Vaikuntha, the divine, self-luminous and exquisite domain of Lord Vishnu is zealously guarded by the twin deities Jaya and Vijaya.
One day the eternal sages Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanat Kumara, the four mind born sons of Brahma decide to visit Vaikuntha. Embodiments of only pure qualities and because of their spiritual virtues the Kumaras remained in the form of cherubic children. Being entirely free of duplicity they roamed the whole universe with the innocence of children. Guilelessly on that day the four Kumaras sought entry into Vaikuntha to pay their obeisance to God.
As they approached the golden gates of Vaikuntha, adorned with jewels that shimmered like stars in the heavens, the four Kumaras radiated an aura of purity that surpassed even the brightest of constellations. Their hearts, untainted by worldly desires, beat in harmony with the cosmic rhythm as they eagerly anticipated being in the divine presence of Lord Vishnu.
The childlike saints entered easily through the first six gates of the palace and no one checked them. However, when they arrived at the penultimate seventh gate two stern guards, Jaya and Vijaya, barred their entry
The Kumaras humbly requested entry into the realm of Lord Vishnu. To their surprise the guardians of the Lord questioned their arrival. The guards felt that these children had no place in the Lord’s realm.
The Kumaras remaining serene and patient and with complete humility once again requested the gate-keepers permission to enter the Lord’s abode. However, Jaya and Vijaya looked fiercely at them and barred their entry this time with their sturdy sticks.
The Kumaras pleaded, “We are devotees of Lord Vishnu and Lord Vishnu would never refuse his devotees an audience.”
Gruffly Jaya and Vijaya stood their grounds and refused the children entry.
The Kumaras were of pure innocence. They had entered the gates exactly as little children would without any idea of what it is to trespass. Children are usually welcomed and greeted with a smile. However when thwarted a child often reacts with sadness and anger. In this case too the four Kumara’s reacted with child-like demeanour. Frustrated in their attempt to pay homage to Lord Vishnu they cursed Jaya and Vijaya saying, “You both don’t deserve to be here in Vaikuntha. We curse that you both lose your divine position and be born as mere mortals.”
Horrified at the turn of events, Jaya and Vijaya made matters worse by entering into a heated argument with the Kumaras. Their raised voices disturbed Lord Vishnu who came out to find out what the ruckus was all about.
On hearing both sides Lord Vishnu acknowledged that Jaya and Vijaya had been wrong in denying the saints entry. The Lord adjudged that His guards had deserved the curse.
Devastated Jaya and Vijaya fell at the Lord’s feet and begged, “Please Lord reverse this terrible curse. We cannot bear to be separated from you. Please assure us that we can stay with you here in Vaikuntha.
Lord Vishnu shook his head as he responded, “I am unable to revoke the curse of the Kumaras. I do empathize with your sorrow at the thought of leaving me hence I promise that you will be reunited with me once you have fulfilled the terms of curse. Returning to Vaikuntha is only possible if I myself kill you and this will happen. But first you must leave my abode and live as mortals. To mitigate the severity of the curse, I am offering you with a choice: either live out seven mortal lives as my devoted followers or endure three mortal lives as my adversaries.”
The thought of seven lives without the presence of the Lord was inconceivable for Jaya and Vijaya. However they could also not imagine themselves as anything other than sincere devotees of Lord Vishnu. They said, “Though we cannot imagine ourselves as anything but devoted to You, Lord we choose to live three mortal lives as your enemies as it would be a shorter time apart from you. We could never endure being away from you for seven lives?”
Accordingly the gate-keepers were relegated to living three mortal lives as Lord Vishnu’s enemies.
It is difficult to accept that Lord Vishnu, the Supreme deity of the Universe, would not be capable of reversing the curse of the Kumaras. Nothing unfolds without His divine will. It was His decree that his faithful gatekeepers, Jaya and Vijaya, descend to Earth as mortals. However their demise at His hands would ensure that they would return to Him in Vaikuntha. In order to accomplish this He would manifest as an avatar and descend to Earth to eliminate the malevolent beings
Jaya and Vijaya had become and in that divine incarnation would also eradicate evil from the world, reinstating righteousness and fostering love and faith among His devotees. Thereby reaffirming His pledge to all mankind that, “In order to protect the righteous, to kill the wicked and to re-establish the principles of Dharma I will appear on the earth in every yuga.” Gita Chapter 4 verse 8
Accordingly, Jaya and Vijaya as per Lord Vishnu’s dispensation were born with negative qualities such as krodha (anger) kama (desire) and lobha (greed).
In Satya Yuga, Jaya and Vijaya reincarnated as the asura (demon) brothers Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. Through profound devotion and severe tapas (penance) to Lord Brahma they attained boons that made them supremely powerful.
