The Story of Indra and Virochana From Chandogya Upanishad, Chapter 8.7-12

Upanishads



The Story of Indra and Virochana

From Chandogya Upanishad, Chapter 8.7-12


Once Prajapati, the creator of the universe announced, “The Self is the sinless, ageless and deathless One; it has no sorrow nor hunger nor thirst. The goal of all its desire is the Truth, Truth is the one thing worthy of its resolve. It is this Self that has to be sought after, it alone one should seek to know. And one who seeks after the Self and knows it, gains possessions of all the worlds, wins all that is desirable.”

Both the gods and the demons heard this announcement and thought, “We must know this Atman or Self and seek this knowledge that promises all worlds.” Hence, Indra, the king of the gods and Virochana, the leader of the demons, approached Prajapati with all the humility of a disciple and requested him to impart this knowledge to them. Prajapati accepted them as his disciples and asked them to stay with him for thirty-two years.

Both, Indra and Virochana, stayed on living the life of a Brahmachari. At the end of that period, Prajapati called both of them and said, “Dear ones, the person visible in the pupil of the eye is Atman. This Atman is the Brahman, the immortal and fearless. Go and see yourself in a pan of water and then tell me what you saw.”

Next day when Prajapati asked both of them to narrate their experience they both said, “Lord, we saw the Self entirely as we are, the very image even to the very hairs and nails.”

“Go and adorn yourself and then look into the pan of water and tell me about your experience” said Prajapati to both of them.

Happy, they went and adorned themselves, looked into the pan of water, came back and replied to Prajapati, “Revered Sir, we saw ourselves well dressed, well groomed and well adorned.”

“Very good, this is Atman, the immortal and fearless, the Brahman” thus confirmed Prajapati to them.

Both Indra and Virochana, went happy and very much satisfied in their heart. Prajapati saw them going away and exclaimed to himself, “Whether they are gods or demons they will inevitably perish if they are satisfied with the mere reflection of the Reality.”

Virochana went to the demons and taught them this knowledge by saying that this bodily self is all that we need to know and serve and glorify. This is the supreme knowledge by which one obtains the world here and hereafter.

Indra was different from Virochana. He realized that something is wrong with what he has just learnt about the Atman. He felt uneasy. He thought to himself that as the water reflects a well adorned body so does it reflects a blind man if he is blind, a defective man if he is defective. If a body is destroyed or dead, then there is no reflection of a living body. How then could the body or its reflection be said to be the deathless Atman?

He went back to Prajapati and said, “Lord, I see really nothing worthy in this body or in its reflection. Please give me the true knowledge about the Atman.” Prajapati was happy with Indra and asked Indra to stay with him for another thirty-two years. At the end of that period Prajapati called him and said, “That which moves about in dreams is Atman.”

Indra seemed to be satisfied and made his way to the abode of gods. But as he went along, again doubt crept into his mind and he thought, “How can the dream self be Atman? In dreams one suffers, one is wounded, one weeps when afflicted. The fearless and sinless Atman cannot be subject to such happenings. This does not seem to be the truth. Even this time also something again is wrong with what I have learnt.” He came back and prostrated himself before Prajapati requesting him to explain the truth of Atman.

As usual, Prajapati told him to stay with him for another period of thirty-two years. Indra was all prepared. At the end of this period, Prajapati called Indra and said: “The self who is full pleased and is in a happy mood in deep sleep is the Atman.”

Indra was satisfied and went home. But before he reached his place, again doubt overwhelmed him and he said to himself, “In a dreamless sleep, the self does not know itself. It is not conscious of its own existence. How then can the unconscious self be Atman when it is described as the ever luminous one, ever conscious one?” He came back again to Prajapati and reported to him about his difficulties. This time Prajapati was more pleased with Indra and told him to spend five more years with him.

After the period was over Prajapati called Indra beside him and said: “O Indra, you have deserved the knowledge of the highest truth by your persistent effort and intense inquisitiveness.” Saying this Prajapati revealed that part of the highest knowledge to Indra for which he was ready at that point of time.

“This body is subject to death yet it embodies the deathless and bodiless Atman. This embodied Self falls into the trap of all dualities like pleasure and pain, but the bodiless Atman is not touched by any duality. So long as the Atman resides in the body and attaches itself to them he seems limited and restricted, but again when freed from the body becomes one with the infinite spirit. When the Atman leaves the body, goes wandering freely in the infinite worlds. The eye, the ear, the senses, the mind are there only in order that the Atman may see and hear and think. It is on account of Atman and in the Atman that the things and beings exist. He is the Truth and the final repository of all existence.”

This time when Indra went back to impart this knowledge to the gods, he had no doubt. The gods received the true knowledge and therefore live in the full knowledge of their Self.

And because Virochana was satisfied with the knowledge of body as self, the demons, even today live in the ignorance taking body as Self.