Mandapala's Past and His Pact with Agni to Save His Sons
The sage Mandapala, denied heaven because he has no children, becomes a bird to quickly father sons. He abandons his young family, but when Agni advances to burn the forest where they live, he desperately prays to the fire god, praising him with every sacred name. Pleased, Agni grants his plea and promises to spare the children.
Vaishampayana began the story Janamejaya demanded. There was a great rishi named Mandapala, learned in dharma, rigid in his vows, a chief among ascetics. He followed the path of brahmacharya (celibate study), devoted to the sacred texts, and achieved perfect control over his senses. Having attained the final goal of asceticism, he gave up his body and went to the world of the ancestors.
But he did not find the fruits of his acts there. The dwellers of heaven sat around Dharmaraja, the god of justice. Mandapala asked them, “Why have I not attained the worlds that should have been the fruit of my asceticism? What have I not done?”
The gods replied, “O brahmana! Hear about the debts men are undoubtedly born with—to rituals, brahmacharya, and offspring. You are an ascetic and you have performed sacrifices. But you did not have any offspring. Because you did not have offspring, these worlds are closed to you.” A son, they told him, saves a father from the hell known as *put*. “Therefore, try to obtain offspring.”
On hearing this, Mandapala began to wonder how he might obtain a large number of offspring swiftly. After thinking, he concluded that birds give birth to many offspring quickly.
So he became a Sharngaka bird. He united with a female Sharngaka named Jarita, and through her, he had four sons who were knowledgable about the brahman (the ultimate reality). But while these young sons were still inside their eggs, the sage deserted them there in the forest with their mother and went off after another bird named Lapita.
Jarita, left alone, became thoughtful and anxious out of affection for her children. Those sons—infant rishis still in their eggs—had been undeservedly abandoned by their father in Khandava forest. But out of love, Jarita could not discard them. After they were born, she brought them up in her own way.
After some time, Mandapala was wandering in the forest with Lapita when he saw Agni advance towards Khandava to consume it. Knowing the fire’s resolution and knowing his sons were still young and vulnerable, the brahmana sage was seized with fear for their protection.
He prayed to the greatly energetic fire, the lord of the world. His prayer was a litany of praise, weaving together every aspect of Agni’s divine nature. “O Agni! You are the mouth of all the gods, you are the one who carries sacrificial offerings. You are the purifier who dwells invisibly in all living beings.” He named Agni as one, and as three; as having eight forms; as the creator of the entire universe. “O fire! The universe is based on you and without you, it will be destroyed instantly.” He called Agni the fire in the clouds and in lightning, the flames that burn down all beings. “O Jataveda! You have created everything in this universe.” He identified Agni with a host of gods: Dhata, Brihaspati, the Ashvins, Mitra, Soma, Anila.
Having been thus prayed to, Agni was satisfied. With happiness in his heart, he asked, “What good can I do for you?”
With hands joined in salutation, Mandapala told him, “When you burn Khandava forest, please spare my sons.”
The illustrious bearer of sacrificial offerings gave him his word. And with that promise secured, Agni blazed into Khandava, wishing to consume it.