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Kapila
Kapila is narrated in the Hindu Puranas as an Avatar of Lord Vishnu who came to Earth to restore the spiritual balance through his teachings. He is said to have founded the Samkhya School of Philosophy.
Kapila (Hindi: कपिल ऋषि) was a Vedic sage credited as one of the founders of the Samkhya school of philosophy. He is prominent in the Bhagavata Purana, which features a theistic version of his Samkhya philosophy.[1] Traditional Hindu sources describe him as a descendant of Manu, a grandson of Brahma, and an avatar of Vishnu. The Bhagavad Gita depicts Kapila as a yogi hermit with highly developed siddhis, or spiritual powers.
Many of the details about sage Kapila’s life are described in Book 3 of the Bhagavata Purana, where it is mentioned that his parents were Kardama Muni and Devahuti. After his father left home, Kapila instructed his mother, Devahuti in the philosophy of yoga and devotional worship of Lord Vishnu, enabling her to achieve liberation (moksha). Kapila’s Sankhya is also given by Krishna to Uddhava in Book 11 of the Bhagavata Purana, a passage also known as the “Uddhava Gita”.
Kapila is also mentioned by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita:
Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila.(10.26)
Birth of the Ganges
Kapila is a major figure in the story associated with the descent of the Ganga (Ganges) river from heaven. King Sagara, an ancestor of Rama, had performed the Aswamedha yagna (Horse-sacrifice) ninety-nine times. On the hundredth time the horse was sent around the earth Indra, the King of Heaven, grew jealous and kidnapped the horse, hiding it in the hermitage of Kapila.
The 60,000 sons of Sagara found the horse, and believing Kapila to be the abductor assaulted him. Kapila turned his assailants to ashes. Anshuman, a grandson of King Sagara, came to Kapila begging him to redeem the souls of Sagara’s 60,000 sons. Kapila replied that only if the Ganges descended from heaven and touched the ashes of the 60,000 would they be redeemed.[5] The Ganges was eventually brought to earth, redeeming the sons of Sagara, through the tapasya of King Bhagiratha.
Teachings
Kapila’s Samkhya is taught in various Hindu texts:
Mahabharata
* “Kapila said, “Acts only cleanse the body. Knowledge, however, is the highest end (for which one strives). 5 When all faults of the heart are cured (by acts), and when the felicity of Brahma becomes established in knowledge, benevolence, forgiveness, tranquillity, compassion, truthfulness, and candour, abstention from injury, absence of pride, modesty, renunciation, and abstention from work are attained. These constitute the path that lead to Brahma. By those one attains to what is the Highest.” (Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCLXX, p. 270-271).
* “Bhishma said (to Yudhisthira), ‘Listen, O slayer of foes! The Sankhyas or followers of Kapila, who are conversant with all paths and endued with wisdom, say that there are five faults, O puissant one, in the human body. They are Desire and Wrath and Fear and Sleep and Breath. These faults are seen in the bodies of all embodied creatures. Those that are endued with wisdom cut the root of wrath with the aid of Forgiveness. Desire is cut off by casting off all purposes. By cultivation of the quality of Goodness (Sattwa) sleep is conquered, and Fear is conquered by cultivating Heedfulness. Breath is conquered by abstemiousness of diet. (Book 12: Santi Parva: Part III, Section CCCII.) [6]
Bhagavata Purana
* “My appearance in this world is especially to explain the philosophy of Sankhya, which is highly esteemed for self-realization by those desiring freedom from the entanglement of unnecessary material desires. This path of self-realization, which is difficult to understand, has now been lost in the course of time. Please know that I have assumed this body of Kapila to introduce and explain this philosophy to human society again.” (3.24.36-37)
* “When one is completely cleansed of the impurities of lust and greed produced from the false identification of the body as “I” and bodily possessions as “mine,” one’s mind becomes purified. In that pure state he transcends the stage of so-called material happiness and distress.”(3.25.16)
Maharishi Kapila: The Perfect Being
Kapila Muni, a renowned sage of antiquity, is the author of the philosophical system known as Sankhya, which forms an important part of India’s ancient philosophical heritage. Sankhya is both a system of metaphysics, dealing with the elemental principles of the physical universe, and a system of spiritual knowledge, with its own methodology, culminating in full consciousness of the Supreme Absolute.
He is believed to have been born in Prabhas Kshetra near Dwaraka in Gujarat, India to Kardam Muni and Devahuti. His birth is dated around 600 BCE but other sources give much earlier period.
Kapila is described in the Puranas as an avatar of Lord Vishnu who came to earth to restore the spiritual balance through his teachings. He is known for teaching a process of liberation known as bhakti yoga.
Kapila is the brother and teacher of Anusuya, also known as “Sati Anasuya” the chaste wife and the mother of Dattatreya. He is considered to be a descendant of Manu, the primal human being, and a grandson of Lord Brahma.
