Hi!! Today, I'm going to tell an unknown story. It's not from the Ramayana, not from the Mahabharata, nor from any of the Vedas!! But, this story literally shapes all of the most well-known stories in Hindu mythology!! Let's get started...
A long, long, long, long, long, long (a million more longs!!) time ago, even before the first avatar that Vishnu took, there were two brothers, called Jaya and Vijaya. They were the grandsons of the God of the Sky, Varuna. They had amazing jobs (I mean, they had DAMN GOOD jobs!!!). They were the gate-keepers to the abode of Vishnu ( aka VAIKUNTA!!! The heavens!!!) !! They were in charge of keeping Lord Vishnu safe. That must have been a tiring job, with sooooo many demons around!! The brothers were excellent at hand-to-hand combat!! They used to wield maces, with gold inscriptions, that gave them extra strength!! They were capable of defeating an army of demons, with a few swings of their maces!!
One fine day, Jaya and Vijaya were doing their normal job; standing outside and guarding the gates of Vaikunta, when Lord Vishnu came out and told them, " Don't let anyone in for the next, ummm, few hours or so, please?" They were to obey their master's orders. But, as all mythological stories have, a twist appeared... (TWISSSSSSTTT....) The Four Kumaras, namely Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanatkumara, came to visit Lord Vishnu. Suddenly, Jaya and Vijaya thrust their maces in front of the golden entrance. "You may not enter, kids," said Jaya. (The Kumaras has a magical power to appear as kids, though they were EXTREMELY old!!!). "Lord Vishnu has given us orders not to let anyone into Vaikunta!" added Vijaya. They were adamant that no one shall go into Vishnu's abode.
The Kumaras grew angry. "O gatekeepers!!!! You have no right to tell us where we can go, or where we can't!!!! We are the sons of Bramha, the Kumaras!!!!!" shouted the Kumaras. Suddenly, Jaya and Vijaya started to tremble. Their courage was turned into fear!! They were scared. "O sacred ones, we have upset you. Accept our thorough apologies. " The Kumaras weren't convinced by their devotion. They became even more furious. " You insolent fools!!! We are not at all convinced by your act!!!! WE CURSE YOU TO LOSE YOUR DIVINITY, AND BE BORN ON EARTH AS HUMANS!!!!!!!!!!!!" The two brothers were frightened to lose their dignity as divine persons. Vishnu came running out as fast as he could, to see what the commotion was about. Vishnu appeared before Jaya and Vijaya and asked, "O Vijaya, what is this all about?" The weeping brothers narrated the whole incident to Vishnu. "Aaaaahh... I see..." said Vishnu. "Well, the curse of the Kumaras cannot be lifted, but it can be altered. I shall give both of you two choices. You may be born on Bhuloka seven times as a sheer devotee, or you may be born thrice as my arch-enemies. After serving these sentences, you may return to Vaikunta as my gate-keepers and live here permanently.
Jaya and Vijaya thought about it lengthily, but finally came to a decision. "O Lord, we already are ardent devotees of you. But, we shall not be able to bear seven lives without your presence. We choose to die at your hands, three times, then return to Vaikunta." They proclaimed to Lord Vishnu. So, Vishnu gave them their sentence. They were to be reborn as Vishnu's enemies thrice.
Birth No. 1
Jaya and Vijaya were both born as the two demon brothers, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu respectively. They were very frightening demons. Hiranyaksha had challenged Vishnu to a duel, arrogantly. Varaha (The boar avatar of Vishnu) finished off Jaya's first rebirth.
Vijaya was born as Hiranyakashipu. He had a son called Prahlad (That's another story for later!!) and wanted to kill him for his devotion to Lord Vishnu. (Hiranyakashipu had a grudge against Vishnu 'cos he killed his brother) But, Vishnu came as Narasimha (The lion-man) and murdered Hiranyakashipu. Thus, Jaya and Vijaya finished their first sentence.
Birth No. 2
Fast forward to the Ramayana. Who was the main bad guy in the Ramayana? Ravana, of course!!! He was the second rebirth of Jaya. And Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother, was Vijaya's second rebirth. They were both killed in the battle with Rama (Vishnu's seventh avatar). Thus, Jaya and Vijaya finished their second sentence.
