Beyond Chiranjeevis

In the preceding post I had responded to a friend with a question about Hanuman as a Chirnajeevi. He accessed various sources about information in the matter and found it to be too diverse. Eventually, he came around to the view that instead of getting involved with such diversity it is certainly a better option to seek knowledge of the Self that is surely eternal .

This is what this friend wrote to me a few days back:


You may want to read the following if you are interested in learning more about Chiranjeevis : CiranjivasThey are extremely long-lived persons (ciran - long, jiva - life). Monier-Williams dictionary on p. 1157 (MBh 3.11262-3.13231, Ramayana 2, Brhad-samhita of Varaha Mihira) lists eight - Markandeya Rsi plus the following seven (does that mean that the original Chiranjeevis were actually seven?):
asvatthama balir vyaso hanumans ca bibhisanahkrpah parasuramas ca saptaite ciranjivinah.

Asvatthama, Vyasa, Krpa, Parasurama are future saptarsis (SB 8.13.15-16), Bali is next Indra (SB 8.13.12,17, Garuda Purana 1.87.36), Hanuman was blessed by Brahma to live as long as him (Ramayana, Brhad-bhagavatamrta 1.4.41 - he is always free from old age and death), Bibhisana was blessed by Rama to live for one kalpa (SB 9.10.32).Other famous ciranjivas Jambavan: Rksaraja, or the king of rksas (bears/monkeys). (SB 8.21.8, Ramayana) Born from Brahma. With his army of rksas aided Rama in His invasion of Lanka and later fought with Krsna over the Syamantaka gem. (SB 10.56)Devapi: Elder brother of Santanu who retired to the forest and thus Santanu became a king. He took to the path of mystic yoga, lives in Kalapa-grama and will revive the Soma (Candra) dynasty in the next Satya-yuga. (SB 9.22.16-19)Maru: A king of the Iksvaku dynasty, the father of Prasusruta and son of Sighra. He had become "ciranjivi" (immortal) by his yogic power. He will revive the ksatriya race of Surya vamsa in the next Satya-yuga. In the meantime he lives in Kalapa-grama (SB 9.12.6).Seven sages (saptarsis) are also very long-living - they must live for at least one manvantara during which they hold their posts. Current are Kasyapa, Atri, Vasistha, Visvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Bharadvaja. (SB 8.13.5, 9.16.24p.) Future (in 8th manvantara) will be Galava, Diptiman, Parasurama, Asvatthama, Krpa, Rsyasrnga, Vyasadeva. (SB 8.13.15, similar to Garuda Purana 1.87.34) Galava is a son or disciple of Visvamitra. Identity of Diptiman is not clear as there are more persons with this name in sastras. Parasurama lives on Mahendra Parvata. (SB 9.16.26)

I found this verse quoted in the Vacaspatyam Sanskrit-Sanskrit dictionary under the entry "cirajivin". The reference there is a little unclear, because it says "markandeye" and then proceeds to quote that verse and then refers to a scripture of the name Tithy-adi-tantra. The confusing thing here is that "markandeye" would mean "in the Markandeya Purana". It could also be that the Tithyaditantra is quoting the Markandeya P. Unfortunately I cannot identify the verse in my Markandeya P., because my copy is lacking the first couple of pages in its sloka index. However, in the Sabdakalpadruma, the entry "ciranjivi", gives a list of eight names, the first of which is Markandeya, and then refers to the Tithyaditantra. Boehtlingk (St. Petersburg dictionary), also gives eight names and refers to both Sabdakalpadruma and Tithyaditantra. Tithyaditantra would therefore be the safest reference and it also means that the verse is not from the Mahabharata, because that would have been known to the compilers of those dictionaries.

Puranic Encyclopedia:Ciranjiv (One who has no death). When the Pandavas were in exile in the forests sage Markandeya tells many stories to Dharmaputra to console him in his sad plight. The Pandavas asked Markandeya whether he knew of anybody living before him. Then the sage said, "In times of old Indradyumna, an ascetic king (rajarsi), fell down from heaven when he fell short of his accumulated 'punya'. Sorrowfully he came to me and asked me whether I knew him. I replied in the negative adding that perhaps Pravirakarna, an owl living on the top of the Himalayas, might know him since he was older than me. At once Indradyumna became a horse and taking me on its back approached the owl living in the Himalayas. The owl also could not remember Indradyumna but directed him to a stork named Nadijamgha who was older than the owl. The ascetic king took me then to the Indradyumna lake where the stork lived. The stork also could not find the identity of Indradyumna. Perhaps, he said, that a tortoise of name Akupara living in that same lake might know him. We then approached the tortoise and inquired whether he knew Indradyumna. The tortoise sat in meditation for some time and then weeping profusely and shaking like a leaf stood bowing respectfully and said, "How can I remain without knowing him? There are several monuments of the useful work done by him here. This very lake is of his making. This came into existence by the march of the cows he gave away to the people". The moment the tortoise finished speaking, a chariot appeared from heaven to take the king away. The king after leaving me and the owl in their proper places ascended to heaven in the chariot.

Ciranjivi. The name of a crow, a character in the 'Pancatantra'. (See under Meghavarna).Meghavarna is a crow, character in a story of Pancatantra.Bhusunda. A dispassionate and large-hearted crow. The residence of this crow was a kalpavrksa standing on a beautiful peak surrounded by luxuriant vegetation in the north-eastern corner of Mahameru. There were numerous bird-nests on the southern branch of that kalpavrksa. In one of them lived this centuries-old bird. She spoke with sage Vasistha about history. (Jnana Vasistha, Bhusundopakhyana)

Moral(s) of the story: 1. Let's not get hung up on the exact number of Chiranjeevis.

Our mythology and Puranas sometimes provide contradictory information. However, since I have a lot of faith in Swami Shivananda, I personally would accept the number seven with regards to the number of Chiranjeevis.

A similar controversy exists about the Saptarishis. Their names would slightly vary from Purana to Purana. 2. If we identfiy with the soul, which is our true being, instead of our physical bodies or our minds, we are all immortal, anyway, so why get hung up on Chiranjeevis?

All you have to do is to read Geeta and you would understand what I am talking about.