KAVA Ush-an

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One of the ancient Master Philosophers referred to in earlier blogs was

Kava Ush-an.

As per Dr Irach Taraporewalla: “Kava Ush-an, is one of the Royal-Sages of the Avesta. He was a holy King who overcame the forces of evil by His prayers, and He was specially famed for the glorious halo that surrounded Him, whence He is also known by the epithet a-sh-Vare-shao (of full radiance). He is also said to have acquired miraculous powers of flying through the air, with the help of a heavenly bird. The Veda mentions Him mostly as Kavya, and is said to have established the Sacred Atash (Fire) . In the Epics of India [Vedas] , he is mentioned as the Teacher of the Asuras and he is also known by His other name of Shukracharya (Shukra: blazing bright; Acharya: teacher).”

Usha-nin Geh, the first portion of the 5 portioned day is dedicated to him . It is this time, between midnight and dawn that is considered very auspicious.

Till about 75 years back conservative Parsis used to have the marriage ceremony repeated during this Geh. It was probably abandoned due to looting and kidnapping campaigns mounted by Islamic bandits called Mavalis.

According to the Vedas, he obtained the power of 'Mrita-sanjeevani," ; the technique of reviving the deceased back to life.

Shukra as he is addressed, is therefore considered the bestower of long life, wealth, happiness, children, property and good education. He blesses the devotees with power to control and regulate with will, one's Sense organs, (the 10 horses of Yasna 44.18) and enables the devotee to obtain fame and name. As the name suggests, Fridays are considered to be effective for invoking help from Shukra. In the later hindu scriptures, Shukr-acharya is reputed to be the founder of yoga.

According to Robert P. Goldman[i],  The characteristic feature which sets the Bhrgu Clan (under Shukracharya) is “open hostility to the gods (Daevas) themselves.
 “This association of the sage Sukra (Kava Usana), one of the greatest of the Bhrgus, who served as the priest and chaplain of the asuras, the demon enemies of the Vedics, is one of the strangest peculiarities of the Bhargava corpus”
 “That one of the greatest Bhargava sages should regularly champion the asuras, the forces of chaos and evil - in short, of adharma - against the divine personifications of dharma is perplexing and has no non-Bhargava parallel in the literature. The origin of the relationship was evidently puzzling to the epic redactors themselves, for the question is raised at least twice in the Mahabharata (circa 3138 BC).  In neither case is the answer given wholly satisfactory. This identification of Sukra as the purohita and protector of the asuras may shed some light on some of the most basic problems of early Indian and even early Indo-Iranian religion. If, as has been suggested on the basis of the Iranian evidence, the asuras were the divinities of Aryans for whom, perhaps, the devas were demons, then Sukra and perhaps the Bhargavas were originally their priests, and whose descendants switched sides at a later date”.

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[i] Gods, Priests and Warriors: The BhRgus of the MahAbhArata by Robert P. Goldman, (UC, Berkeley) Columbia University Press, New York, 1977.

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