Endowed with boons from Lord Brahma, Hiranyaksha consumed with a sense of invincibility, unleashed chaos upon the Devas. Fleeing from his onslaught, the Devas sought refuge deep within the Earth's dark caverns. In a brazen act of intense anger (krodha) at Goddess Earth for providing refuge to the Devas, Hiranyaksha seized Goddess Earth and plunged her into the depths of the ocean.
In order to save mother Earth Lord Vishnu assumed His Varaha avatar. He plunged into the ocean and retrieved Earth. Hiranyaksha in a fit of fury (krodha) threw his mace at the Lord with all his demonic might. Side-stepping the mace the Varaha avatar of the Lord charged at Hiranyaksha and with one powerful blow Hiranyaksha was hurled up into the skies. He fell with a resounding thud and that ended the life of the dreaded Hiranyaksha.
Devastated by the demise of his brother Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu vowed to avenge his death. Like his brother, Hiranyakashipu too was an evil asura who had obtained immense power from Lord Brahma through rigorous penance.
Filled with arrogance, he terrorized the world and compelled everyone to acknowledge him as the Lord of the Universe. Fearing his wrath (krodha) people began to worship him with one exception – his own son Prahalada. Prahalada was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. The evil Hiranyakashipu was so enraged by his son’s devotion to his sworn enemy Lord Vishnu that he made several attempts to kill Prahalada. Each time the Lord saved the young boy and this only angered Hiranyakashipu even more. Infuriated by his son's unwavering faith in Vishnu, Hiranyakashipu's rage knew no bounds. Finally in a frenzy of fury he bellowed, “Prahalada, if your Vishnu is truly omnipresent and almighty, why does he cower fearfully and refuse to confront me in battle?"
Prahalada calmly responded, “Father Lord Vishnu is all powerful and He is everywhere.”
In uncontrollable ferocity Hiranyakashipu swung his sword at one of the pillars of his palace and loudly demanded, “Is He in this?”
At that precise moment, Lord Vishnu manifested in His Narasimha avatar and swiftly annihilated Hiranyakashipu, putting an end to his tyranny.
Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu stories are telling reminders of Lord Krishna’s words in the Bhagavad Gita - from anger (krodha) arises delusion; from delusion, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, loss of reason; and from loss of reason one goes to complete ruin. (Chapter- II, Shloka- 63)”
In Treta Yuga Jaya and Vijaya took birth as Ravana and Kumbhakarna. Ravana’s insatiable desire (kama) for Sita, Lord Rama’s beloved wife, ultimately led to his downfall at the hands of Lord Vishnu in his Rama avatar.
Kumbakarna, Ravana’s brother was a colossal figure, standing at a towering height of 10,800 feet. His formidable size was matched only by his insatiable craving (kama) for food. As he grew, he honed his strength, becoming a formidable Asura endowed with mystical powers that rendered him nearly invincible in combat.
Kumbakarna coveted Indrasana (Lord Indra’s throne). To this end he embarked on a journey of deep penance to propitiate Lord Brahma. Pleased with his devotion Lord Brahma offered him a boon of his choosing. However through an unfortunate twist of fate Kumbakarna inadvertently requested Brahma for Nidrasana, the state of eternal sleep, instead of Indrasana. Instantly the boon was granted and it could not be reversed. The irreversible boon condemned Kumbakarna to an existence defined by his two relentless desires: an insatiable desire for food and an irrepressible need for sleep.
Kumbakarna did not approve of his brother Ravana abducting Sita. Unmindful of Kumbakarna's disapproval Ravana continued to hold Sita captive. His all-consuming passion (kama) for another man’s wife had clouded reason and better judgement.
Despite condemning Ravana’s action, Kumbakarna agreed to assist his brother in his unrighteous battle against Lord Rama. He did so not because of his loyalty to Ravana but because of a deep sense of pride in their demon heritage and the sovereignty of demon rule. Both the brothers Ravana and Kumbakarna were annihilated by Lord Rama the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Ultimately, the stories of both Ravana and Kumbhakarna's serve as a cautionary reminder of the perils of unchecked desires (kama).
In their third and final life as mortals in Dvapara Yuga, Jaya and Vijayaa were born as Shishupala and Dantavakra.
Shishupala, the ruler of Chedi, shared a familial bond with Krishna as his mother was the sister of Krishna's father, Vasudeva. His mother aware of a prophecy foretelling her son's demise at Krishna's hands approached her nephew, Krishna, and implored, “I beg you to forgive my son one hundred times. Promise me that you will only take action if he exceeds this limit.”
