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Amma Tells stories from Itihasas & Puranas – Part 2 (15 more stories)

1.  Sabari’s love and Gopis’ love

[Amma: “A spiritual seeker’s mindset should be such that he is ever alert and eagerly anticipating the arrival of his beloved God to meet him. He should ever be ready to extend a warm welcome to his lord and offer his puja to Him. The puja pedestal in the seeker’s Puja room is not just a place to keep God’s image. It is indeed the sactum sanctorum of your beloved God. If you have such an anticipatory mindset, you will always keep the place spotlessly clean”.]

Sabari was an old lady from a hunter family and she was an ardent devotee of Lord Rama. Every moment in her life, she was waiting for the arrival of her beloved Rama to her hut. She kept the hut and the surrounding garden clean,  neat and beautiful so that when Rama would arrive he could lie down and relax there.

Everyday, she decorated her hut with flowers; she spread flowers on the walkway to the hut. To do pada puja to her lord, she kept her vessel spic and span every day. She made a fresh flower garland everyday for putting on to her God’s neck as soon as he arrived. She decorated the seat on which her God would come and sit. She plucked sweet fruits and kept them ready every day to feed her lord.

She was doing all these tirelessly year after year tirelessly. She never even missed chanting her Lord’s name nor slackened her efforts to all these practices. And finally, one day Lord Rama did arrive to bless her and grant her the bliss of his divine company.

Similar thing happened at Brindavan too in the next yuga when Lord Krishna as a boy lived joyfully in the company of the Gopis. When Akrura came to Vrindavan to take Krishna to Mathura at the behest of his king Kamsa, the Gopis of Vrindavan were just not ready to be separated from their beloved Krishna. They virtually turned mad when they came to know of the mission of Akrura. They got very angry with Akrura and showered abuses at him for his attempt to take their Krishna away. When Krishna, Balarama  and Akrura started from Vrindavan, they did not allow the chariot to move forward.

Krishna consoled them all, saying, “Don’t worry. I have an important mission to accomplish at Mathura. Once it is finished, I will not waste a moment there and will come back here. You are all my true love; how can I ever be separated from you for long?”. So saying he bid farewell to all of them, never to return to Vrindavan again in his life.

However, from the moment he left, they started anticipating his return! They kept aside ghee and butter every day to feed their lord when he would be back.  They decorated their houses and made artful kolams around their house. With tears flooding their eyes, they kept staring the path that Krishna would take to reach their houses.  The gopis felt that every tree, shrub  and flower plants, the river Yamuna, the cows, other animals and birds of Vrindavan — every living non-living being were indeed eagerly waiting for the return of their beloved Krishna. Their mind totally immersed in the thoughts and memories of Krishna, every gopi virtually attained the looks and manners of Krishna. They all became Krishna personified.

(From Arul Mozhigal-6 Tamil)

2.  Yudhishthira’s ‘victory’

[Amma: “Children, death is always behind us. We do not listen to the sounds if its footsteps. Yet we ignore the fear of death and hold on tightly to all our whims and fancies close to our bosom. We never want to change our behavior; we fail to develop love and compassion towards others. Death can knock us out at any time and it is just foot behind us. Hence don’t postpone anything for doing tomorrow. Right time is just now to do good things. Change your mindset about life right now.”]

Once an old and impoverished brahmin came to see King Yudhishthira at his court on an evening. He prayed for monetary help to conduct the marriage of his daughter. Yudhishthira told him to come to his palace the next morning to collect the money. The brahmin, who was full of hope that he would get help from the benevolent king on the same evening was disappointed and left the palace as he was to walk all the way from his distant home again the next day.

After a while, there was a huge noise of beating of drums and blowing of conches outside the court. It sounded similar to a typical occasion when a king returns to the palace after successfully winning a war. Yudhishthira was surprised to hear the noise. He sent his messenger to find out what is happening outside the court.

The messenger came back and and reported that it was all done at the instruction of Bhima. Yudhishthira sent a word to his brother Bhima to come and meet him at once. Bhima came and bowed before the king. When asked what he had done, Bhima said, “Dear brother, I arranged everything to celebrate your victory!”

“Victory of what? Where is the war?” asked Yudhishthira with surprise.

