Bhushundi

Bhushundi

भुशुण्डी, bhuśuṇḍī

The legendary brahmin and the great yogi of the past, who reached the Supreme Reality. He is known for his deep devotion to Rama, according to one story, he was the first to write the “Ramayana”, before Rishi Valmiki and Tulsidas, according to another story, he wrote his own version of the “Ramayana”.

There is a legend, Bhushundi once wandered from one Rishi's abode to another in search of knowledge. And one day he reached the shelter of Rishi Lomasa, who began to teach him about Nirguna Brahman. But Bhushundi, having knowledge only of Saguna Brahman, began to argue with the sage. In the end, he angered the Rishi with his wrangling, and Rishi cursed him, turning Bhushundi into a raven. Later, Lomas began to regret that he cursed the disciple, but there was nothing he could do. Lomas named him Kakbhushundi (काक्, kāk means "raven") and began to teach him a holistic knowledge of Brahman, and tell various stories from the life of Rama.

Thus, Kakbhushundi, obtaining Brahma-vidya, achieved realization in the body of a raven. He gained siddhi to take any form at will and live forever. Although Kakbhushundi had the opportunity to return to the human body, he preferred to stay in the raven body, in which he first heard about Rama and immersed himself in the nature of Supreme Reality.

Kakbhushundi, driven by his love for Rama, began to write down the stories he heard from Lomas, and later Rama granted him the ability to travel through time to recreate the entire story about him reliably. This is how the Ramayana appeared.

Some consider Kakbhushundi to be one of the ciranjivis – those who live forever or for a very long time, until the end of the current Kali Yuga.

Kakbhushundi Lake

There is a sacred lake near which Kakbhushundi recited his Ramayana to Garuda. Now two lakes claim the right to be this legendary place. One, Kakbhushundi Lake, is located in India, the state of Uttarakhand, near Badrinath. The other is in Nepal in the Muktinath region, it is also called Tilicho Lake or Bhushundi Sarovar.

According to Nath sources, one of the Chaurasi-Siddhas, Kakachandinath, performed his sadhana on the shore of this lake.