According to the Vedic social system, a man with a grown son may accept the order of sannyasa, thus renouncing all connections with his family and worldly life, and entrust his wife to the care of his son. With this in mind, Kardam Muni took a vow of silence and went to live in the forest as an ascetic, entrusting Devahuti in his son’s care. Kapila instructed his mother Devahuti in the philosophy of yoga and worship of Lord Vishnu, enabling her to achieve self-realization and attain moksha (liberation) from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Kapila is mentioned by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as the greatest of all perfected beings:
Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila. (10.26)
In fact, Kapila’s teachings are quoted extensively within the Srimad Bhagavatam.
In the Mahabharata (3.107), Kapila is a major figure associated with the descent of Goddess Ganga as a river from heaven.
King Sagar of Ayodhya, an ancestor of Rama, had performed the Aswamedha sacrifice ninety-nine times. On the hundredth time, Indra, the king of Devas became jealous and kidnapped the horse, hiding it in the hermitage of Kapila.
The 60,000 sons of Sagara found the white horse tied beside the meditating Kapila. The enraged princes condemned Kapila as a thief and attacked him. When the sage opened his eyes in anger, his immense power turned the princes into ashes. Anshuman, one of the grandsons of King Sagara, begged the Sage to redeem the souls of all those he had turned to ashes. Kapila replied that they could only be redeemed if Goddess Ganges descended from heaven and touched their ashes.
Bringing Ganga River to Earth was a near impossible task which could not be completed by successive generations. As a result, the negative impact of the dead princes multiplied in their destructive energy and the kingdom began to lose its peace and prosperity. Unable to bear the suffering of his people, King Bhagirath, a descendant of King Sagara, turned over the kingdom to his trusted ministers to perform harsh penance. He finally succeeded in bringing Ganga River down and redeemed the souls of his ancestors.
According to the oldest available Samkhya work, Isvarakrsna’s Samkhya-karika (“Verses on Samkhya,” c. second century AD) Kapila taught his principles to Asuri, who taught them to Pañcasikha, the Gandharva.
Sankhya deals with the elemental categories or principles of the physical universe, Sankhya is what Western scholars generally refer to as “metaphysics.” The term sankhya literally means “to count.” This name is used because Sankhya philosophy enumerates principles of cosmic evolution by rational analysis. The etymological meaning of the word sankhya is “that which explains very lucidly by analysis of material elements.”
Philosophically, this term is used because the Sankhya system expounds analytical knowledge that enables one to distinguish between matter and spirit. This understanding culminates in bhakti, devotion for and service to the Supreme. It may be said, therefore, that Sankhya and bhakti form two aspects of the same process, bhakti being the ultimate goal or ultimate aspect of Sankhya.
Some Buddhist texts claim that the Buddha was Kapila in his previous life while other sources present him as a well-known philosopher whose students built the city of Kapilvastu. According to one tradition, this city is believed to be the birthplace of the Buddha.
Swami Vivekananda considered Kapila to be “the greatest psychologist the world has ever known” and said, “there is no philosophy in the world that is not indebted to Kapila.”
Kapila (Hindi: कपिल ऋषि) was a Vedic sage credited as one of the founders of the Samkhya school of philosophy. He is prominent in the Bhagavata Purana, which features a theistic version of his Samkhya philosophy.[1] Traditional Hindu sources describe him as a descendant of Manu, a grandson of Brahma, and an avatar of Vishnu. The Bhagavad Gita depicts Kapila as a yogi hermit with highly developed siddhis, or spiritual powers.
Many of the details about sage Kapila’s life are described in Book 3 of the Bhagavata Purana, where it is mentioned that his parents were Kardama Muni and Devahuti. After his father left home, Kapila instructed his mother, Devahuti in the philosophy of yoga and devotional worship of Lord Vishnu, enabling her to achieve liberation (moksha). Kapila’s Sankhya is also given by Krishna to Uddhava in Book 11 of the Bhagavata Purana, a passage also known as the “Uddhava Gita”.
Kapila is also mentioned by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita:
Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila.(10.26)
Birth of the Ganges
Kapila is a major figure in the story associated with the descent of the Ganga (Ganges) river from heaven. King Sagara, an ancestor of Rama, had performed the Aswamedha yagna (Horse-sacrifice) ninety-nine times. On the hundredth time the horse was sent around the earth Indra, the King of Heaven, grew jealous and kidnapped the horse, hiding it in the hermitage of Kapila.
The 60,000 sons of Sagara found the horse, and believing Kapila to be the abductor assaulted him. Kapila turned his assailants to ashes. Anshuman, a grandson of King Sagara, came to Kapila begging him to redeem the souls of Sagara’s 60,000 sons. Kapila replied that only if the Ganges descended from heaven and touched the ashes of the 60,000 would they be redeemed.[5] The Ganges was eventually brought to earth, redeeming the sons of Sagara, through the tapasya of King Bhagiratha.
Teachings
Kapila’s Samkhya is taught in various Hindu texts:
Mahabharata
* “Kapila said, “Acts only cleanse the body. Knowledge, however, is the highest end (for which one strives). 5 When all faults of the heart are cured (by acts), and when the felicity of Brahma becomes established in knowledge, benevolence, forgiveness, tranquillity, compassion, truthfulness, and candour, abstention from injury, absence of pride, modesty, renunciation, and abstention from work are attained. These constitute the path that lead to Brahma. By those one attains to what is the Highest.” (Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCLXX, p. 270-271).
