Rishi Dadhichi — Shiva’s top fan
Mythological Story Series — Part V
I spent the last few days reading Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, and then thinking about the similarities between Thor and Indra — gods of thunder, protectors of mankind, all-powerful yet not immune to the follies of their nature.
While Thor had his famed Mjölnir, Indra wielded the equally feared Vajra.
And this post is about the man behind that Vajra — Dadhichi. Not to be confused with the Swedish DJ.
That the Vajra was made of Dadhichi’s bones is a well-known story. Nevertheless, I will indulge in a brief retelling as a refresher if nothing else.
A mighty demon Vritra was wreaking havoc on mankind like demons do. He had captured all the waters of the world, and Indra, despite his best efforts, was unable to better him as Vritra had the boon of invincibility against any known weapon. Indra approached Lord Vishnu who advised them to request Rishi Dadhichi for his bones, as a weapon made from them would defeat the demon.
So, Indra and his cronies approached the sage who agreed to sacrifice himself out of reverence for Vishnu. Thereby, he assured victory for Indra and the protection of mankind.
That Indra had to ask Dadhichi for such a sublime sacrifice is awkward on many levels. Here’s why.
In an earlier timeline, Indra was insecure about Dadhichi’s mastery over the art of immortality (Brahmavidya). Knowing of the possibility of Indra acting on his jealousy, the Ashwini Kumaras severed the Rishi’s head, kept it safe and replaced his head with that of a horse. When a hot-headed Indra came looking for him, he decapitated the horse head and left. The Ashwins then brought the Rishi’s head back and, using the art they had learnt from the Rishi himself, joined it back and brought him back to life.
And that wasn’t half of how eventful Dadhichi’s life was. There’s more.
Dadhichi and a certain king called Kshuva had a falling out over the supremacy of Brahmins vs Kings. Things got ugly and Dadhichi punched Kshuva in the head. In retaliation, Kshuva injured Dadhichi by attacking him with thunderbolts. The revered Guru Shukracharya used his powers to heal him after which Dadhichi offered rigorous penance to Shiva to get the following boons:
He will never be Humiliated
He could never be killed
His bones will become as hard as a Thunderbolt (ergo, the vajra, later)
Kshuva went to seek Vishnu’s aid. Vishnu disguised himself to visit Dadhichi’s ashram and Dadhichi saw through the ruse. Vishnu then used the Sudarshan chakra which refused to maim a true Shiva devotee. Dadhichi was so enraged that while he condoned Kshuva’s actions based on their past equation, he cursed Vishnu and some other complicit deities that they will face huge destruction at the hands of Shiva in time.
The moment of the curse’s manifestation arrived at the better-known Daksha’s yajna.
Here’s how that story unfolded.
Daksha was the progenitor of Sati, Shiva’s consort. Daksha did not like Shiva one bit and had unwillingly given away Sati. Due to a misunderstanding, Daksha had felt humiliated by Shiva’s actions at an earlier ritual and used his grand Yajna to get back at him.
He invited everyone but Shiva and Sati. Our man Dadhichi was here too. Dadhichi was the first to notice the absence of Shiva from the attendees and offerings. Furious, he walked out.
Despite Shiva’s entreaties, Sati made an appearance believing she could visit her father without an invite. Daksha wasn’t pleased and made it a point to humiliate her and publicly denigrate Shiva and his lifestyle. Sati was so distraught she decided to step into the sacrificial fire and immolate herself. Ah, this is a story you have heard, right?
And then Shiva heard about this and lost his cool. He split a strand of his hair and created two ferocious beings Virabhadra and Bhadrakali. These guys then came down to the yajna and wreaked havoc — broke Yama’s bone, severely beat Chandra and even tore off Sage Bhrigu’s beard. It came to the point that Brahma and Vishnu had to request Shiva to calm down and stop the destruction. Some texts even describe a raging battle between Vishnu and Virbhadra where losses were equally inflicted on both sides.
Dadhichi’s curse had been fulfilled with Shiva’s wrath unleashed upon Vishnu and the deities.
Despite these antics, his ultimate sacrifice is pretty much all Dadichi is remembered by. Fun fact: the Param Vir Chakra’s insignia shows Dadhichi’s bones signifying that no sacrifice is too great in the defense of the defenseless.
