Jada

In the lineage of the Bhārgavas, there lived a sage known as Jada Maharṣi. Many confuse him with Jada Bharata of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, but they are distinct personalities. Jada Maharṣi was born into a learned Brahmin family, well-versed in the Vedas and śāstras, and followed the path of a householder. His father, a Bhārgava Brahmin, performed all rites diligently—Jātakarma, Upanayana, and other samskāras—teaching his son the preliminary disciplines and advising him to pursue the rest of his education under elders, master the Vedas, perform yajñas, lead a righteous householder life, beget progeny, and eventually turn toward spiritual pursuits.

Jada Maharṣi’s father was a steadfast karmayogin, a ritualist immersed in the performance of yajñas and Vedic duties. But when he instructed his son, he noticed an unusual response. The boy stood silent like a stone, giving no reaction. His father repeated the instructions ten times, asking, “Are you listening? Do you understand?” The boy responded only with a smile. Since childhood, he spoke little, only asking for food and other necessities, never engaging in unnecessary conversation. His father, startled by the smile, asked for its meaning.

Teachings

Jada Maharṣi then spoke. “Father, I have followed the path you mention for five thousand lifetimes. In each birth, I diligently performed the Vedic duties—studied the Vedas, performed yajñas, lived as a householder, begot children, and performed the śrāddha rituals. Lifetime after lifetime, I hoped that perhaps in this birth, by completing all these duties, I might attain mokṣa. But after five thousand lives, here I stand again, listening to the same instruction. That is why I laughed. After so much suffering, birth, death, and endless cycles of duty, the same story repeats.”

His father, astonished, asked him, “My son! How do you possess such knowledge? Why have you remained silent all these years? How is it that a person of your wisdom has taken birth in this ordinary household? Is this some curse?” To this, Jada Maharṣi replied, “There is no curse, father. This is the way of karma. It is not fate or misfortune but the momentum of previous actions. I have been born again and again with full memory of past lives. This time, I chose silence. That is why they call me Jada—the unmoving one, the silent one.”

He continued, “In my previous birth, I served a true Guru with complete devotion. By his grace, I attained knowledge that cannot be gained through mere ritual or Vedic study—the memory of past lives. This jātismaraṇa came to me through his instruction, meditation, and tapas. That is why in this life too, I was born with the same awareness. I have no desire to enter the karmic path again. I seek ekānta, solitude, and the pursuit of mokṣa alone.”

His father, humbled by his son’s wisdom, now addressed him as a Guru and asked, “What is the secret of birth? How do beings die? What is the nature of sin and merit?” Jada Maharṣi explained the mystery of death, describing the signs that appear before the body collapses. When death approaches, there is intense inner suffering. The vital airs, especially udāna vāyu, begin to leave the body. Moisture dries up, speech ceases, and the tongue curls back. The soul becomes helpless, caught between life and death.

But, Jada Maharṣi said, for those who have given food and water to others with devotion, who lived without jealousy, who practiced dharma and avoided the path of desire and anger, death is peaceful. Such people do not experience the agony of death but leave the body with ease.

In contrast, those who neglected charity, harmed others, or disrespected the Vedas see terrifying visions of Yama’s messengers. Their tongues fail them, unable to express fear. They die in dread, bound to experience severe torment in afterlife bodies, called yātanā śarīras.

Jada Maharṣi further explained the futility of death-bed repentance. “Even if, at the time of death, one resolves never to take birth again, that resolve fades. When the soul enters another body, it forgets everything—the death agony, the prior life, the parents, the sufferings. Like writing on a slate erased with water, nothing remains.”

He declared that this cycle of birth and death is a terrible enchantment, a māyā. The only way out is through the guidance of a Guru who can direct the soul toward inquiry, introspection, and the pursuit of liberation. “Each day brings you closer to death. Think of your welfare. The debt I owe you, father, is to remind you of this truth.”

Jada Maharṣi said, “From the moment of conception, there is no true comfort. Even svarga, the heavenly realms, are not desirable, for when merit is exhausted, one must return to earthly existence. Naraka, the hellish realms, are unspeakably dreadful. There is no need to describe them in detail. Even in prosperous times, life is filled with hardship. Then what can be said of hell? The life of animals, worms, insects—all involve boundless suffering. Escaping from this cycle is essential.”

He emphasized that while Vedic rites indeed bring worldly pleasures, and the pitṛs bestow progeny, food, and life, these are transient. Jada Maharṣi’s teachings were not against the Vedas but revealed the path beyond mere ritual, toward ultimate freedom. Having enjoyed all worldly joys in countless lives, he recognized their impermanence and sought something beyond.

Even if a being enjoys great pleasure in one birth, death comes with its inevitable pain. Again, the cycle continues. It is like the ox tied to the oil press, endlessly circling but never advancing. Similarly, the soul rotates between birth and death, going nowhere, chewing the chewed—charvita charvaṇam.

Hearing these profound words, Bhārgava relinquished the idea of his son as merely a child and accepted him as a Guru. He asked about various worlds, their characteristics, and Jada Maharṣi explained in detail the nature of hell and other realms of existence.

The Wisdom of Madālasā and Alarka

A parallel tale is found in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, where Queen Madālasā imparts spiritual wisdom to her son Alarka. Before renouncing the world with her husband Kuvalayāśva, Madālasā crowns her son king and gives him a ring containing a secret scripture. “When you encounter hardship, read this,” she told him. When trials arose, Alarka read his mother’s teachings, which instructed him to conquer desire, pursue mokṣa, and listen to the words of the wise. Eventually, Alarka approached Dattātreya, who taught him the secrets of yoga and liberation. Dattātreya’s instructions, recorded in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa chapters 36–41, detail ominous dreams, signs of impending death, and the yogic path. Alarka realized, “There is no happiness higher than yoga.”

Through these historical incidents, it becomes clear that sages like Jada Maharṣi were beings of immense spiritual stature. Their memories held vast chronicles of previous lives, lifetimes of realization condensed into profound, direct teachings.