Raja Muchukunda

 King Muchukunda

Muchukunda was the son of ‘King Mandhata,’ and brother of Ambarisha, and was born in the ‘Ikshvaku’ dynasty. Ikshvaku dynasty is also known as Suryavansha. The important kings of this dynasty are ‘Harishchandra, Dileepa, Raghu, and Rama.’

Muchukunda was a gallant king who came to rescue the very heavens. A human who fought and defended the gods. The ‘Devas’ (deities) and the ‘Asuras’(demons) were constantly at war. There probably isn’t a single epic in Indian mythology that does not reference this ceaseless conflict. Many times the Devas win, and so do the Asuras.

In one such conflict, the Devas  were outnumbered, and were on the verge of defeat. They requested Raja Muchukunda to fight on their side. The king obliged and agreed to hold the ground until there was an able commander on the side of the gods. A vacuum eventually filled by Karthikeya (Shiva’s son) — a god who is considered the Indian God of War. Centuries passed. The conflict dragged onto thousands of years and Muchukunda was tired of the war, but still he fought on. The gods were dependent on him and so once Karthikeya came, they thanked him generously.

Curiously, in Indian mythology, there was always this belief that time works differently across realms. A year in the realm of the gods is equivalent to many years in the realm of the humans. And in Muchukunda case, he was way past his time. The gods told him that since he had been fighting for so long in the realm of the gods, eons had passed on the earth. Everything he owned, everything he knew, everyone he loved had already passed on.

Then Indra said to the king Muchukunda, "O king, we, the Devas are indebted to you for the help and protection which you have given us, by sacrificing your own family life. Here in heaven, one day equals one year of the earth and you had fought with asuras for one year of heaven. Since it has been a long time, there is no sign of your kingdom and family because it has been destroyed with the passage of time. We are happy and pleased with you, so ask for any boon except Moksha (liberation) because Moksha (liberation) is beyond our capacities".

Muchukunda asks Indra for a boon to sleep. While fighting on the side of the Devas, King Muchukunda did not get an opportunity to sleep even for a moment. Now, since his responsibilities were over, overcome by tiredness, he was feeling very sleepy. So, he said, "O King of the Devas, I want to sleep. Anyone who dares to disturb my sleep should get burnt to ashes immediately".

Indra said, "So be it, go to the earth and enjoy your sleep, one who awakens you would be reduced to ashes".

After this, King Muchukunda descended to earth and selected a cave on a hill, where he could sleep undisturbed. The hills and the cave where Muchukunda rested is located to Mount Guttikonda Bilam, Palnadu Area, Guntur Dist. Andhra Pradesh.

 

Kalayavan, the great Yavana warrior king, was killed by Muchukunda's gaze in the Indian epic Mahābhārata.

Kalayavan was undefeated and unmatched in battle due to a boon, but he was also merciless and cruel. He learns that Krishna is the only person who can defeat him in battle and accepting this challenge sets out to invade Krishna's kingdom, Mathura. When the two armies faced each other in battle, Krishna dismounts from his chariot and starts walking away, followed by Kalayavan. After a long time Krishna, followed by Kalayavan, enters a dark cave. In this cave, Muchukunda was sleeping since the time he was blessed by the king of deities.

The person on whom Muchukunda's gaze falls is doomed to instantaneous death. Kalayavan in a fit of anger and unable to see in the dark attacks Muchukunda mistaking him to be Krishna. When Muchukunda opens his eyes, his gaze falls on Kalayavan who is immediately burnt to death.

According to Hindu mythology, Muchukunda was an ancestor of Sri Rama, who belonged to Treta Yuga. Sri Krishna appears towards the end of Dvapara Yuga. So, Muchukunda is asleep for a long time. When he finally woke up, he was delighted to see Lord Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna advised him to perform Tapas to cleanse the accumulated sins, to attain Moksha (liberation). After meeting with Lord, Muchukunda set out of the cave. And the story narrates that he was astonished to see all creatures had shrunken in size over time while he rested in the cave, indicating long ages gone by. Muchukunda then went to Gandamadana Mountain and from there to Badrika Ashrama for doing penance.

Muchukunda River -The Muchukunda river i.e. Musi River is a tributary of the Krishna River in the Deccan Plateau region of Telangana state in India. It originates in Ananthagiri Hills of Rangareddy dist, the hills where Muchukunda had his long sleep. So, the river gets a name like that. It flows through a major portion of Hyderabad, India and divides the historic old city from the new city.

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guttikonda_Bilam

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