Kacha (Mahābhārata)

Kacha ( _sa. कच) the son of Brihaspati appears in Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He was sent by his father Brihaspati to learn the secret of the "Sanjivani mantra" (a hymn for reviving the dead) from Shukracharya, the guru of Asuras. The idea was to help the Devas with the knowledge of this secret.

He learns under the sage Shukracharya, who has a daughter Devyani. Devyani falls in love with him. In the meantime the Asuras want to kill Kacha. Every time they kill him, Shukracharya revives him with his art. The asuras finally kill him and mix his remains with wine and serve it to Shukracharya. Shukracharya unknowingly consumes the wine, and when he tries reviving Kacha, he realises that Kacha is in his belly. So he is forced to teach this art to Kacha, who comes out tearing open his guru's belly. Kacha then revives the guru with his newly learnt "Sanjivani mantra".

After completion of his education, Devyani asks Kacha to marry her, but he refuses on the grounds that she is his sister as he had come out of Shukracharya. She curses him that he would never be able to use his art again. To this, Kacha replies that he would only not be able to use it, but he would definitely be able to teach it. Thus, Kacha is credited with learning the secret of the "Sanjivani mantra" from Shukracharya.

External links

* [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/06/14/greatness-of-vidyabhyasam/ Story showing greatness of Kacha]