapons and devices for the devas. But Tvastri had some problems with his attitude. He used to brag about his own accomplishments to others and degrade others in order to prove his superior status. As a result, he acquired a large number of adversaries. 

Furthermore, he created a special vessel for sacrificial offerings for himself, which had the unique power to increase the amount of received offerings. The gods used to get sacrificial offerings from the mortals, which gave them divine power. Each god used to get his share of offerings. But because of the vessel, Tvastri used to get four times the offerings he was supposed to receive. As per the rule, only the Trinity, or the Tridevas, were supposed to get more offerings than Lord Indra, the King of the lesser gods or devas. As Tvastri used to get much more offerings than Indra, Devraj was very jealous of him. And Tvastri was not only aware of the fact, but he used to boast about it in front of everyone to humiliate Indra. 

As Tvastri accepted the Ribhus as his students, he readily figured out that they were exceptional craftsmen and learners. They quickly acquired all the skills required for making divine objects from Tvastri. With their skills, they then created a special chariot capable of flying and running on its own and gave that to Devraj Indra. Devraj Indra was so impressed with their craftsmanship that he not only complimented them but also gifted them some wonderful tools.

When Tvastri learned about that, he became quite offended, and he started to see the Ribhus as his competitors. But the Ribhus continued to make wonders. They made a special cow that could yield an unlimited amount of milk whenever required, and they gifted the cow to Lord Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas. They also made a special carriage for the Aswini Kumars and a special sceptre for the sun god. The sun god became so delighted to have such a work of art that he taught them a secret procedure for harnessing the power of sunrays and utilizing that while forging divine artifacts. The Ribhus, with the help of the Aswini Kumars, were even able to reduce the age of their parents. 

As time passed, they became more prominent for their abilities, and the gods unanimously decided that they deserved to be included in the pantheon of gods. Lord Indra found that to be an excellent opportunity to solve two problems at a time. 

He appeared before the Ribhus and informed them that, though they were capable enough to become devas, they had to prove their worthiness for the last time. It was not possible to give them a share of sacrificial offerings from the shares of the gods. However, if they wished for a share of the offerings, they had to construct four sacrificial vessels from a single exclusive vessel possessed by their master, Tvastri. Indra instructed them to split the vessel into four identical-looking vessels, each with one-fourth the magical ability of the original vessel. Indra cautioned them that each vessel should have equal attributes and that they had to complete the assignment within a single day. Only then would they receive a share of Amrita, which will provide them immortality like that of the devas, as well as a share of sacrificial offerings.

The Ribhus accepted the challenge. Thus, when Lord Tvastri left the vessel empty after consuming the offerings, the wind god Pavandev replaced it with a replica and handed the original to the Ribhus. The Ribhus surprised the devas by making four vessels out of one. The vessels were exact replicas of the original in shape, size, and hue. Moreover, the Ribhus were able to preserve the magical property of the original one and equally distribute it among the four vessels. The wind god again replaced the fake one with one of the four vessels. The Ribhus got one vessel each, and they were given positions among the devas.

Lord Tvastri was unaware of all of these things. But on the next day, he was surprised to see that he had received a much smaller amount of offering in his vessel compared with other days. But he did not suspect anything unusual. After a few days, he began to suspect that something was wrong. He found out everything about what had happened as he inquired. Because his vessel was divided into four, so were the offerings. He had received one-fourth of the whole, as did each Ribhus. He felt betrayed by his own students.

Tvastri became outraged and resolved to kill the Ribhus the following day. He announced that he would either wipe out the Ribhus before the next sunset or accept them as his equals. Thus, he performed a unique ritual, and three of the most venomous wasps emerged from the sacrificial altar. He ordered the wasps to sting the Ribhus. 

But when Lord Indra learned about this, he requested that Suryadev (the sun god) hide the Ribhus behind him. The wasps began looking for the Ribhus everywhere but could not find them. They scoured the entire land and sky but were unable to locate them. They couldn't see the Ribhus behind the blazing sun. As soon as the wasps disappeared at dusk, the Ribhus showed up again, leaving Tvastri with little choice but to accept defeat. 

The Ribhus continued to reside as devas in Indra's court and to dazzle all with their astounding caftmanship.