Embedded Files
Finally we have reached the end of our journey. We have seen a glimpse of the lives of Jaya's first two avatars, Hiranyakashipu and Ravana. We have seen them gain power, only to lose it all because of an avatar of Vishnu. Now that their third incarnations are all that are left, Jaya and Vijaya will soon be with Vishnu again. As we move on to the third avatar, we also move from one epic, the Ramayana, to another, the Mahabharata. Unlike Ravana, the avatar does not play a vital role in the epic. When Jaya becomes his avatar, he takes the name of Shishupala and will again meet his fate at the hands of Vishnu.
The Birth of Shishupala
Shishupala's story begins with a long lineage that ultimately leads to his birth to the king of Chedi, Damaghosha. More importantly, Shishupala's mother was Srutashrava who's sister was Kunti. He was born as a baby with three eyes and four arms which didn't make him the prettiest baby out there. The parents shared that sentiment and decided to cast out the child. But before they could get rid of him an Akashvani rang out.
"Your child will be a strong warrior. His eyes and arms will be reduced to two. But this will only happen when the child sits on the lap of another. This is the one who the child will perish to, but the time when is not set," boomed the celestial voice from the sky.
Damaghosha and Srutashrava were pleased with the news and immediately sent out word to anyone that would listen, "The one whose lap cures our child will be given treasures beyond their imagination." People came in droves to test the power of their laps. Each put Shishupala on their lap with hopes of riches. Each left empty handed. It wasn't until the son of Vasudeva and Kunti came to Chedi that Jaya's avatar had his extra eye and arms removed.
If the names of Vasudeva and Kunti don't ring a bell maybe the name of their son will sound a little familiar to you. His name just happens to be Krishna. Yes, that Krishna from the Mahabharata. If you don't remember him, Lord Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. But because Kunti is Shishupala's aunt, there will be some, complications, as destiny unfolds and Krishna kills Shishupala.
The moment that Krishna placed the baby Shishupala on his lap, the abnormalities faded from existence. It was then known that Krishna was the one that would eventually kill Shishupala. But what parents would simply allow their son to die? Not Srutashrava. She persuaded her nephew to spare Shishupala's life for one hundred times whenever Krishna found that Shishupala committed a killable offense.
Years passed since Shishupala sat on Krishna's lap. Both had aged and Shishupala was even arranged to be wed to Rukmini, the sister of Rukmi, who was a great friend of Shishupala. Their wedding day at come, but Rukmini held a secret. Her love was saved for Krishna and Vishnu's avatar felt the same for Rukmini. It was such an intense attraction that Krishna arrived at the day of the wedding, stole away Rukmini, and rode off to the sunset.
"Where is Rukmini? I can't find her anywhere," asked Shishupala, curiously.
"M-.. my lord. She, um. She was taken," stammered a servant.
"What do you mean?! Who took her?" Shishupala roared.
"I believe it was the lord Krishna. Al- also, um, it looked like she wanted to go..."
"KRISHNA! My own blood! He will pay for this."
Again we see love being the catalyst for Jaya's hatred of Vishnu through their avatars. This hatred is stronger than anything and will inspire all of Shishupala's further actions. However, we will again see the strength of boons come into play.
Shishupala and Rukmi headed out with their armies to confront Krishna and take back Rukmini. Because of the boon granted to Srutashrava, Krishna was not able to harm Shishupala as he was still within his one hundred pardon limit. This lead Rukmini and Krishna to flee where Krishna will eventually befriend the Pandavas. As the pardons steadily dwindle down, Shishupala stayed in King Jarasandha's capital.
When the Pandavas had regained their throne, it became time for Yudhistira to be crowned king. Everyone across the land came to his coronation, most importantly, Krishna and Shishupala. After the coronation was completed, Yudhistira needed to bless one person. He quickly chose Krishna which brought out the rage of Shishupala.
"Again! He does it again! If there was one person who I assumed would understand the treachery of their cousins, it would be you..." Shishupala pointed at Yudhistira.
"Krishna is not deserving of a blessing, he deserves no honors. A man of that little integrity deserves nothing." As Shishupala continued to insult Krishna and Yudhistira, the counter to one hundred got closer. Eventually, Shishupala committed his one hundredth sin against Krishna and the boon was gone.
"Krishna, you are nothing! Weak. Go on. Attack me. Oh, that's right. You can't." Shishupala jeered, laughing. Krishna looked back at him and smiled.
Krishna kills Shishupala
"Jaya, Jaya, Jaya. I'm afraid you have actually reached your one hundred and first. But don't fret. This is the third avatar. Hiranyakashipu and Ravana went swiftly as well. You are all that is left, or rather Shishupala is all that is left. Now is the time to come back to me."
The Sudarshana Chakra spun on Krishna's finger while Shishupala stood still, stunned. In a split second, the chakra zipped thrmany ough the air and cleanly cut off the head of Jaya's last avatar.
As the Sudarshana Chakra killed Shishupala, Jaya's soul was freed. However, Vijaya's avatar has been missing. In retaliation to the murder of Shishupala, many came to Krishna for revenge. Salva was one of the many that were defeated by Krishna which enraged Dantavakra who came to avenge Shishupala and Salva. He was of course Vijaya's avatar and as destiny would have it, he was defeated by Krishna. Jaya and Vijaya had finally been freed of their earthly punishment. When they arrived back in Vaikuntha, the two gatekeepers were welcome with open arms by Vishnu. He had never wanted two of his most committed devotees to leave him, but the god had to respect the Kumaras of Brahma.
Author's Note:
Again I decided to use one of the Amar Chitra Katha comics as the source story for Shishupala as I did for the last two incarnations. I kept the origin story of Shishupala true to that of the comic, but strayed a little bit when Shisupala had his conflicts with Krishna, both with Rukmini and when Yudhistira blessed Krishna. I also used the Wikipedia page for Shishupala so that I could get a little refresher for the story, but it also had some deviations from the comic book. When it came to Vijaya's avatar, I don't remember seeing any mention of him in the comic. I used second Wikipedia link to read about Dantavakra but also had to use the other link just so I could know how he died. For my little interjections, I wanted to be able to continue and weave the story of each avatar with the others. That was their main purpose in this story, this way you could see the themes like Vishnu taking away someone that Jaya's avatar loved. Of course I also wanted to keep up the "Vishnu's avatar knows who Jaya really is, but Jaya's avatar is confused" thing that I did whenever one the avatars was about to die. Then for the end I wanted to show how Vishnu gladly welcomed the two back as he had never wanted to send them off in the first place.
Image Sources:
Banner image: Medium
First image: Wikimedia Commons
Second image: edited from Amar Chitra Katha
Google Sites
Report abuse