* “Bhishma said (to Yudhisthira), ‘Listen, O slayer of foes! The Sankhyas or followers of Kapila, who are conversant with all paths and endued with wisdom, say that there are five faults, O puissant one, in the human body. They are Desire and Wrath and Fear and Sleep and Breath. These faults are seen in the bodies of all embodied creatures. Those that are endued with wisdom cut the root of wrath with the aid of Forgiveness. Desire is cut off by casting off all purposes. By cultivation of the quality of Goodness (Sattwa) sleep is conquered, and Fear is conquered by cultivating Heedfulness. Breath is conquered by abstemiousness of diet. (Book 12: Santi Parva: Part III, Section CCCII.) [6]
Bhagavata Purana
* “My appearance in this world is especially to explain the philosophy of Sankhya, which is highly esteemed for self-realization by those desiring freedom from the entanglement of unnecessary material desires. This path of self-realization, which is difficult to understand, has now been lost in the course of time. Please know that I have assumed this body of Kapila to introduce and explain this philosophy to human society again.” (3.24.36-37)
* “When one is completely cleansed of the impurities of lust and greed produced from the false identification of the body as “I” and bodily possessions as “mine,” one’s mind becomes purified. In that pure state he transcends the stage of so-called material happiness and distress.”(3.25.16)
The myth of Gangasagar is all about the tryst between the circle of life and death and the allure of Moksha. And the heart of this devotional destiny is the iconic Kapil Muni temple. According to the Bhagavat Purana, Maharishi Kapil Muni (or Sage Kapila) was born to Sage Kardama and Devahuti, daughter of Svayambhuva Manu, ruler of the earth. Kardama Muni, while adhering to the words of his father, Lord Brahma, dedicatedly performed severe austerities. Pleased with his dedication, Lord Vishnu, the supreme soul, appeared in his divine form. In ecstasy, Kardama Muni praised the Lord’s magnificence. Pleased, the Lord asked him to marry Devahuti and prophesied that they would have nine daughters and, in time, fill the entire creation with living entities. And he would take birth as an avatar and teach Samkhya philosophy to the world. Kapil Muni, in his early years, attained an unfathomable knowledge of the Vedas and immortalized Samkhya philosophy.
Now, on to the legend of Gangasagar. “Raja Sagar”, or “Sagar Raja,” the ancestor of Lord Ram and ruler of the Ikshvaku dynasty, decided to perform the Ashwamedha Yagya as directed by Sage Aurva. It was believed that performing 100 Ashwamedha Yagyas would help one gain dominion over the entire earth. Lord Indra (the King of God according to Hindu mythology), the only one to complete the 100 Ashwamedha Yagya, feared that he would lose his ascendancy to a mortal, and hid the sacrificial horse near Kapil Muni’s hermitage.
Seething with anger, Sagar Raja sent his 60,000 sons (Sagar Putras) to locate the missing horse. The Sagar Putras decimated everything in their path and reached Sage’s ashram. Upon discovering the horse, the Sagar Putras mistook the sage for the thief and started hurling abuse at the meditating sage. The ensuing commotion hindered Sage’s tapasya. Enraged, Kapi Muni opened his eyes and blazed the 60,000 Sagar Putras into ashes, condemning their souls to hell.
Years later, Angshuman, Sagar Raja’s descendant, discovered the horse still standing at Kapil Muni’s ashram. He performed austerities to please the Sage. Content with Angshuman’s effort, the sage gave his permission to retrieve the horse and learned that the souls of his ancestors could only be freed after performing Shraddhas with the holy water of the Ganges. Although Raja Angshuman and his son Dilip were unable to complete the Shraddhas because Agastya Muni had drunk all the water from the ocean due to a severe drought.
A generation later, King Bhagirath, undertook the task of freeing the condemned souls and prayed to Lord Brahma, the creator, to free his ancestors’ souls. He asked him to pray to Lord Vishnu to allow the holy Ganga to ascend on earth. Upon agreeing, he cautioned that the sheer force of the Ganges would wipe out the entire creation if it went unchecked and asked him to pray to Lord Shiva. Shiva agreed to bear the entire force of Ganga on his matted hair. In the meandering labyrinth of Shiva’s hair, Ganga lost her brute force and descended to the earth, gently caressing all existence. Bhagirath was finally able to perform the last rites of his ancestors, liberating the souls from the fires of Patal Lok.
With passing years, the myths turned into legends, legends into stories, and stories into beliefs. The Ganges was also given the name Bhagirathi, after Raja Bhagirath, and the sea got its name “Sagar,” after Sagar Raja. And the island, Sagardwip.
Keeping faith in this mythology, millions of pilgrims from across the globe visit the Gangasagar Mela during the freezing hours of Makar Sankranti in search of Moksha. A dip in the holy water is thought to wash away all sorrows and sins. With this belief, millions visit the Kapil Muni ashram, chanting the hymn “Sab Tirth Bar Bar Ganga Sagar Ekbar.”