Dadhíci

Birth and Early Life

Chyavana Maharṣi regained his youth and became the most handsome being in all three worlds through the grace of the Aśvinī devatās and the Pativratya of his wife Sukanyā. One day, after this event, Chyavana called Sukanyā and said, “The sacrifice you made is infinite. You are a delicate princess, destined to live on soft beds, yet you chose to marry an old blind sage like me. Because of your great devotion, I regained my youth and divine form. As a result of this sacrifice, you will give birth to a son who will be a supreme ascetic and the greatest of sages.” In due time, she gave birth to a son during an auspicious moment. That son was Dadhíci Maharṣi.

Dadhíci’s Early Tapasya and Sārasvata, Son of Dadhíci

From childhood, Dadhíci engaged in intense tapas. He left his home at a young age and built a small āśrama near the banks of the Sarasvatī River, meditating with deep concentration. Though still a boy, he radiated like a great flame due to his tapas. His penance began to cause anxiety among the devas, of the instability his tapas śakti can cause. This fear exists even though the devas are embodiments of virtue. That is why the devas often attempt to test intense penances to ensure it is meant for the peace and good of the worlds.

To disturb Dadhíci’s tapas, Indra sent an apsaras named Alambuṣā. Indra thought, “Dadhíci is still young. How can he possibly be free from desire? Surely he will fall into delusion upon seeing her.” Sarasvatī, the river goddess, also became enamored of Dadhíci, feeling a subtle desire upon witnessing his tapas. This is because in the Vedic view, rivers, mountains, and trees all possess consciousness. In the case of the Sarasvatī River, she experienced feelings akin to love for Dadhíci. This was not considered a flaw but a natural outcome of the cosmic order where every element has life and personality.

In the vedic worldview, there is no concept of inert matter. Everything in creation, including rivers, trees, and mountains, has consciousness. The so-called inanimate is actually pervaded by life-force. A tree, a river, or a mountain are not mere objects but living entities that respond to prayers and carry divine energies. For example, when a yajña requires a branch, a brāhmaṇa respectfully prays to the tree before taking it. This is because the tree has consciousness and divine presence.

Birth of Sārasvata

Sarasvatī, possessing the consciousness of a woman, developed affection for Dadhíci. Alambuṣā approached Dadhíci as per Indra’s command. When she came close, Dadhíci, though in deep tapas, was affected by the charm of both the river and the apsaras. This led to a spontaneous emission of his seed, which Sarasvatī received and carried. She considered this event her destiny and did not feel guilt but rather acceptance of the cosmic play.

Sarasvatī approached Dadhíci carrying the child and said, “O great sage! I once felt affection for you. Alambuṣā facilitated your desire. The child born from your tapas is now with me. He is your son, please accept him.” Dadhíci initially hesitated, but through his divine vision, he realized the child was indeed his own. He named him Sārasvata, meaning ‘son of Sarasvatī’. However, as Dadhíci was engaged in continuous tapas, he asked Sarasvatī to raise the child herself. She gladly accepted and brought up Sārasvata with love and care.

Sārasvata grew up to be a great sage. Once, a severe famine struck the land. But Sārasvata, using the power of his tapas, ensured that no one died of hunger. He fed the people sumptuous meals by the force of his penance. This compassionate act saved many lives during the time of scarcity.

Dadhíci as a universal Guru

After becoming endowed with great spiritual power, Dadhíci Maharṣi was approached by several sages who advised him to marry and lead a household life. They told him, “O Mahārṣi! You should have a family and disciples. How long will you keep wandering? As a householder, you will be approachable to everyone, and that is beneficial.” Dadhíci agreed and married Suvarcasa, also known as Gabhastinī. He led an exemplary life as a householder.

Dadhíci Maharṣi attracted disciples in numbers unprecedented in the world. Crores and crores of disciples came to him. The disciples of his disciples, and even their disciples, all considered Dadhíci their supreme guru.

One day, Indra came to Dadhíci and taught him some secret vidyās (divine sciences). Before leaving, Indra warned, “If you teach these secrets to anyone else, your head will fall off.” After Indra left, the Aśvinī devatās approached Dadhíci and said, “O great sage! We are the Aśvinī devatās who granted youth to your father Chyavana. Please teach us the secrets that Indra taught you. In return, we shall grant you protection.” Dadhíci agreed but reminded them, “If I teach you these secrets, my head will fall off.” The Aśvinīs replied, “We will protect you from that fate.”

