Rishi Marichi -Applied Indology

Saptarishis are the most evolved Light Beings in the Creation and the guardians of the Divine Laws, assigned to be present through the Yugas or the Four Great Ages, to guide the human race. These seven seers work closely with the Adi Yogi or Shiva to maintain the balance on Earth. They are the mind born sons / manasa putras of Lord Brahma assigned to serve as the representative of Brahma himself.

The Saptarishis are the 7 immortal human forms that will live through the numerous Manavataras (306,720,000 Earth Years) the Great Ages of this Earth Cycle.

Manvantara is a Sanskrit word, a compound of manu+antara , literally meaning the duration of a Manu, or his life span. Each Manvantara is created and ruled by a specific Manu, who in turn is created by Brahma, the Creator himself.
Rishi Marichi or Mareechi or Marichi literally means a ray of light from either the moon or the sun, and Marichi is the chief of the Maruts (‘the shining ones’). He is the Manasaputra of the cosmic creator Bramhma, who created Marichi from the eyes; he is one of the Nine Brahmaṇas alluded to in the puraṇas. Marichi is the Eldest of Nava Brahmas. As lord Brahma desired, all Nine Nava Brahmas agreed to get married and raise a family as per Four-fold Purushaarttha- Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha to help the creation of lineage on earth.

He is one of the Saptarshis in the First Manvantara, with others being Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and Vashishtha. Marichi is one of the ten Prajapatis, the ruler of people. In Jain scriptures, he is referred to as one of the previous reincarnations of the 24th Tirthankara Mahavira as son of the Bharata Chakravartin. A manasaputera of Brahma born with Narada at the beginning of creation. The seven celebrated Rishis, Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and Vasishta of great energy, who came to be known by the name of Chitra-sikhandins, uniting together on the breast of that foremost of mountains, mount Meru, communicated an excellent treatise (Written work) on duties and observances that was consistent with the four Vedas. The contents of that treatise were uttered by seven mouths, and constituted the best collection of human duties and observances by Chitrashikhandins.

Chitrashikhandin is essentially a person who has a ‘special’ knot of hair on top of his head. The ‘special’ is quoted because it (chitra) can mean unusual, bright, special, extraordinary, standing out etc. So it could be that these seven sages had interesting ways of tying their knot (the hermit / Rishi knots).

Vivaswata is the son of Kashyapa, and Manu is the son of Vivaswata. Marichi is the great-grandfather of Manu (“man, thinking, intelligent”), the Vedic Adam and the “father” of humanity. The first three letters of Manu are man which is a Sanskrit root meaning ‘to think’, and it is this same Sanskrit root that gave birth to the English word man.

He is believed to be formed out of the sustained energy of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is believed to have officiated the penance of Brahma. In Mahabharata, Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita says, “Of the Ādityas I am Vishnu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marichi, and among the stars I am the moon.” Krishna says, “Marichi is the primal breath that sweeps across all space preceding the Maruts which are the different types of powerful winds throughout the unlimited trillions of universes. “

Marichi was married to Kala (daughter of Kardam Rishi), Sambhuti(daughter of Daksha) and Dharmavrata (Daughter of Dharma). Kala gave birth to Purnima and Kashyapa, who was known as the ‘Lord of Creatures’. Kashyapa is also sometimes acknowledged as a Prajapati, who has inherited the right of creation from his father. Rishi Kashyapa’s son and Marichi’s grandson was the sun god Surya, the giver of life who is the god to whom Surya Namaskara is dedicated. And his great-grandson was Manu, the father of humanity. Kashyapa Gotra are Progenitors ( Ancestors) / Has furthered 82 clans on earth and the Descendents of these Rishis also started new family lineage.

Marichi is the controlling deity of the heavenly spaces. He is also the author of the Vimanachana Kalpa. During the time of Svayambhuva Manu, these sons all became the demigods collectively named the Tusitas. Marichi became the head of the seven rishis, and Yajna became the king of the demigods, Indra . He was an expert in doing meditation / Tapasya and contains great spiritual energy. The life of Marichi is known more by the account of his descendants, notably by the works of sage Kashyapa. Marichi is also quoted as the adviser of young Dhruva to pursue austerities. The seven great sages Marichi, Vasistha, Atri and others reside on planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Well aware of the influence of the water of the Ganges, to this day they keep Ganges water on the tufts ( a bunch or collection of threads) of hair on their heads.

