Story of Yavakrit

Yudhisthira asked Rishi Lomesh, “Please tell us the story of the great Rishi Bharadwaj, how did he attain the heights of yoga, why had Yavakrit, his son, to die?”

Lomesh said that Rishi Bharadwaj and Rishi Raibya were fast friends and that they lived in an ashram – a sacred spot, exactly where Rishi Lomesh and the Pandavas were standing. It was also at this spot that the learned Yavakrit had met his end.

Raibya had two sons called Arvavasu and Paravasu, while Bharadwaj had one son, Yavakrit. Raibya and his two sons were great scholars, very well-known, and respected by all the Brahmins. Bharadwaj practiced austerities in isolation and so the Brahmins hardly knew him, let alone respect him. The fact that Raibya and his sons were very popular with all the Brahmins and his father was hardly known hurt Yavakrit deeply.

He decided to acquire knowledge directly, not by studying the scriptures, but by practicing severe austerities or tapas.

He tortured his body and remained hungry so much so that the power of his tapas started disturbing Indra, the king of the gods. Indra appeared before Yavakrit and asked him the purpose behind performing such terrible practices. Yavakrit said, “O lord of the Devas, I want to acquire the knowledge of the Vedas which normally Brahmins get by studying. To study the Vedas I would have to find a Guru and work under his guidance for many years. I want the knowledge immediately and so I am practicing these very intense austerities.”

Indra replied, “O Brahma rishi you have chosen the wrong way. Nothing can be gained by mutilating and torturing your body. Go find a Guru and study the Vedas at his feet.” Saying these words Indra left but this did not deter Yavakrit who continued his practices. This time he practiced with such a heightened intensity that Indra had to come to him again and said, “What you want is impossible, this is not the way. You or your father will never acquire this knowledge this way.”

At this Yavakrit said, “If you do not fulfil my desire, I will light the yagna fire and one after the other cut off my limbs and sacrifice them to the fire.”

Indra went into deep thought and realized that he could only tackle Yavakrit in a different way. In his mind he cunningly decided on a course of action. He took on the form of a thin and undernourished Brahmin. He then went to the spot on the banks of the River Ganga where Yavakrit was practising his austerities. The young rishi could see that the Brahmin had started building a wall of sand to stop the flow of the river. Indra, disguised as the Brahmin, would pick up a fistful of sand and then go and throw it in the river. Again he would come back and repeat the same.

Yavakrit, who was watching the Brahmin from a distance, started laughing at his effort and said to him, “This is a stupid effort; you are trying to do this task in an impossible manner.”

Indra said, “I want to build a road across the river so it is easy for pilgrims to cross.”