The Aśvinī devatās removed Dadhíci’s human head and kept it safely aside. They attached the head of a horse to Dadhíci and revived him. Then Dadhíci taught them the secret sciences. Indra became furious upon realizing the Aśvinīs had learned the secrets. He came to Dadhíci’s āśrama and, when Dadhíci was in meditation, cut off his horse head with a sword. But the Aśvinīs, foreseeing this, had already prepared. They revived Dadhíci by reattaching his original head.

These events are narrated in the Brahma Purāṇa and the Skanda Purāṇa.

The Quarrel between Dadhíci Maharṣi and King Kṣupuḍa

Dadhíci Maharṣi had a childhood friend named Kṣupuḍa, who later became a king. When Kṣupuḍa heard of Dadhíci’s greatness, he respectfully invited him to his palace. As they conversed, Dadhíci asserted that the brāhmaṇa is superior to the kṣatriya, stating that each should recognize their own dharma—brāhmaṇa for wisdom and tapas, kṣatriya for protection and governance. Kṣupuḍa disagreed, arguing that both brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas are essential. He compared them to the right and left hand—each has its role, and both are required for life to function harmoniously. According to dharma, brāhmaṇas preserve dharma, and kṣatriyas protect it. Sometimes roles may interchange depending on capability, and such examples are found in purāṇic history.

As the debate intensified, Dadhíci, being a tapasvī unaccustomed to worldly interactions, became furious. Losing control over his anger, he struck Kṣupuḍa. Kṣupuḍa, being a kṣatriya, retaliated with a weapon and cut Dadhíci into pieces. Upon learning of the incident, Śukrācārya (of same Bhṛgu lineage) arrived, gathered Dadhíci’s body parts, and revived him using his mṛtasañjīvanī vidyā. Dadhíci, having thus faced death and rebirth multiple times, prostrated to Śukra.

Śukrācārya advised Dadhíci to perform deep tapas to Bhagavān Sadāśiva, saying, “You will become omnipotent. Perform penance to Śiva so that you may attain even greater powers.” Dadhíci resolved to renounce worldly relations, returned to his āśrama, and engaged in intense tapas. He ate nothing, slept not, and entered a state beyond wakefulness or dream. His tapas generated heat that reached all three worlds. Bhagavān Śiva appeared, praised him, and granted him the boon of icchāmṛtyu—the power to die at will. Śiva made his body adamantine like a diamond and granted him invincibility.

Despite these boons, Dadhíci could not forget Kṣupuḍa. Even sages are sometimes bound by lingering emotions such as friendship or enmity. Remembering his humiliation, Dadhíci went to Kṣupuḍa and slapped him, partly to release his pent-up anger. A small battle ensued between them. Kṣupuḍa tried to use his weapons, but Dadhíci, being blessed by Śiva, remained unharmed. Dadhíci arrogantly declared, “Neither you nor even your deity Viṣṇu can harm me.”

Kṣupuḍa, unable to bear the insult, renounced his kingdom and performed severe tapas. This is the vedic way—whenever afflicted by anger, grief, or humiliation, the remedy is tapas. Eventually, Bhagavān Viṣṇu appeared before Kṣupuḍa. Kṣupuḍa expressed his grief, saying, “O Bhagavān! Dadhíci insulted even you. Such an event has never occurred in the world.” Viṣṇu consoled him, saying, “Let us go together and speak to Dadhíci.”

Viṣṇu approached Dadhíci and said, “O sage, though you are great, you have insulted me out of pride. Do you not know that Śiva and I are one and the same?” Dadhíci, still in a state of anger, replied, “You may be Mahāviṣṇu, but how can you be equal to Śiva? You are not his equal.” Viṣṇu, attempting to test Dadhíci, hurled his Sudarśana Cakra at him. However, Dadhíci stopped it with his tapas. Viṣṇu then created a great māyā, but Dadhíci dispelled it too.

Finally, Viṣṇu explained, “I came not to punish you but to test your devotion. Śiva and Viṣṇu are indeed one. The devotee of Śiva is equal to the devotee of Viṣṇu, and neither Śiva nor Viṣṇu can harm their true devotee. You will remain immortal, assisting the devas for the welfare of the worlds.”

Viṣṇu advised Kṣupuḍa, “The only way to dissolve enmity is to seek refuge in your opponent. If you prostrate to Dadhíci, he will forgive you.” Kṣupuḍa approached Dadhíci, bowed down, and said, “O great sage! I did not know your greatness. Please forgive me.” Dadhíci, pleased with the humility, said, “Friend, I hold no grudge against you. Let our friendship continue as before.”