Bhima said, “This victory of yours is greater than winning a war. Brother, you asked the old brahmin to come tomorrow and collect the dole. In the present times, when no one can ever predict what will happen in the next moment, you were sure enough to live till tomorrow morning; it means you have conquered death. That’s why I arranged the celebration!”

Yudhishthira, a man of dharma and wisdom immediately understood what Bhima was driving at. He thanked Bhima for reminding him about the fictitious nature of human life and the need to take instant decisions when it comes to doing an act of charity for the sake of the poor. He immediately sent his messengers to fetch the old brahmin and gave him money sumptuously for celebrating his daughter’s wedding.

(From Arul Mozhigal-6 Tamil)

3.  It is divine power that is acting

[Amma: “Children, it is the power of God that leads us in all our activities. Understand this, we should develop such a mindset that we constantly remember ‘I am just an instrument in the hands of God; he directs and I act’ “]

Vishwamitra was a great saint. Yet he wanted to occupy a higher status than the sage Vashishtha.  However, everyone respected and adored only sage Vashishtha. In whatever way he could mentally analyse, Vishwamitra could not grasp what made Vashishtha greater than him. In order to get clarity on this, he went to lord Brahma and said to him, “My lord, I have done years and years of penance and undertook several very severe austerities. With powers accumulated through them, I could even create an exclusive heaven for Trishanku. Despite all these, people adore and respect only sage Vashishtha more than me. What is the reason behind it?”

Lord Brahma said, “Take Vashishtha along with you and meet Adisesha, the giant serpent that supports the world on its hood. Adisesha will clarify your doubt”.

Vishwamitra met Vashishtha and took him along with him to meet Adisesha. He explained to Adisesha what Lord Brahma told him.

Adisesha replied, “Oh Vishwamitra Rishi, before I answer the question, I need a help from you. I have been carrying the burden of the world all along and I feel very tired. Can you please hold the weight for some time, for my sake?”

Vishwamitra said, with pride, “No problem! I will carry the weight just like holding a straw”. When he made himself ready, Adisesha transferred the earth from his head to Vishwamitra’s head. However, he could not bear the weight even for a second and he fell unconscious.

Adisesha immediately came forward to take back the load. When Vishwamitra regained his consciousness, Adisesha requested Vashishtha’s help to bear the load for some time.

Vashishtha came forward saying, “That power by which I live, that power that leads me, that power that prompts me to action — may that power bear the weight”. With utter humility, He extended his hands to take the earth. Without any difficulty, he could bear the weight of the earth.

Vishwamitra was very surprised to see this. Adisesha said, “Vishwamitra, you are not inferior to Sage Vashishtha in penance. But you do everything with a pride “I do it”. But Vashishtha does everything without a sense of doership, without any egoism.  That is the greatness of Vashishtha. That’s why everyone respects him”.

(From Matruvani Tamil  2017)

4. The power of Krishna’s flute

[Amma: “A self-realized Mahatma in fact identified himself with the entire universe. It is his power that is acting through everything. He can, if only he wishes so, ake all sentient and non-sentient beings to obey his command. Everything is his. Even the sum, moon, seas, mountains, trees and animals can act on his wishes and execute his will. A mere sight, a thought or a touch from him is enough to convey his command”.]

When Lord Krishna was in Vrindavan, his uncle Kamsa was trying all possible means to locate Krishna and kill him. He sent several asuras (demons) one after the other in a mission to find Krishna and execute Him, but all his efforts failed. Every failure strengthened his resolve to kill Krishna. One day, he sent one of his asuras to kill all the cows that Krishna and his associates possessed in Vrindavan.

Every morning, Krishna and his associates would lead all their cows for grazing in the meadows far away from Vrindavan. The asura sent by Kamsa arrived at the meadows. He decided to drive all the cows to one place in order to kill them. Seeing his scary form, the cows got frightened and started running chaotically in all directions. However he managed to control them and drive them in one direction The gopas were very scared and they came running to Krishna to report the matter.

