TRISANKU

TRISANKU

Trisanku, of the Lunar dynasty, was a noble, pious king, but developed an irrational desire to go to heaven in his human body. His preceptor, Brahmarishi Vasishta told him that his desire was like seeking to pack an insuspicious dead body and taking it to heaven. Trisanku was adamant, but Vasishta refused to help him in his unholy desire. The king approached the learned sons of Vasishta, who had immense spiritual powers. They refused to help one who had defied the advice of his own preceptor, their father. Finally the king approached sage Kausika, who harboured an ill-feeling towards Vasishta because of an earlier encounter with him. Kausika agreed to take up the case of Trisanku as a challenge. He performed a yagna for the purpose of sending Trisanku bodily straight to heaven. At the conclusion of the yagna, the Gods did not come down to accept the offering. Enraged by this, Kausika concentrated all the powers acquired by him by his penance on his flagstaff (Brahmadanda) to transport Trisanku to heaven. But Indra, the Lord of the celestial ones, blocked his path and Trisanku came hurtling down towards the earth. On seeing this, Kausika stopped him in the middle of the firmament and proceeded to create a parallel heaven, with all its paraphernalia. Even today, it is known as "Trisanku Swarga"(In western astronomy, this is know as the constellation Southern Cross, consisting of four stars).

King Trisanku had a son by name Harischandra (not emperor Harischandra who sacrificed everything for truth). This Harischandra had no sons and prayed to Lord Varuna (the Rain God) for a son, with the promise that he would sacrifice his son later to the same God. He got a son, Rahul. As he became attached to the son, he did not keep his promise and was afflicted by a strange disease. Rahul, being afraid of the consequences of his father’s failure to keep his promise, fled to the forest. He got the idea that his father’s illness could be cured if someone else was offered to Varuna in his place. Seeing a Brahmin couple with three children, he asked them to offer one of the sons for sacrifice in return for a large herd of cows and other wealth. The Brahmin was attached to the eldest son and would not part with him. His wife was attached to the youngest son and would not let him go. So it was the middle son who was offered and this son preferred to die as an offering to God, rather than live without the love of father and mother. Rahul was taking this boy with him when on the way they passed through Kausika’s Ashram. The Brahmin boy, Sunaschepa, sought refuge with the sage. Pledging to protect him, Kausika asked one of his sons to go with Rahul, saying that the human body has to be offered in service to others. His sons ridiculed the idea and declined to comply with Kausika’s proposal. Thereupon the sage taught Sunaschepa a mantra to propitiate Lord Varuna. The boy chanted the mantra and Lord Varuna appeared before him and chided Harishchandra for agreeing to offer his son to Varuna and then going back on his word and offering someone else in his place. He said because of his breaking the promise, he would be consumed by the disease afflicting him.

Students should learn from this the lesson that they must not develop excessive attachment to anything and should always keep their plighted word.