The Nature of Brāhmaṇa Forgiveness

For a true brāhmaṇa, a simple prostration is enough to dissolve anger. He desires no wealth, no feast—only a sincere namaskāra. Dadhíci’s story illustrates this characteristic. Despite having been insulted and attacked, he forgave Kṣupuḍa upon receiving a humble bow, as is the nature of the highest sages.

Dakṣa’s Yajña

Dakṣa Prajāpati, though a tapasvī himself, harbored anger against Rudra (Śiva). Out of spite, he performed a yajña not to attain merit but solely to insult Śiva. This is why the yajña failed. Had Dakṣa performed the yajña with a pure intention, even if he had forgotten to invite Śiva, the ritual would still have yielded fruit. But since his very purpose was to insult Śiva, the yajña was doomed from the start.

Dakṣa came to Dadhíci and invited him to the yajña without revealing his malicious intent. “O Mahārṣi! I am conducting a great sacrifice. You must come.” Dadhíci, not knowing Dakṣa’s intentions, agreed and went with his disciples.

Dakṣa thought, “Dadhíci is a great Śiva devotee, yet he came to my yajña as soon as I called him. That means he fears me more than he loves Śiva. Otherwise, why would he have come? I am Prajāpati after all!” Dakṣa then revealed his real purpose to Dadhíci, saying, “I have made arrangements to ensure that Śiva and his attendants do not come to this yajña. I have done this only to humiliate him. He is the cause of destruction in the world. How can he be auspicious when he brings death? My yajña will insult him, and you must help me.”

Hearing these words, Dadhíci rose like a serpent whose tail had been trodden. Mahāṛṣis are not ordinary people; they are filled with tapas and possess immense spiritual power. The entire assembly turned toward Dadhíci. The great sages like Vasiṣṭha, Vyāsa, and Nārada were absent from the yajña. This absence itself was a sign of the yajña’s flaw, which Dadhíci now realized.

Dadhíci addressed Dakṣa, “O Dakṣa Prajāpati! Why have you taken up this wicked intent? How can a sacrifice be performed without Viśveśvara, the Bhagavān of all? Even if it proceeds, what fruit will it bring you?”

In reply, Dakṣa insulted Śiva, saying, “You do not understand the truth, O Dadhíci! Śiva is a mere cremation ground dweller, a naked ascetic who wears elephant skin and lives like a beggar. How can such a one be considered auspicious?” But Dakṣa conveniently forgot that he himself had once given his daughter Satī in marriage to Śiva with great reverence.

Despite Dakṣa’s words, Dadhíci calmly replied. But when Dakṣa declared that no one who praises Śiva could remain in his house, Dadhíci stood up with his disciples and said, “O Dakṣa! Fool that you are, you have insulted Sadāśiva despite my efforts to guide you. May your yajña produce inauspiciousness. May disease fall upon you soon. And may all those who have come to this yajña out of ignorance gain wisdom through this event, for the pain they will suffer shall purify them.”

With these words, Dadhíci left the yajña. It was this curse of Dadhíci that led to the creation of Vīrabhadra and the subsequent destruction of Dakṣa’s yajña.

Dadhíci Protects the Divine Weapons

Once, the Asurās / Rākṣasas expanded their power and attacked the Devas. The Rākṣasas did not immediately fight the Devas face-to-face. Instead, they began by stealing the Devas’ weapons, making the Devas powerless. Not knowing how to safeguard their weapons, the Devas went to Dadhíci Maharṣi seeking refuge. Dadhíci told them, “Give me all your weapons and all your powers. Leave them in my āśrama. No one will be able to take them from here.” As per this arrangement, Dadhíci protected all the divine weapons with his tapas and rendered great help to the Devas.

After some time, the Rākṣasa threat diminished. Dadhíci asked the Devas to come and take their weapons back. But none of the Devas came. Though they were now comfortable and safe, they did not retrieve their weapons from Dadhíci. Even after repeatedly inviting them, they neglected to come. In frustration of having to continue to protect them and be stuck at his Aśram, Dadhíci swallowed all the weapons. They were digested and assimilated into his body, spreading into his bones and blood vessels.

Later, when the Devas once again feared a Rākṣasa attack, they rushed to Dadhíci asking for their weapons. Dadhíci said, “I called you many times, but you did not come. So I swallowed the weapons. Now they are digested within me. What do you expect me to do?” The Devas were terrified. They begged forgiveness and pleaded, “We indeed neglected to come. Please give us back our weapons somehow.”