During the life of Svayambhuva Manu, six kinds of living entities were generated from the demigods known as the Tusitas, from the sages headed by Marichi, and from descendants of Yajna, king of the demigods, and all of them expanded their progeny ( Lineage) to observe the order of the Lord to fill the universe with living entities. These six kinds of living entities are known as Manus, Devas, ManuPutras, Amsavataras, Suresvaras and Rishis. Yajna, being the incarnation of Lord MahaVishnu, became the leader of the demigods, Indra.

One day Marichi went to the forest to collect wood and flowers and returned to his home extremely tired. He called his wife Dharmavrata, and told her that she was to wash his feet for him. Just as Dharmavrata began to wash her husband’s feet, Brahma arrived. Dharmavrata did not know what she should do, should she continue to wash her husband’s feet, or turn her attentions to Brahma, who was Marichi’s father. She chose to serve her husband and suffered the wrath of her husband. Marichi became extremely angry and put a curse on his wife, turning her into a stone.

Dharmavrata, the daughter of Dharma whom he cursed for dereliction (Neglect) of duty, to become a stone; they had 100 sons together, in turn cursed by her for the unjust curse. Dharmavrata was naturally upset by this, believing that she was being punished unnecessarily. As a reaction to this, Dharmavrata began many years of Tapasya. Lord Vishnu who, impressed by her devotion, granted her a Varah / Boon. All Dharmavrata wanted was to have Marichi’s curse lifted. Unfortunately, Marichi was such a powerful Rishi that this was impossible to do. Instead, Dharmavrata was transformed into a holy stone. Lord Vishnu said she would continue to be regarded as a stone and will be called as Devashila, and will be worshipped as a holy stone, and all the divine gods shall be dwelled in it, and would be considered as a sacred stone in the house of followers of the Dharma.

Marichi also appears several times in the Mahabharata, which is one of the two major Sanskrit epics. The other is the Ramayana, In the Mahabharata, Marichi is there to celebrate the birth of Arjuna, another time he went to the deathbed of Bhishma, the teacher of Pandavas and Kauravas princes. In the Bhagavata Purana he unties the God of Fire, Indra, by a ritual from the sin he committed by killing the demon Vritra. After his life on earth Marichi has risen into the Firmament as he became one of the stars in the star sign of the Great Wagon.

Marichi is one of the stars called Alkaid / Ita Ursa majoris of the Great Bear constellation. There are many yogic poses called Marichyasana which are named after Marichi and are practiced even today. Mariachi symbolizes great power, wisdom, and the cosmic force of creation. Maricyasana is a Yoga pose named after the Rishi Marichi. This pose has four variations. The Maricyasana variations increase levels of energy in the body; tone and massage the abdominal organs; and reduce fat around the waistline.

The Bhagvatha Geetha mentions that, Symbolically, mother Devaki’s constant fear of Kamsa was purifying her. A pure devotee should always fear material association, and in this way all the asuras of material association will be killed, as the ṣaḍ-garbhasuras were killed by Kamsa. It is said that from the mind, Marichi appears. In other words, Marichi is an incarnation of the mind. Marichi has six sons: Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada and Matsarya (lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy), with the purification of Mind from all these 6 Garbha dharanas / The delivery of six sons, Devaki gave birth to Krishna.

The name ‘Marichi’ also belongs to a female Buddhist deity, whose name also means ‘Ray of Light’. She has a chariot drawn by 7 pigs, whereas the Hindu version has a chariot drawn by 7 horses. She is associated with the dawn. She has an eye in the middle of her forehead, three frightening faces, and ten arms. In Japanese Buddhism, she is Marishi-ten, who was popular among the samurai, who placed her image on their helmets as protection. She is also depicted as riding on a boar, and one of her faces is that of a boar. She is also considered the Queen of heaven in China and is a protector who removes obstacles and brings pleasure.

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About Author:
Subhasini BA, is a Screenplay writer, Director, creative director, costume designer and producer, whose work has featured in some of the most prestigious film festivals in the country and internationally. She has collaborated on several film projects juggling different roles. 

In beginning of her career, she worked as Associate director and Costume Designer with the acclaimed director Girish Kasaravalli. She’s written and directed a documentary film on the famed Krishna Temple in Udupi, and also written plays, screenplays for films and short form content for some of the leading technology companies in India, including Microsoft, Akamai Technologies, LAM Research, and SAP. 

With Knowledge in Sanskrit, Subhasini is a seeker of the Eternal Truth / Santana Dharma, writes on dharma. She is passionate about History, Mythology, Philosophy and Spirituality. She believes Dharma is the manifestation of the natural strength of every living soul.
She lives in Cincinnati.

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia

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