According to the Indian tradition, there are seven immortals, those are: Aswathama, Bali, Vyas, Hanuman, Vibhisana, Kripacharya and Parashuram. All seven of them symbolizes certain level of higher ideals.
1. Aswathama, is the son of Guru Dronacharya - the teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a great warrior fought by the side of Kauravas.He had even learnt the art of invoking the Brahmastra, the ultimate weapon of destruction. Dronacharya did several years of severe penace to please lord Shiva in order to obtain a child with valiance similar to that of lord Shiva himself. One day after the Kurukshetra was over, and when the Pandavas were away, he and a pose of men entered the camp of the Pandavas by stealth and killed all the male members in complete disregard of the prevailing ethics of warfare. He was later overpowered and was been arrested by Pandavas. His life was spared but his crown jewel –a gem – was prised out of his head. He was condemned to live for even, the wound festering, never to heal. It was a warning to future generation that a great warrior’s life, bereft of good conduct., is a life given to eternal suffering. That is karmic retribution. Ashwathama’s flawed immortality is a grim reminder of the consequences of unethical behaviour and action.
2. King Bali is known as the righteous demon king who lives in patal lok and was the king of the patal lok. He was sent and made the king of patal lok by the Lord Vishnu incarnation of Vaman. He conquered Heaven , Earth and Patal but was forced to give back Earth and Heaven by Vaman Avatar of Lord Vishnu.King Bali is considered to be immortalised because even Vishnu had to humble himself as Vamana to conquer him. He stands out for his valour and charity –two greta eternal qualities. King Bali knew it very well who Vamana actually was. Yet, he prepared to surrender all he had, to his Lord. Therefore this man of grace is still revered.
3. Vedvyas a sage who narrated the Mahabharata to Lord Ganesh who wrote it. He was also sage in all the Chaturyugs. He was blessed by Lord Vishnu and was the Maharshi who parted Vedas thus the name Vedvyas. Vyas, who is also known as Vyas Dev. Besides the Mahabharata, the Srimad Bhagavatam, was another immortal, a shining beacon of erudition, knowledge and wisdom, written by him. A katha – wachak reading from the holy text, is said to ascend the Vyaspeeth –blessed by the immortal Vyas. He comes to represent the continuity of erudition, knowledge, wisdom, scholarship and the apotheosis of the writer as the ultimate visionary.
4. Lord Hanuman really needs no introduction, he is devotion personified, and his strength, form and knowledge characterise him. It is said that whilst other characters from the Ramayan achieved their sought-after Moksha, Lord Hanuman shunned the heavens and requested to remain on Earth as long as Lord Ram is venerated by people, to reside wherever the name of Ram is taken- such was, and is his love for God. Whoever recites the glories of Lord Hanuman is supposedly certain to overcome life’s miseries and obstacles. Lord Hanuman, exemplifies selflessness, courage, devotion, energy, strength and righteous conduct. He stands for the potential which is inherited within all of us. He also represents the air, the atmosphere and thus the life-breath –the prana (energy). Sita Devi is believed to have bestowed on him the boom which made Hanuman ever-youth, energetic and immortal.
5. Vibhishan, was the brother of Ravan. He fought on Ram’s side in the Ramayan. He was made a Chiranjeevi to maintain morality and righteousness in Lanka and to guide people over the world in Dharma. Vibhisana had unshakable faith in what he believed. He was a fearless counsellor or righteousness even when all around him were given to sycophancy and peer pressure. As a follower of right conduct, Vibhisana survived unscathed while tragedy befall the unrighteous king and his followers.
6. Kripacharya was the Kul Guru (a mentor for the Family) of the Kurus during the Mahabharat, and whilst his status as a Chiranjeevi is disputed. His attitude of being impartial towards all of his students is the most commonly documented reason for his immortality. He was an extraordinary teacher in every field of study. To him, all his pupils were equal. A guru like Dronacharya favored Arjuna and sacrificed an equally if not more promising student – Ekalavya, who considered Dronacharya as his teacher in spite of not getting any guidance from him, for his right thumb. Kripacharya on the other hand, upheld the highest standards expected of a teacher. He was completely impartial.
7. Parashuram was the 6th avatar of Vishnu, master of all astras, sastras and divine weapons. The Kalki Purana writes that he will re-emerge at end time to the martial art guru of Kalki. He will then instruct the final avatar to undertake penance to receive celestial weaponry, required to save mankind at end time. No one could ever defeat him, either by using astras, sastras and divine tools and weapons or by free hand. He had no temporal ambition. Had he so wished, he would have been the greater Chakravarti Samrat of India, had he ever known. But he lived a hermit’s life. He was also one who never hesitated to admit a mistake. During Sita’s swayamwar, after Ram and Lakshman for forgiveness. Despite his excellent qualifications, he did not hesitate to apologize in all humility that he had lost his reason in anger. Parashuram symbolizes excellence and strength, tempered by humility.
These seven immortals exemplifies and illustrates certain basic truths, laws and standards of ethical behavior which transcend time, locale and generations. They are universal and immutable. Their immortality is therefore not mere deathless – it is more than the immortalizing of each divine principle, for which stood and even upheld in the face of adversity and pressure.
