Indrota sage rectifies sin of King Janamejeya
After Yudhisthira was crowned as King of Hastinapur, Lord Krishna freed superb Bhishma from all of his sufferings prior to his death and requested him to alleviate Yudhisthira from mourning over the lifeless Kshatriyas thru the way of advising him on Dharma. Yudhishthira asked Pitamaha how could a king be free of a sin accomplished by way of him Inadvertently? In response, Bhishma narrated to him the historical tale of King Janamejaya and sage Indrota, the son of Suka of Saunaka or Shaunaka dynasty. Let us know about it in brief.
In the past, mighty King Janamejaya, son of Parikshit, once had committed Brahmahatya sin without knowing. (Here King Parikshit and Janamejaya is not to be confused with the grandson and great-grandson of Arjuna) All the brahmins including the priest of Janamejaya deserted him after being privy to his sin. Out of anxiety, the king went to the woodland. His people had also dethroned him; so he started out doing remarkable virtuous deeds even as being within the forest. Bewildered by means of sorrow, he stayed engaged in penance for a long term. He roamed around everyone all over the earth and asked Brahmins for a solution for Brahmhatya-prevention. King Janamejaya while wandering in the forest reached Indrota Sage who continually followed strict Vrat. He grabbed both the feet of the monk and started pressing those slowly. The sage saw the king there and highly criticized him at that point.
He stated, “you're a great sinner and a brahmin-killer! How did you come here? Do not touch me. go away, we don't like your stay here. There's a bloody scent popping out of you. Your vision is much like a lifeless body. You are blessed in appearance, but in reality, is inauspicious. You are dead, but living wandering everywhere. You are the reason for the loss of life of a brahmin. Your conscience is sincerely impure. You wake up and sleep as well by thinking of your sin and consider yourself supremely glad. You're born simplest for incorrect deeds. Parents via penance, worship, salutation, and tolerance desire to get a son with a purpose to get the ultimate welfare from their sons. But due to you all of your ancestors have fallen into hell. All their hopes that had been tied to you, are wasted now. From worshipping brahmins every person is blessed to have sons, heaven, age, and success. You usually have hatred for these Brahmins. Your life is meaningless. After leaving this world, you'll gain the culmination of your sinful karma while remaining in hell along with your head down for eternal years. There the vultures and peacocks will hurt you with their beaks or even after coming back from hell you'll have to be born into some sinful life. You who understand that when the result of your sin is not being received in this world, then where is the existence of the afterlife? So on going to Yamloka, the messengers of Yamraja will make you remember all these things.”
After listening to this from the sage, King answered, “Sage!
I deserve hatred and reproach, it is why you despise me. I should be cursed and
reproached; it is why I am rebuked by means of you. Therefore, I want to please
you. All this sin exists in me; So I'm burning inside like a person has put me
in the fireplace. Remembering my misdeeds, my mind isn't pleased. Surely, I am
going to have great fear even from Yamraja. This thing is piercing like a thorn
in my heart. How can I live on without taking it out of my heart? You give up
all the anger and tell me some way of salvation. I have been a superb devotee
of brahmins; so this time I request you again that a few parts of my family
need to live. The complete clan ought to not be destroyed. Nothing remains of
our extended family after we have been cursed by way of Brahmins. We're neither
staying in society due to our sin nor getting admiration, from fellow brothers.
Much like a yogi guard a sinner living in an abandoned vicinity, a brahmin like
you who have particular know-how of the Vedas continually must guard sinners
like us, with your mercy. The Kshatriya who is deprived of his rights due to his
sin will become like Pulinda and Shabara in hell. In a few ways, they do no
longer find the Deva Gati. You are a scholar and I am an idiot. You by means of
not paying attention to my child's intellect, like a father on a son naturally
is happy, within the same way be thrilled with me.”
Shaunaka said, “what's the surprise on this if an ignorant man does unworthy work. A wise man who is aware of reality doesn't get angry with creatures. One who climbs on the room of pure intellect and whilst being without sorrow for himself mourns for different unhappy men, he knows the whole lot with the power of his knowledge, like a person standing at the top of the mountain watches over all of the human beings on the ground. Individuals who are detached from the path of ancient superior men and is cursed through them, He does not have the achievement of understanding. You've been aware of the power of Brahmins and their glories in Vedas and scriptures. Therefore, you ought to try peacefully, so that the brahmins can give you shelter. anything has been accomplished for the service of Brahmins without anger, it is achieved for the sake of transcendental gain. In case you repent in your sin, continue to stay in religion.”