Dadhíci replied, “All those weapons are now within my body. If you absolutely need them, you must take my life and retrieve them from my bones.” The Devas were afraid. How could they kill such a great sage? Helpless, they started crying.

Then Dadhíci said, “What is the purpose of my life now? What is there left for me to attain? Life has value only when there is something left to accomplish. When there is nothing else to earn, what is the use of this body? I have nothing more to achieve. So I live only for you. Whenever you require my bones, come to me. I will leave this body, and you can take my bones. All the weapons and my tapas power are now embedded in my bones. With these, your weapons will gain thrice their previous strength.”

He thus sent the Devas away with this assurance.

Dadhíci’s Self-Sacrifice and the birth of Vajrāyudha

After some time, a terrible Rākṣasa named Vṛtrāsura was born. He grew immensely powerful and brought great danger to the Devas. Unable to defeat him, the Devas approached Brahmā. Brahmā said, “I cannot harm Vṛtrāsura. He is a brāhmaṇa and an unbroken tapasvī. He possesses immense power. The only solution is to go to Dadhíci. If he gives you his bones, you can create weapons from them to kill Vṛtrāsura.”

Since Dadhíci had already promised to help, the Devas went to him. Dadhíci, through yogic power, voluntarily left his body.

The nature of this is important to understand. An ordinary death occurs when the body becomes weak, the life forces (prāṇas) can no longer bind the jīva to the body, and the jīva is forced out. But a yogi leaves the body by choice, even when the body is healthy. This is called svacchanda maraṇam—self-willed death. Bhīṣma is a prime example of this. So too was Dadhíci Maharṣi, who left his body willingly, not due to weakness or disease but by yogic power.

The Devas performed purificatory rites on Dadhíci’s body. From his sacred remains, they created weapons. Among them, the Vajrāyudha (thunderbolt) was made from his bones. Other powerful weapons were also formed. With these, the Devas defeated the Rākṣasas.

Suvarcas’s Sahagamana

At the time of Dadhíci’s self-sacrifice, his wife Suvarcas was pregnant. When she came to know of his death, she did not express sorrow or blame the Devas. She accepted his sacrifice for the welfare of the Devas and the world. Seeing it as a path to eternal fame, she decided to enter the funeral pyre along with his body.

As she prepared for sahagamana (self-immolation), Brahmā and other deities appeared before her. They said, “O noble woman! A great soul, the son of Dadhíci, is in your womb. Do not take your life now.”

Suvarcas replied, “Devas, your behavior is strange. You took my husband away, and now you ask me to suffer widowhood? I do not understand this counsel. My husband sacrificed himself for the welfare of the Devas, and now you are here not out of compassion for me but because you fear for the unborn child. Not even once did you offer me words of consolation. You, who call yourselves Devas, behaved like animals. From now on, all the Devas will behave like animals in such matters.”

She then declared, “If the child in my womb is truly great, he should come out immediately. I will complete what I have decided to do.” At once, the child came out of her womb.

Pippalāda Maharṣi

There was a sacred fig tree nearby—a Pippala tree (Ficus religiosa). The child crawled to it and took refuge under it. Suvarcas then entered the fire and left her body. The tree itself protected the child. In the purāṇic view, trees are not mere inanimate matter. The Pippala tree nurtured the child. On full moon days, it went to the Moon, obtained nectar, and fed the child with it. Thus, by the grace of the tree and the Moon, the child grew without hunger or thirst. Because he took refuge under the Pippala tree, the child became known as Pippalāda Maharṣi.

Once Pippalāda reflected on his past. His father Dadhíci had offered to protect the Devas’ weapons, but they neglected to retrieve them. Eventually, they took back the weapons only by killing him. Seeing this ungratefulness and treachery, Pippalāda vowed to take revenge on the Devas. He undertook severe tapas for this purpose.

By his tapas, Pippalāda created a terrifying kṛtyā—a being of immense power—to destroy the Devas. The Devas, terrified, rushed to Kailāsa and prayed to Rudra for protection. Rudra said, “I cannot stop this. Go and pray to Pippalāda himself.” When the Devas did so, Pippalāda remained unmoved. Finally, Rudra himself intervened. He told Pippalāda, “O Maharṣi! What use is there in destroying the Devas? The world needs them for its operation. Your grief is personal—it is about your parents. Look toward Pitṛloka.” When Pippalāda looked, he saw his parents shining like divine beings. Rudra thus pacified him and removed his grief. Pippalāda attained peace.

This is recorded in the Skanda Purāṇa → Mahēśvara Khaṇḍa.