Short Questions
1. Who were the Devs and the Asurs?
Ans:- The Devs were from amongst the gods, and the Asurs were demons.
2. What advantage did the Asurs have in their fight with the Devs?
Ans:- They had on their side a great saint and teacher, Shukracharya, who knew the mantra for bringing dead people back to life.
3. What did Brihaspati tell the Devs when they sought his help?
Ans:- Brihaspati said, “I do not know the science of giving life to the dead. Only Shukracharya knows it.”
4. Whom did the Devs choose to send to Shukracharya, and why?
Ans:- They chose Kach, Brihaspati’s son, because they had nobody else to undertake such a difficult task.
5. Who was Devayani?
Ans:- Devayani was Shukracharya’s beautiful daughter.
6. What work did Shukracharya assign to Kach?
Ans:- Shukracharya asked Kach to bring flowers from the jungle for his prayers, bring firewood for his sacrificial fire, and look after his cows.
7. Why did the Asurs decide to kill Kach the first time?
Ans:- They found out why Kach was staying with Shukracharya and did not want the secret of reviving dead people to be known to the Devs.
8. What did the Asurs do with Kach’s body after killing him the first time?
Ans:- They cut his body into pieces and gave the pieces to wolves and jackals.
9. How did Shukracharya bring Kach back to life the first time?
Ans:- He silently said the secret mantra or magic formula, and Kach appeared before him.
10. What did the Asurs do to Kach the second time?
Ans:- They killed him and, grinding his body into paste, mixed it with the waters of the ocean.
11. How did the Asurs kill Kach the third time?
Ans:- They killed him, burnt his body, collected the ashes, and mixed the ashes with the divine wine that Shukracharya drank.
12. What did Shukracharya say when Kach was dead the third time?
Ans:- A. He said, “Yes, Kach is dead and now it is difficult for me to bring him back to life. I am helpless now.”
13. What secret did Shukracharya teach Kach before he came out of his stomach?
Ans:- Shukracharya taught Kach the secret mantra of bringing the dead back to life.
14. What did Kach do immediately after coming out of Shukracharya’s stomach?
Ans:- He immediately revived his teacher (Shukracharya) with his newly learnt mantra.
15. Why did Kach refuse to marry Devayani?
Ans:- Kach said that he could not marry her because both of them came out of her father, Shukracharya, making her his sister, and his love for her was a brother’s love for a sister.
Long Questions
1. Why did the Devs send Kach to Shukracharya?
Ans:- In their fight with the Devs, the Asurs had an advantage because they had Shukracharya, who knew the mantra for bringing dead people back to life. The Devs had nobody who knew that mantra, so they went to their chief adviser, Brihaspati, for help. Brihaspati said he did not know the science of giving life to the dead and that only Shukracharya knew it. He suggested that somebody from their side should go to him and stay with him as his student to learn the secret. Since they had nobody else for this difficult task, they decided that Brihaspati’s own son, Kach, would be the best choice.
2. How did Kach win the favour of Shukracharya?
Ans:- Kach went to Shukracharya’s hermitage and requested to be his student to learn the Sanjivani vidya. Shukracharya agreed to help him. Kach lived with Shukracharya and served him with great devotion, doing all the work assigned to him, like bringing flowers, firewood, and looking after the cows. Because of his keen devotion and good service, he won the favour of Shukracharya.
3. Describe how the Asurs killed Kach the first time and how Shukracharya revived him.
Ans:- The Asurs found out why Kach was staying with Shukracharya and decided to remove him for good so that the secret of reviving the dead would not reach the Devs. One day when Kach was taking the cows to the jungle, the Asurs waylaid him and killed him. Fearing that Shukracharya might revive him, they cut his body into pieces and gave the pieces to wolves and jackals. When Kach did not return, Devayani was upset and told her father. Shukracharya felt that Kach was dead and said the secret mantra, and Kach appeared before the master, having come out of the wolves and jackals after tearing their bodies.
4. What happened to Kach the second time, and how was he brought back to life?
Ans:- One day Kach was in the jungle collecting flowers when the Asurs caught him. They killed him and, grinding his body into paste, mixed it with the waters of the ocean. When Kach did not return, Devayani was again in despair and told her father that she would not wish to live unless Kach was brought back. Again, Shukracharya, with his magic spell, brought Kach back.
5. Describe the third and final attempt by the Asurs to kill Kach.
Ans:- The Asurs were very disappointed at their failures, so they thought of a plan to dispose of Kach in such a way that Shukracharya would never be able to bring him back to life. They caught Kach the third time, killed him, and burnt his body. They collected the ashes and mixed them with the divine wine that Shukracharya drank. This time, when Kach was missing, Shukracharya meditated and realized that Kach was dead and inside him, making it very difficult to bring him back to life.
6. How did Shukracharya finally manage to save both Kach and himself?
Ans:- Shukracharya was in a fix because Kach was within him, and both of them could not exist together. He said to Kach that since Devayani looked on him with such kindness, victory was his. He decided to give Kach the magic mantra, the secret of bringing the dead back to life, and told him to try the mantra on his own body when he came out. Shukracharya taught Kach the secret mantra and asked him to come out of his stomach. Kach appeared in all his brilliance, saw his teacher lying dead, and immediately revived him with his newly learnt mantra.
7. What did Devayani ask Kach to do, and why did Kach refuse?
Ans:- When Kach was preparing to return home after completing his studies, Devayani asked him not to go away and requested him to marry her, reminding him that she had loved him since he was a student. Kach replied that he respected her very much and considered her dearer than life, but said that she was his sister because both of them had come out of her father, Shukracharya. He said all his love for her was a brother’s love for a sister, and it would be a sin for him to agree to marry her.
8. How did Devayani react when Kach refused to marry her, and what did she say?
Ans:- Devayani reminded Kach that her love for him had saved him from death three times and asked why she had done that if not for love. She pleaded with him not to discard her and to accept her as his wife. But Kach said it would be a sin if he agreed to what she asked, and that they should continue their relationship as brother and sister, assuring her that he could not be tempted into sinning.
9. What curse did Devayani give Kach, and how did Kach respond to it?
Ans:- Devayani was so disappointed that she became angry and cursed Kach, saying that since he had betrayed her trust, whatever he had learnt would not be able to be practised. Kach replied that he refused her only because she was his sister and that he did not deserve her curse. He said that though she had done that because of her passion, what he had learnt would be useless for him, but he would impart it to someone else and make it useful.
10. How does the story of Kach and Devayani end?
Ans:- In spite of Devayani’s pleadings, Kach had to leave. He was received by the Devs with great honour and was greeted by Lord Indra himself. Thus, Kach successfully completed his mission of learning the Sanjivani vidya and returned to help the Devs, even though he could not fulfil Devayani’s wish to marry him, choosing instead to honour their relationship as brother and sister.
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