Janamejaya said, “Shaunaka! I have a lot of repentance in me for my sin, now I can by no means lose my religion. I want to get welfare. So you are happy on a devotee like me.”Shaunaka said, “King! I want you to destroy all your pleasure. You do good to all the creatures whilst remembering dharma. I do not invite you out of fear, humility, and greed. I do not want to take something from you. Regardless of others’ cursing, I ignore them and invite you to come here only because of religion. Human beings will name me ignorant of Dharma. My friends will abandon me and my dear ones will burn with splendid rage. Some wise men might be able to understand my objective. This is my complete attempt to do good for Brahmins. The brahmins remained safe due to me so that you too attempt the equal. You promise this to me by no means to insurrection in opposition to brahmins.” King Janamejaya then did swear by touching sage’s feet by no means to hate brahmins thru his thoughts, speech, and motion.
It's also considered to be the maximum sacred to visit the holy pilgrimage. The man who goals a long life for himself, he diligently ought to carry out the yajna, then abandon it and engage in penance. Kurukshetra is said to be a holy pilgrimage. In Kurukshetra greater sacred is the river Sarasvati. In those pilgrimages, the Prithudak pilgrimage is said to be excellent. By way of bathing in it and ingesting its water, there's no worry of demise. If you take bath in the holy river of Pilgrimage Mahasarovar, Pushkar, Prabhas, Uttar Manas, Kalodak, Drishadati, and Sarasvati, and so forth, then you may have longevity. One must take bath in all the pilgrimage places even as doing Svadhyaya or self-study of Vedas. Splendid Manu has said that sannyasa within the form of the whole renunciation is pure. Like a child due to being devoid of anger and hatred, always remains true-hearted. He neither does virtue nor sin. Further whilst there's no sorrow in all of the creatures of the world, how can there be happiness? Both joy and sorrow are the dharma of all the dwelling beings that accept the omissions and go in line with them. One who gives up everything with including affection and ego and so forth, whose virtues and sins have all been retired, his life is auspicious.
King! one who has strength and power, would be able to
conduct Dharma. You rule the earth to convey happiness to brahmins. Just like
the manner you first criticized those brahmins, now please all of them along
with your good conduct. Even though they rebuke you again and again and keep
you away, by maintaining introspective in them, you decide that no longer to
kill Brahmins. To perform one's responsibility do the approach of supreme
welfare with the complete effort by performing duty. One should not be in the
company of evil men via thinking about his redundancies. Neither be drawn to
their specific quality, nor be interested to establish relationships with them.
If one’s act becomes in opposition to scripture, then for that a repentant man
becomes free from his sin. If it turns into sin for the second time, via making
this type of promise that ‘he will now not work like this again, he can be
freed from that sin. 'From today onwards I'm able to practice only Dharma' via
taking the rule, he gets rid of the sin for the third time. Many times a man
visiting holy pilgrimages gets rid of the majority of his sins. Beneficial to a
man who desires happiness must accomplished rituals. when they devour aromatic
substances, their body emits fragrance, and those who always eat rotten, the
simplest bad odour comes from their body.
A person who does penance will immediately end up free from all sins. By performing Agnihotra continuously for one year the man gets rid of the guilt attached to him. By way of Worshiping Agni for three years, a householder becomes free of his sin. From travelling on foot for one hundred yojanas in the tirthas like Mahasarovar Pushkar, Prabhas Tirtha, and Uttar Mansarovar even One receives rid of the sin of Embryo. A person who kills animals, saves an equal quantity of creatures from the hazard of dying, he is free of the sin of killing them. As in step with great Manu, If a man dives in the water while chanting Aghamarshana (Vedic hymn of forgiving sins) thrice, then he gets the fruit similar to that of the Ashwamedha Yagya. That character who chants the Aghamarshana mantra will quickly take away all his sins and is reputable everywhere.
Once upon a time all of the gods and demons with respect went near Deity Guru Brihaspati and asked, ‘Maharishi! you know the fruit of Dharma. Similarly, it's also not unknown to you that, who has to go through the pain of hell because of sins in the afterlife, but tell us if the yogi for whom happiness and Sorrow are the same wins or not over the origin of virtues and sins. You describe the fruits of virtues and the way does a virtuous man destroys his sins?' Brihaspati said, ‘If a man unknowingly after committing a sin, deliberately performs the rituals of virtuous deeds, then he gets rid of his sins in the same way as by making use of soda, cleaning soap, etc wash away dirt from garments. Blameworthy man must not show up his ego and without having sharp sights for faults he ought to start the rituals of welfare righteousness. The person who ignores the faults of superior guys and whoever commits a sin abstains from it in a welfare act ends up sinless.
Shaunaka by pronouncing this performed the rituals of Ashwamedha yajna, carried out by King Janamejaya. With the aid of this, all the sins of King Janamejaya were destroyed and he began to illuminate like a blazing hearth. King received all sorts of reputations. Just like the full moon comes in the sky, in the same way, glorious King Janamejaya again entered his kingdom.
Ref: Mahabharata book Shanti Parva