One day Lord Indra was sitting in his court, watching an entertainment programme arranged for him, but somehow his mind kept wandering elsewhere and he could not find any enjoyment in what he saw. So he decided to visit sage Dadhyan, hoping to find solace and peace by talking to the learned sage.
Lord Indra reached the sage'shut and with folded hands, pleaded, ?Sir, I do not know what is wrong with me. I am not able to enjoy the heavenly pleasures despite having all kinds of facilities at my command. I am worried that the asuras (demons) may one day attack us again as they have often done in the past. If only you were to impart me madhu vidya, I may find some peace of mind.?
The sage replied, ?If you really think that madhu vidya will chase away all your blues and fears, then come, I will teach it to you.?
So saying sage Dadhyan took Lord Indra deep into the forest and for some days taught him all that he knew about madhu dhyan. When the teaching was over, Lord Indra, happy with the knowledge, decided to take leave of the sage but before leaving said to him, ?You must not impart this knowledge to anyone else through your mouth. If you do so, then I may be forced to chop off your head.?
Lord Indra returned to heaven and sat peacefully in court with a very calm mind. Two ashvinis saw this radiant glow on Lord'sface and decided to visit sage Dadhyan to learn the technique of madhu vidya. They reached the sage'shut and begged him to teach them also this exceptional knowledge.
Sage Dadhyan told them about his promise to Lord Indra. At this, the ashvinis came out with a proposal. They said, ?We will chop off your head and replace, it with a horse'shead. Then you can give us the knowledge through the horse'smouth.?
The sage agreed and the ashvinis chopped off his head and replaced it with a horse'shead. As decided by them, the sage imparted the madhu vidya to the two of them.
When Lord Indra came to know of this, he was livid with anger. He rushed to the sage'shut and on finding him seated under a tree and meditating, he chopped of his head by flinging a chakra across his neck from behind. The sage collapsed.
Meanwhile the ashvinis had been watching the event, so they rushed down to earth and replaced the sage'snormal head on him, thus restoring him back to life.