Hearing the bad news, Krishna smiled.  He took out his flute and started playing a tune. The captivating music from the flute spread in all directions far and wide. The cows heard it. Enchanted by the music, the cows turned direction and they started charging and attacking the Asura!  When hundreds of cows turned against him, the Asura felt absolutely helpless to overpower them! He tried all his magic tricks but none could work against the cows that were chasing him by the influence of Krishna’s music emanating from his flute. The Demon had to run away from the spot to save his life.

(Source: Arul Mozhigal-7 – Tamil)

5.  The power of Rama’s anger

[Amma: “A saint is like the mother earth in his patience and compassion. These qualities are very deep in him. Suppose he gets angry, his anger too is as deep as his patience. If his anger is let out, its power  will be like the fire of the final destruction of the universe. As the Mahatma is immersed in the vase expanse of the universe, his anger too would be very vast indeed”.]

Lord Rama was all set with his resolution to build a bridge across the sea to reach Lanka in his mission to annihilate Ravana and bring  back his wife Sita from his clutches. The sea was rough and the waves were high and strong. Rama decided to pray to the lord of the seas and seek his favor so as to build the bridge smoothly. Rama undertook fast for three days and intently prayed to the Sea God for his grace and permission.

Rama was the Avatar of Lord Vishnu who was indeed the creator and sustainer of the entire universe and every minor God was subservient to him. Hence there was indeed no need for him to pray to Sea God. Yet, Rama displayed his humility, in order to set an example for the world.

However his act of humility ended up in boosting up the ego of the sea God.  He did not bother to respond to the humble prayers of lord Rama and appear before Him to grant his wishes.

Sensing his egotism, Rama got angry. Rather, it can be said that Rama commanded his emotion of anger to come to him. Then he took his bow, fitted an arrow and said, “Oh the Lord of the Seas! In order to obey the laws of Nature,  I submitted my self to patience and humility.

(Source: Arul Mozhigal-7 – Tamil)

6.  Krishna everywhere

[Amma: “When you are fully immersed in your true self, you become everything — one  with the entire universe. A new universe is revealed to you. You remain there permanently”.]

Once Lord Krishna and Arjuna were walking together, chitchatting. Krishna said, “Arjuna, you say I am an incarnation of God. I want to reveal a thing to you”. He took Arjuna through a village path.

They reached a vineyard.  Krishna pointed out the creepers there and asked Arjuna : “What do you see there?” Arjuna said, “I see lots of grape creepers and bunches of ripe grape fruits hanging from them”. Krishna said, “No Arjuna, watch intently, those hanging out there are not grapes”. Arjuna watched intently.  He was taken aback. There were no creepers or grapes. Each and every fruit hanging there was verily  a Krishna!

(Source: Arul Mozhigal-7 – Tamil)

7.  Arjuna’s pride

[Amma: “When you are fully immersed in your true self, you become everything — one  with the entire universe. A new universe is revealed to you. You remain there permanently”.]

Once Lord Krishna and Arjuna were walking together, chitchatting. Krishna put his hands on Arjuna’s shoulders and said, “Arjuna, I want a honest answer from you. Tell me who is the greatest archer in the world?”

Arjuna said, “It is me”.

Krishna, with a look of exasperation on his face, said, “Don’t you think it is a self-boasting, over confident and arrogant answer?”

Arjuna Said, “Oh Krishna! When you, the Lord of this Universe, is putting your hand on my shoulders and protecting me, who on earth has the power to defeat me in archery?”

Krishna smiled and walked along.

[Amma: “Children, we must always remember that it is the power of God that is acting through us.”]

8.  Just one syllable – three meanings

Once a grand famine gripped the earth. There was no rain for a couple of years at a stretch and people started suffering a lot.

The devas, Asuras and human beings who were all suffering decided to pray to Lord Brahma to save them from famine. They did severe penance to solicit the grace of Brahma, who had been in deep meditation for long. They waited for him to open his eyes. Finally, Lord Brahma opened his eyes and saw all of them. He just uttered a syllable “Da“, closed his eyes and went into deep meditation once again.

The devas, asuras and humans thought that the Lord had given them the clue to solving their problem by uttering ‘Da’. Each went into meditation to deeply contemplate on the word syllable ‘Da’.

