One of my favorite side stories from the Mahabharata is that of Yavakrita, the youngster who wanted to become knowledgeable without putting in the actual hard work of learning from a good teacher.
But let's start from the beginning cc: @bibekdebroy /1
But let's start from the beginning cc: @bibekdebroy /1
Bharadvaja and Raibhya, two rishis, were best friends since childhood.
Raibhya went on to become knowledgeable in the Vedas, while Bharadvaja became an ascetic focused on self-discipline and abstinence from pleasure. /2
Raibhya went on to become knowledgeable in the Vedas, while Bharadvaja became an ascetic focused on self-discipline and abstinence from pleasure. /2
Raibhya and his two sons, as a result of being known as knowledgeable people, got all sorts of invitations to conferences and consulting gigs.
By contrast, Bharadvaja and his son Yavakrita didn't enjoy similar perks. /3
By contrast, Bharadvaja and his son Yavakrita didn't enjoy similar perks. /3
Yavakrita decided he wanted a piece of that market. He decided to perform terrible austerities in order to get the requisite knowledge of the Vedas, without having to actually go through the years of studying under a guru /4
If you remember your Vedas (and if you don't these are good times to brush up), "performing austerities" is an ancient Indian form of attention-seeking behavior to blackmail the Gods into giving you what you want. We invented self-harm before it was cool /5
Yavakrita burnt his body in a gigantic and flaming fire until Indra showed up, told him that the right way to acquire knowledge is the hard way, and that getting a fake degree like this was a bad idea, and left. /6
Unfazed, Yavakrita continued his austerities. Another trip by Indra to point out that what he wanted was impossible had no effect. /7
Changing tactics, Indra appeared before Yavakrita as a hundred-year-old-tuberculosis-patient on a river bank, and started throwing handfuls of sand in the river. When a puzzled Yavakrita asked the old man what he was doing, he said he was building a bridge across the river /8
That's stupid and impossible, pointed out Yavakrita, and told the old man to spend his time on something less stupid and less impossible. In a clever display of whataboutery, the old man replied that Yavakrita should do the same re knowledge of the Vedas /9
Yavakrita realizing that the old man was Indra, changed his approach, and in the manner of a lay citizen supplicating in a government office, said, essentially "You are awesome; please see what you can do for me" /10
At this point Indra was so kicked at having won the argument, that incredibly, he just went ahead and granted Yavakrita the boons he wanted: knowledge of the Vedas without any studies.
I'm not kidding. Check here (from @bibekdebroy's translation of the critical edition) /11
I'm not kidding. Check here (from @bibekdebroy's translation of the critical edition) /11
Yavakrita, overjoyed, took this news to his father. But instead of the expected "आज तुम्हारी माँ होती तो कितनी खुश होती", his father said, "Your I̶I̶T̶ ̶d̶e̶g̶r̶e̶e̶ boons are going to make you proud. And once you're filled with pride, you will soon be miserably destroyed" /12
Bharadvaja pointed out that this was a time-honoured trick of the Gods. When an unreasonable person insists on getting something unreasonable, just give it to him¹. The outcome is usually quite bad for him. (Note ¹: It is usually a him)
/13
/13
Parents who know that their children will do something stupid, also know that warning them is pointless, but still feel compelled to do so. Bharadvaja said "Don't be like the people in the previous tweet. Especially, do not cross Raibhya. He can crush you if you anger him." /14
Unfortuntely, Yavakrita, who knew history, but had not *studied* history, was condemned to repeat it. /15
With his newfound credentials, Yavakrita acquired fame and power and started doing famous-and-powerful-privileged-male things like:
• Taking great pleasure in attacking his competitors (other rishis), and
• Sexually exploiting women he came across /16
• Taking great pleasure in attacking his competitors (other rishis), and
• Sexually exploiting women he came across /16
The story ended when one of the women he forced into having sex with him turned out to be Raibhya's daughter-in-law. An angry Raibhya had Yavakrita destroyed in a particularly dramatic way involving seduction by another beautiful woman, and death-by-Rakshasa /17
The morals of the story, I think, are:
• Learning must be hard, otherwise it doesn't stick
• Just because you have knowledge of the theory, doesn't mean you know how to apply it in practice, and
• Don't be too proud of your credentials /18
• Learning must be hard, otherwise it doesn't stick
• Just because you have knowledge of the theory, doesn't mean you know how to apply it in practice, and
• Don't be too proud of your credentials /18
I've been flippant and loose in retelling the story. As they say, some incidents have been changed for dramatic purposes. But the overall big-picture of the story—and the intended morals—are accurate. /19
Please check out the original; You can find it in Chapter 432, Volume 3 of @bibekdebroy's translation of the critical edition of the Mahabharata. (Thanks @makarand_s for lending me his copy when inspiration struck late last night.) /end