A great lesson for life can be learned and derived out of the life of these seven immortals, is that the adversity and pressure makes us more perfect and creates a great character with in us.
1. Aswathama, is the son of Guru Dronacharya - the teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a great warrior fought by the side of Kauravas.He had even learnt the art of invoking the Brahmastra, the ultimate weapon of destruction. Dronacharya did several years of severe penace to please lord Shiva in order to obtain a child with valiance similar to that of lord Shiva himself. One day after the Kurukshetra was over, and when the Pandavas were away, he and a pose of men entered the camp of the Pandavas by stealth and killed all the male members in complete disregard of the prevailing ethics of warfare. He was later overpowered and was been arrested by Pandavas. His life was spared but his crown jewel –a gem – was prised out of his head. He was condemned to live for even, the wound festering, never to heal. It was a warning to future generation that a great warrior’s life, bereft of good conduct., is a life given to eternal suffering. That is karmic retribution. Ashwathama’s flawed immortality is a grim reminder of the consequences of unethical behaviour and action.
2. King Bali is known as the righteous demon king who lives in patal lok and was the king of the patal lok. He was sent and made the king of patal lok by the Lord Vishnu incarnation of Vaman. He conquered Heaven , Earth and Patal but was forced to give back Earth and Heaven by Vaman Avatar of Lord Vishnu.King Bali is considered to be immortalised because even Vishnu had to humble himself as Vamana to conquer him. He stands out for his valour and charity –two greta eternal qualities. King Bali knew it very well who Vamana actually was. Yet, he prepared to surrender all he had, to his Lord. Therefore this man of grace is still revered.
3. Vedvyas a sage who narrated the Mahabharata to Lord Ganesh who wrote it. He was also sage in all the Chaturyugs. He was blessed by Lord Vishnu and was the Maharshi who parted Vedas thus the name Vedvyas. Vyas, who is also known as Vyas Dev. Besides the Mahabharata, the Srimad Bhagavatam, was another immortal, a shining beacon of erudition, knowledge and wisdom, written by him. A katha – wachak reading from the holy text, is said to ascend the Vyaspeeth –blessed by the immortal Vyas. He comes to represent the continuity of erudition, knowledge, wisdom, scholarship and the apotheosis of the writer as the ultimate visionary.
4. Lord Hanuman really needs no introduction, he is devotion personified, and his strength, form and knowledge characterise him. It is said that whilst other characters from the Ramayan achieved their sought-after Moksha, Lord Hanuman shunned the heavens and requested to remain on Earth as long as Lord Ram is venerated by people, to reside wherever the name of Ram is taken- such was, and is his love for God. Whoever recites the glories of Lord Hanuman is supposedly certain to overcome life’s miseries and obstacles. Lord Hanuman, exemplifies selflessness, courage, devotion, energy, strength and righteous conduct. He stands for the potential which is inherited within all of us. He also represents the air, the atmosphere and thus the life-breath –the prana (energy). Sita Devi is believed to have bestowed on him the boom which made Hanuman ever-youth, energetic and immortal.
5. Vibhishan, was the brother of Ravan. He fought on Ram’s side in the Ramayan. He was made a Chiranjeevi to maintain morality and righteousness in Lanka and to guide people over the world in Dharma. Vibhisana had unshakable faith in what he believed. He was a fearless counsellor or righteousness even when all around him were given to sycophancy and peer pressure. As a follower of right conduct, Vibhisana survived unscathed while tragedy befall the unrighteous king and his followers.
6. Kripacharya was the Kul Guru (a mentor for the Family) of the Kurus during the Mahabharat, and whilst his status as a Chiranjeevi is disputed. His attitude of being impartial towards all of his students is the most commonly documented reason for his immortality. He was an extraordinary teacher in every field of study. To him, all his pupils were equal. A guru like Dronacharya favored Arjuna and sacrificed an equally if not more promising student – Ekalavya, who considered Dronacharya as his teacher in spite of not getting any guidance from him, for his right thumb. Kripacharya on the other hand, upheld the highest standards expected of a teacher. He was completely impartial.
7. Parashuram was the 6th avatar of Vishnu, master of all astras, sastras and divine weapons. The Kalki Purana writes that he will re-emerge at end time to the martial art guru of Kalki. He will then instruct the final avatar to undertake penance to receive celestial weaponry, required to save mankind at end time. No one could ever defeat him, either by using astras, sastras and divine tools and weapons or by free hand. He had no temporal ambition. Had he so wished, he would have been the greater Chakravarti Samrat of India, had he ever known. But he lived a hermit’s life. He was also one who never hesitated to admit a mistake. During Sita’s swayamwar, after Ram and Lakshman for forgiveness. Despite his excellent qualifications, he did not hesitate to apologize in all humility that he had lost his reason in anger. Parashuram symbolizes excellence and strength, tempered by humility.
These seven immortals exemplifies and illustrates certain basic truths, laws and standards of ethical behavior which transcend time, locale and generations. They are universal and immutable. Their immortality is therefore not mere deathless – it is more than the immortalizing of each divine principle, for which stood and even upheld in the face of adversity and pressure.
A great lesson for life can be learned and derived out of the life of these seven immortals, is that the adversity and pressure makes us more perfect and creates a great character with in us.
Very informative
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