Birth No. 3
Fast forward to the Mahabharata. Jaya and Vijaya were born as Shishupala and Dantavakra. Shishupala had four hands and three eyes. His parents decided to throw him away, but they heard a voice that said, " Shishupala's deformations will all go once he sits on a certain person's lap. That person will also be the one to kill Shishupala." Then, when anyone came to their palace, Shishupala's mum, Shrutakirti, would seat Shishupala on their lap. Once, Shishupala's cousin, Krishna came. He sat on Krishna's lap. All of his extra body parts at once fell off and rolled on the floor. Krishna promised Shrutakirti that he would pardon Shishupala for 100 sins.
Shishupala wanted to marry Rukmini. But Krishna stole her. This Made Shishupala hate Krishna forever. When Yudhistira did the Rajasuya yajna, he invited Shishupala. When he saw Krishna there, Shishupala started abusing him. This was his 100th sin. Krishna threw his Sudarshan chakra at Shishupala, killing on the spot.
King Salva was a great friend of Dantvakra. He ordered an attack on Dwaraka, to prove that no other warrior was as strong as him, and to avenge Shishupala. But, he was slaughtered by Krishna. Dantavakra was enraged. He marched into the palace of Dwaraka like it was his own. He cracked the guards' bones with his mace. He stormed into the balcony where Krishna was sitting. Maybe drinking an iced tea or something. Dantavakra went to slap Krishna's head with his mace. Krishna flung his Sudarshan chakra at Dantavakra's heart, and split it into two halves. He was killed on the spot.
Thus, Jaya and Vijaya finished their third sentence and went back to Lord Vishnu in Vaikunta, and stayed there permanently, gate-keeping the golden gates of heaven.
Fun Fact: If you observe many Vishnu or co. temples, they will have two statues in front of the main mantapa. Those are most likely Jaya and Vijaya.
Thanks for reading my version of the story of Jaya and Vijaya!!! Please follow to receive notifications on when I post!!!!
A long, long, long, long, long, long (a million more longs!!) time ago, even before the first avatar that Vishnu took, there were two brothers, called Jaya and Vijaya. They were the grandsons of the God of the Sky, Varuna. They had amazing jobs (I mean, they had DAMN GOOD jobs!!!). They were the gate-keepers to the abode of Vishnu ( aka VAIKUNTA!!! The heavens!!!) !! They were in charge of keeping Lord Vishnu safe. That must have been a tiring job, with sooooo many demons around!! The brothers were excellent at hand-to-hand combat!! They used to wield maces, with gold inscriptions, that gave them extra strength!! They were capable of defeating an army of demons, with a few swings of their maces!!
One fine day, Jaya and Vijaya were doing their normal job; standing outside and guarding the gates of Vaikunta, when Lord Vishnu came out and told them, " Don't let anyone in for the next, ummm, few hours or so, please?" They were to obey their master's orders. But, as all mythological stories have, a twist appeared... (TWISSSSSSTTT....) The Four Kumaras, namely Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanatkumara, came to visit Lord Vishnu. Suddenly, Jaya and Vijaya thrust their maces in front of the golden entrance. "You may not enter, kids," said Jaya. (The Kumaras has a magical power to appear as kids, though they were EXTREMELY old!!!). "Lord Vishnu has given us orders not to let anyone into Vaikunta!" added Vijaya. They were adamant that no one shall go into Vishnu's abode.
The Kumaras grew angry. "O gatekeepers!!!! You have no right to tell us where we can go, or where we can't!!!! We are the sons of Bramha, the Kumaras!!!!!" shouted the Kumaras. Suddenly, Jaya and Vijaya started to tremble. Their courage was turned into fear!! They were scared. "O sacred ones, we have upset you. Accept our thorough apologies. " The Kumaras weren't convinced by their devotion. They became even more furious. " You insolent fools!!! We are not at all convinced by your act!!!! WE CURSE YOU TO LOSE YOUR DIVINITY, AND BE BORN ON EARTH AS HUMANS!!!!!!!!!!!!" The two brothers were frightened to lose their dignity as divine persons. Vishnu came running out as fast as he could, to see what the commotion was about. Vishnu appeared before Jaya and Vijaya and asked, "O Vijaya, what is this all about?" The weeping brothers narrated the whole incident to Vishnu. "Aaaaahh... I see..." said Vishnu. "Well, the curse of the Kumaras cannot be lifted, but it can be altered. I shall give both of you two choices. You may be born on Bhuloka seven times as a sheer devotee, or you may be born thrice as my arch-enemies. After serving these sentences, you may return to Vaikunta as my gate-keepers and live here permanently.
