Sampoorna Mahabharata • సంపూర్ణ శ్రీమహాభారతము • Episode 49

Kacha- Devayani
Vaishampayana said, ‘In the war Shukracharya revived the dead demons. Seeing this, the Devatas requested Kacha to learn the Sanjivani vidya from Shukra. ‘You are young, adept in learning, virtuous and well-behaved. With sweet words, good conduct & sense-control if you are able to please Shukra’s daughter Devayani, you will obtain that knowledge’- they said. Promising to get this knowledge, Kacha set out.
Meeting Shukra he said, ‘Gurudeva, I am Kacha, Angira’s grandson and Brihaspati’s son. Please accept me as your disciple. Considering you as my Paramaguru, while following celibacy I shall serve you for 1000 years’.
Shukra said, ‘Welcome Kacha. Revering you is equivalent of revering Brihaspati. I am happy’.
Kacha bowed to his Guru and accepted the vow of celibacy. He began to serve Devayani by singing, dancing, fetching fruits & flowers for her. Devayani was very fond of Kacha and secretively began to serve him. 500 years elapsed. The demons observed Kacha’s behaviour and learnt the reason for his arrival. They were enraged.
Once they saw Kacha grazing cattle. Due to their hatred for Brihaspati, and with a desire to safeguard the Sanjivani vidya they chopped him into bits and fed that flesh to wolves. It was sunset. The cows returned but Kacha was missing. Worried, Devayani rushed to her father and said, ‘I think Kacha has been killed or he is dead. I cannot live without him. This is the truth’.
Shukra said, ‘Do not worry. I will revive him’. Using the mrtasanjivani vidya, he said, ‘Kacha, come here’.
Immediately Kacha tore open the wolves’ stomachs and appeared. Devayani asked him the reason for delay. He said, ‘When I was fetching wood, I was tired and slept under a tree. At that time the asuras approached and enquired about me. I told them that I was son of Brihaspati. In anger they killed and fed me to wolves. Thereafter when my Guru called, I appeared here’.
Years passed by. One day Devayani sent Kacha to fetch flowers. Seeing Kacha alone, the demons killed him and thew the flesh into the oceans.
When Kacha did not return home, Devayani was agitated. She ran to her father for help. Unable to see his daughter agonizing, Shukra again used the Sanjivani vidya to revive him. Kacha came from the ocean and reported everything to them. The demons however were further infuriated seeing him alive.
They thought deeply and came up with a stupendous plan. This time they killed Kacha, cremated him, mixed the ashes in the wine and offered it to Shukracharya. In their zeal of seeking to kill Kacha they had harmed their own Guru. This is demonic buddhi. At times, people engage in demonic deeds and demonic thinking.
When Kacha did not return, Devayani was worried. She begged her father for help and said, ‘I cannot live without Kacha’.
Shukra thought, ‘Kacha is periodically dying and being revived by me. Now forget him. It is incorrect to grieve for the dead. This is because due to my influence Brahmins, Devatas, Vasus, rakshasas and this entire world bows before you during Sandhya times. Hence you should not grieve. It is beyond me to revive him, for, again they will kill him’.
Devayani said, ‘Even after you shower boons upon me, I cannot stop weeping for him. I cannot live without him, for, he is dextrous in work, celibate and ascetic. I love him and he is best suited to my form’.
Seeing his daughter grieving, Shukra was moved. He called out, ‘Kacha, these demons are planning to throw me out of Brahmin clan. Hence, they act against me. They will pay for their sins. Killing a Brahmin is the worst sin. This sin does not spare anyone including Indra’.
Hearing this, Kacha was frightened. To emerge from Shukra’s stomach, implied he would be tainted with the sin of killing a Brahmin. From Shukra’s stomach he softly replied, ‘Dear Guru, I bow to you. I am like your son. Please bless me’.
In amazement, Shukra asked, ‘How did you enter my stomach?’
This is illusion. In this illusion, it is said that one illusion covers another, just as bigger illusion swallows a smaller one.
Kacha said, ‘Dear Guru, with your grace my memory & powers remain intact. I am continuing my penance. With my tapas-shakti I am somehow tolerating this unbearable suffering. I feel like I am in a furnace with unbearable sounds’.
The Lord has designed our stomach soundproof. Else, those sounds can drive us mad. It is His science. People can make robots that perfectly resemble humans but they can never make another human. If not for His science, we couldn’t see or hear one another. We could not have feelings. If we lacked control over our senses, we would have behaved insanely. A small brain injury throws life out of gear.