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The Sage Who Loved With His Life

The story of sage Ruru and Pramadvara

By ParagPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 5 min read
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The Sage Who Loved With His Life
Photo by Mayur Gala on Unsplash

This delightful love story of the sage Ruru and his wife Pramadvara is described in the Pauloma Parva of the Mahabharata. It's the story of how Ruru loved Pramadvara, quite literally, with his life.

I’ll begin with the story of Pramadvara’s birth.

Menaka, the heavenly apsara (nymph), was distraught when she learned that she was pregnant from the relationship she had recently enjoyed with the Gandharva king Vishwavasu. Indra, the Lord of heaven, had ordained a law that no apsara could raise her child in his kingdom. She would either have to give up her child or give up heavenly life.

Unable to decide what to do, Menaka decided to bide time and allowed the child to grow in her womb. When the time of giving birth drew near, Menaka approached Indra and requested him for permission to raise her child in heaven. Indra, unwilling to make an exception, refused.

Menaka was now faced with a difficult choice. If she wanted to experience motherhood and raise her child, she would have to forego heaven. And if she wanted to live in heaven, she would have to abandon her child. Unable to leave heaven and her lover, Vishwavasu, Menaka abandoned her child near the hermitage of sage Sthulakesa and returned to heaven without any regret.

This newborn girl, that Menaka had abandoned, was said to bear the light of the heavens. Her face shone with the brilliant yellow rays of the sun and was as beautiful as the pure and soft lotus.

Sage Sthulakesa saw the child on that very day when he walked out of his cottage after completing his prayers and oblations. He was overcome with compassion when he picked up the divine child and decided to raise her as his own daughter.

Sthulakesa named this child Pramadvara. He was both a mother and a father to the child, raising her with immense love. He guided her as a guru would and performed all the sacred ceremonies for his daughter. She, in turn, grew up to be an immensely beautiful, virtuous, and noble maiden.

One day, Ruru — son of sage Pramati and great-grandson of the illustrious sage Bhrigu — saw Pramadavara in the forest near Sthulakesa's hermitage and was overcome with love for her. So intense was his love that Ruru could no longer bear to be separated from this maiden for even a moment.

He made some inquiries about who this maiden was. When he learned that she was Pramadvara, the daughter of sage Sthulakesa, he rushed to his father and told him that he was deeply in love with the daughter of sage Sthulakesa and wanted to marry her. He urged his father to approach the sage and put forth his request for a marital alliance without any delay.

Pramati, after ascertaining that the maiden was indeed virtuous and noble and respecting his son's wishes, hastened to the hermitage of Sthulakesa and asked him for his daughter's hand in marriage for his son. Sthulakesa was pleased to receive the request for alliance from the virtuous Pramati for his son and readily agreed. The date for marriage was fixed, upon Sthulakesa's request, for the day when the nakshatra Phalguni would rise in the heavens.

However, as fate would have it, Pramadvara was bitten by a snake a few days before the wedding while playing near the hermitage with her friends. It was a very poisonous snake, and the venom spread rapidly in her body. Her friends saw with horror and fear Pramadvara writhing in pain as her face turned ashen, her lips turned blue, her hair lifeless, and little by little life left her body and limbs. Within a few moments, their dear friend lay lifeless before them, before any of them could react or ask for help.

When Sthulakesa found out that his daughter lay lifeless, he rushed to her, and upon realizing that she had died, he cried with intense sorrow. Soon, the word spread to other sages who rushed out of their hermitages and sat with Sthulakesa to share his sorrow.

When news reached Ruru that the love of his life had died after being bitten by a snake, he was alarmed and rushed to where Pramadvara lay. After seeing her lifeless body and all the eminent sages grief-stricken and unable to revive her, he was so overcome with sorrow that he ran deep into the jungle to quell his grief. Still unable to bear the grief, he lay down on the floor and wailed. And after having cried for a long time, he looked up to the heavens and said: If I have kept my vows sincerely as a brahmin; if I have lived a virtuous life; if I have gained any virtue in past lives; I now surrender all the merit that has accrued to me in order to revive my beloved from the clutches of death. Thus, Ruru looked up at heaven and implored the gods.

So moved were the gods by the sincerity and depth of Ruru's love that they send a gandharva (heavenly messenger) to console Ruru.

The gandharva approached Ruru, placed his hand on Ruru’s shoulder, and said, “O noble brahmin; O son of the virtuous Pramati. You, of all people, should know that every mortal is given a fixed amount of time on earth and no one can change that. Pramadvara, your beloved’s time upon this earth, has come to an end. Even as we speak, Yama — the Lord of death — is preparing to take her soul back to heaven.”

Ruru looked at the Gandharva and said: "O virtuous messenger of the gods, you speak the truth, I have learned the scriptures from my father and know of the law of kaal (time), but neither my mind nor my heart is willing to accept it. I implore you to find a way to bring my beloved back to life."

The Gandharva looked at Ruru with compassion and said, "You have touched my heart, Ruru, there is indeed a way. I can convince Yama to bring your beloved back to life if you agree to one condition."

Ruru looked at the gandharva and said: "Whatever be your condition, I shall fulfill it. Pray tell me so I can assent to it."

The gandharva replied, "You will have to forego half of your lifespan and give it to Pramadvara if you wish to see her alive."

Ruru was overjoyed when he heard this proposal. He cried out, "Of course I will give her half my life. Hasten, O noble gandharva, to Yama, and I beg you to plead for the life of my beloved."

The gandharva immediately departed for Yama's abode and recounted the incident to him. He told Yama of Ruru's great love and his willingness to give half his life to revive Pramadvara. When Yama heard the story, even he who was the sternest of gods, was moved by compassion and agreed to give half of Ruru's life to Pramadvara. Thus Pramadvara was brought back to life.

Ruru and Pramadvara got married, as had been decided, on the day the nakshatra Phalgui arose in the heavens.

They lived and died together.

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About the Creator

Parag

Finally, I can say that I am a writer - although I'm still figuring out the genres in which I'd like to write!

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