Krishna the embodiment of compassion willingly agreed.
Shishupala harboured deep animosity towards Krishna, stemming from Krishna's marriage to Rukmini, whom Shishupala desired to wed. When Krishna abducted Rukmini and married her, Shishupala's hatred intensified into an obsession.
During a grand yajna organized by Yudhisthira, everyone present eagerly awaited Krishna's invocation of prayers, except for Shishupala. In a brazen display of disrespect, Shishupala openly ridiculed and hurled insults at Krishna amidst the esteemed assembly. Despite Shishupala's provocation, Krishna remained unruffled and calmly urged the yajna to proceed.
In the midst of Shishupala's relentless verbal assault against Krishna, the atmosphere crackled with tension. With each disparaging remark, Shishupala pushed the boundaries of decorum further, his disdain for Krishna palpable to all present. As the denigrations reached a crescendo, Krishna, the epitome of patience and forbearance, issued a solemn warning, "Shishupala," said Krishna, his voice carrying the weight of divine authority, "you have committed your hundredth transgression. I implore you to heed this final admonition and desist."
Despite Shishupala's ceaseless antagonism Krishna extended to him the opportunity for redemption.
Shishupala showed no signs of relenting. He felt a surge of power as Krishna silently allowed him to spew insult upon insult. His greed (lobha) to display his perceived superiority and power before the esteemed audience had completely consumed him. There was no stopping Shishupala. Even after hurling one hundred abuses Shishupala was not satisfied.
The moment he uttered the hundred and first abuse, Lord Krishna's Sudarshan Chakra chopped off his head, and within moments, he lay dead on to the ground.
Looking at Shishupala, the third and final incarnation of Jaya, as he lay lifeless on the floor Lord Krishna said, “May your soul be blessed.”
Dantavakra was a wicked king and the last incarnation of Vijaya. He was most upset at the death of Shishupala at the hands of Krishna and his fury only intensified when Krishna slew Salva, another of his cherished companions. He vowed to avenge his friends' deaths.
Unable to contain his obsessive passion to avenge the death of his friends and greedy to show his own superiority over Krishna Dantavakra rushed off to the battlefield armed with nothing besides red-hot rage in his heart and a club in his hand. He was so powerful that the earth shook with each step he took.
In those days it was military etiquette that a fight must be between equals. Krishna seeing Dantavakra walk into the battlefield unarmed apart from his giant club also alighted from his chariot and armed himself with a club similar to that of his opponent.
Seeing Krishna Dantavakra stopped and scoffed, “It is fortunate that you are here to meet me and that I have this opportunity to face you directly. You committed the dreadful mistake of fanning my animosity towards you by killing my friends. Now you stand before me foolishly believing that you possess the power to kill me.”
Krishna stood there silently allowing Dantavakra to speak without interruption.
Driven by the greed for glory, Dantavakra wished to display his formidable might before all those present there at the battlefield as he killed Krishna. Trying to instill fear in Krishna he lashed out saying, "I will erase you from this earth as effortlessly as one removes a boil from the skin's surface. I will eliminate you by crushing you to fragments with my club.”
When Krishna despite these threats did not show any signs of fear an inflamed Dantavakra without any warning raised his club high and roaring like a lion rushed towards Krishna and struck Him on his head with all his might.
Despite the tremendous force of the club's impact, Krishna remained unmoved, untouched by pain or injury. With swift and masterful skill, Krishna grasped his own club and delivered a powerful blow to Dantavakra's chest, causing him to split in two and spew forth blood. Within moments, Dantavakra lay lifeless on the ground.
At the moment of Dantavakra’s death and in the presence of all the onlookers a tiny particle of spiritual radiance emerged from Dantavakra's being and gracefully merged into the form of Lord Krishna.
The tales of Shishupala and Dantavakra serve as poignant reminders of the importance of setting reasonable limits for ourselves. They caution against indulging in excesses, whether it be in the pursuit of fame, fortune, power, or to inflate our egos.
In fulfilling the strictures of the curse, Jaya and Vijaya played a pivotal role in the Lord's manifestation in three powerful avatars. Through these incarnations, the Lord not only vanquished formidable adversaries like Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Shishupala, and Dantavakra but also purged the Satya, Treta, and Dvapara Yugas of all forces that propagated adharma. In doing so, the Lord fulfilled His promise to perpetually restore Dharma through all the yugas.
LIFE LESSONS
1. This story teaches that endless desires, anger and greed can only lead us to our own destruction.
2. It shows us that God will always protect his devotees.
3. It shows us that God’s compassion is limitless.
4. It also shows us that God has a plan for each one of us and he will guide us if we have the faith to allow Him to do so.
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