Jaya and Vijaya thought about it lengthily, but finally came to a decision. "O Lord, we already are ardent devotees of you. But, we shall not be able to bear seven lives without your presence. We choose to die at your hands, three times, then return to Vaikunta." They proclaimed to Lord Vishnu. So, Vishnu gave them their sentence. They were to be reborn as Vishnu's enemies thrice.
Birth No. 1
Jaya and Vijaya were both born as the two demon brothers, Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu respectively. They were very frightening demons. Hiranyaksha had challenged Vishnu to a duel, arrogantly. Varaha (The boar avatar of Vishnu) finished off Jaya's first rebirth.
Vijaya was born as Hiranyakashipu. He had a son called Prahlad (That's another story for later!!) and wanted to kill him for his devotion to Lord Vishnu. (Hiranyakashipu had a grudge against Vishnu 'cos he killed his brother) But, Vishnu came as Narasimha (The lion-man) and murdered Hiranyakashipu. Thus, Jaya and Vijaya finished their first sentence.
Birth No. 2
Fast forward to the Ramayana. Who was the main bad guy in the Ramayana? Ravana, of course!!! He was the second rebirth of Jaya. And Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother, was Vijaya's second rebirth. They were both killed in the battle with Rama (Vishnu's seventh avatar). Thus, Jaya and Vijaya finished their second sentence.
Birth No. 3
Fast forward to the Mahabharata. Jaya and Vijaya were born as Shishupala and Dantavakra. Shishupala had four hands and three eyes. His parents decided to throw him away, but they heard a voice that said, " Shishupala's deformations will all go once he sits on a certain person's lap. That person will also be the one to kill Shishupala." Then, when anyone came to their palace, Shishupala's mum, Shrutakirti, would seat Shishupala on their lap. Once, Shishupala's cousin, Krishna came. He sat on Krishna's lap. All of his extra body parts at once fell off and rolled on the floor. Krishna promised Shrutakirti that he would pardon Shishupala for 100 sins.
Shishupala wanted to marry Rukmini. But Krishna stole her. This Made Shishupala hate Krishna forever. When Yudhistira did the Rajasuya yajna, he invited Shishupala. When he saw Krishna there, Shishupala started abusing him. This was his 100th sin. Krishna threw his Sudarshan chakra at Shishupala, killing on the spot.
King Salva was a great friend of Dantvakra. He ordered an attack on Dwaraka, to prove that no other warrior was as strong as him, and to avenge Shishupala. But, he was slaughtered by Krishna. Dantavakra was enraged. He marched into the palace of Dwaraka like it was his own. He cracked the guards' bones with his mace. He stormed into the balcony where Krishna was sitting. Maybe drinking an iced tea or something. Dantavakra went to slap Krishna's head with his mace. Krishna flung his Sudarshan chakra at Dantavakra's heart, and split it into two halves. He was killed on the spot.
Thus, Jaya and Vijaya finished their third sentence and went back to Lord Vishnu in Vaikunta, and stayed there permanently, gate-keeping the golden gates of heaven.
Fun Fact: If you observe many Vishnu or co. temples, they will have two statues in front of the main mantapa. Those are most likely Jaya and Vijaya.
Thanks for reading my version of the story of Jaya and Vijaya!!! Please follow to receive notifications on when I post!!!!
Very well written Pradyun 😀 love reading your stories. Keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteThanks Kruthika!!!!
DeleteSuper Pradyun!
ReplyDeleteThanks Hayavadan Chikkappa!!!!!!
DeleteVery well written. I like the attention to detail and the easy readable style. Please continue writing.
ReplyDeleteThank You Krishnakumar uncle for your encouraging words. Please follow to receive updates about my posts!!!!!!!!
DeleteVery good rendition Pradyun :) I'm so glad you have the knowledge of so many mythological stories and you are able to put it up so well! Way to go Pradyun!:)
ReplyDeleteRaksha
Thanks Raksha Moushi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Delete