Story: In the rush of our mundane existence, we rarely have time to contemplate anything beyond facts that seem to choke up the alleyways of our lives. However, the pandemic has changed our reality- isolated at home with virtual world surrounding us, fiction has replaced facts- after all we are spending large parts of our day at meeting people who are not really there! In this new world of solitude, in which people blink in and out of my screen, I have begun to look beyond my alleyway and up at the stars. With time on my hands, I have gone beyond the simplistic ‘what are they?’ to explore reasons why they shine and more importantly, what role do they play in my life?
The Navagraha series is an effort to create links between three distant and disparate elements- the stars, our thoughts and the society. It is my attempt to decoding the legends of people who became stars on the eternal firmament.
Shukracharya- the Sage who believed in truth and equality
Living through a pandemic does change one’s perspective. A tiny patch of night sky seen through a grilled window, in a silenced city, has an appeal that is tantalizing in the freedom it offers to the mind. The stars seem to shine brighter and speak to us through a soundless, timelessness that the noisy city would have otherwise drowned out making this the perfect moment to dive into the mythological orbit of the Navagrahas and the Saptarishis.
*Shukracharya, the guiding light of the Asuras- their mentor and Chief Knowledge Officer, being an important one. Asuras and their world is a very enticing universe to explore. Unlike the opulent world of the fair-skinned Devas that all mortals have vivid descriptions of and many long to visit, the realm of the Asuras remains obscure, eerie and distant. And here we have Shukracharya, with all his wisdom choosing the nether regions of the universe to live in. Why did he do that?
Bhrigu, born of the Creator Brahma, better known as the master of star maps and Astrology was Shukracharya’s father. Born to such an illustrious father, Shukracharya had easy access to the best Gurus and wise mentors to guide him. Unfortunately, He realized that knowledge does not always make a person unprejudiced. His disillusionment with his first Guru Agnirasa for favouring his own son Brihaspati left a bitter and indelible mark on Shukracharya’s psyche. He changed teachers and went over to Rishi Gautam to complete his learning. Sukracharya’s greatest claim to fame was the mastery of the Sanjivani Mantra, which allowed him to give back life to the dead, which he gained through severe penances in honour of Shiva. And when his archrival Brihaspati was appointed the preceptor of the Gods, Shukracharya decided to offer his services to the Asuras. That is where he parted ways with the mainstream narrative of Aryan civilization.
This choice made him susceptible to endless espionage attempts and acts of deceit, all attempts to gain the power of the Sanjivani Mantra. His decision to walk over to the other side was something that no-one had ever imagined and more importantly never accepted. His power to bring the dead alive allowed him to put the Asuras on an even footing with the Devas; this obviously led to the considerable heart burn.
Shukracharya stood up for honesty and fairness in a world which was tipped in favour of the Gods of the Aryans and their Men. Despite the vilification that he was often subject to, he remained undeterred on his path of truth, accepting reality of defeat without fear, even when he succumbed to his daughter Devyani’s emotional appeals to teach Brihaspati’s son Kach, the Sanjivani Mantra. He respected the love his daughter had for Kach more than power and glory that his knowledge endowed him with.
He advised and cared for the Asuras, guiding them to success. And in his old age, as he moved on to the other world, he was honoured with a place as a guiding star in the firmament that his father had helped map for a society that had treated him like a pariah. He became the Guiding Light on the eastern horizon.
Shukra is the morning star that twinkles in our lives impacting our emotions; making sure that we believe that kindness and love makes our world complete. Better known in the western astronomy as the Planet Venus.
Written by Sheila Bhattacharya
*The first mention of Shukracharya is in the Bhagwata Purana