The devas, upon meditating on ‘da’ for long, felt that it meant ‘Damya’ meaning self-control. Devas knew that they were always freeling engaging themselves in enjoying unbridled sensual pleasures. They felt that it was because of it that their suffereing had come. They understood that they should start practicing self-control immediately.

The Asuras meditation on “da” for long. They felt that ‘da’ meant ‘daya’ — compassion. Asuras knew how cruel they were and they understood that God wanted them to practice compassion. They decided to put this advice into effect.

The human beings, who meditated on ‘Da’ understood it to teach them ‘Dana’ — donation.  They instantly felt that they were too selfish and never wanted to give away or share anything with others.  Instead of hoarding things and enjoying them selfishly, they understood that they should share more with others.

As Devas, Asuras and Humans started practicing these qualities in their lives, they could please the lord. Rains started pouring again and prosperity gradually returned to earth.

9.  Realizing the power of Self

[Amma: “A true spiritual seeker gets rid of his individuality, his ego. He grasps that he is Atman; he is bliss personified; This way, he, who has always thought of himself as a zero watt bulb now turns into a dazzling 10000 watt bulb. Such an acquisition of power happens in him”.]

In the story of Ramayana, all the monkeys headed by Angata reach the southern sea shore in their mission to search for Sita. In order to find whether Sita is in Lanka, one had to cross the seas. The monkeys, knowing that they did not have the capacity to jump over the sea felt dejected. None of them were confident to make a jump across such a long distance. Hanuman too was sitting in a corner.

Elder monkeys ask Hanuman, “Hey, can you jump?”. Hanuman said, “No! I am afraid I can’t”.

But some of the seniors like Jambavan said, “No, Hanuman! You are indeed capable. Only you can accomplish it. You are not an ordinary monkey; you are the son of Vayu, the God of wind. You have all the powers to do it; only you seem to have forgotten”.

When they praised him like this and gave him the needed moral boost, Hanuman got up. He realized that he did have all the power and potential. He enlarged his body like a hill and then took one great leap. He crossed the sea and landed at Lanka. He searched and found Sita there. He gave Rama’s message and returned successfully.

In a similar way, our scriptures keep saying, “You are not an ordinary mortal; you are verily the Atman; you have all the powers inside you”.

(Source: Unaruvin Makkale – Malayalam)

10.  Sandipaka’s Devotion to Guru

The Sage Angirasa was a very powerful rishi. He had several disciples. One day, he called all his disciples and said, “Due to my fate on account of bad deeds in my previous births, I am going to be affected by leprosy soon; I will lose my eyesight too. I would prefer to live those days in Kashi. I would kike to know who of you will be interested to be with me in Kashi and do personal service to me”.

The disciples looked at each other and kept quiet. Then the youngest among them all, Sandipaka rose up and said “Respected Guruji, I am ready to come with you and serve you”.

The guru said, “You are too young ; you don’t know anything about the right way of doing personal service to guru”. But Sandikaka was adamant. He stood firm in his decision. He was deeply interested in doing personal service to guru. Finally Rishi Angirasa agreed. Both of them reached Kashi.

Very soon, Angirasa was affected by Leprosy and he lost his eye sight too. Sandipaka served his guru with utter care and devotion day and night. He went out to beg food for his master and also washed his clothes. On rest of the times, he was with his guru, always ready to extend any service needed by him. He believed that his guru and the Lord of Kashi (Viswanatha) were one and the same.

Despite his devotion and committed service, his guru would scold him severely; he would accuse him of committing blunders that he never did; at times he would blame him for not washing his clothes clean or bringing foodstuff that had turned sour. At times, he would also shower him with love and affection and feel bad about giving him all the trouble.

Sandipaka continued to serve his guru without losing heart. One day, Lord Shiva appeared before him and said, “My son, I am highly impressed by your dedicated service to your guru. I would like to offer a boon to you. What do you want?”

But Sandipaka did not want to ask anything without getting his guru’s permission. He ran to his guru and asked, “Shall I ask Lord Shiva to cure your leprosy?”  Angirasa Rishi got very angry. “You are not my disciple at all. Do you want me to suffer more by taking another birth? Don’t you want me to attain realization in this birth itself by suffering all my past karmas?”

Sandipaka returned to Lord Shiva and said “Dear Lord, Please pardon me. My guru did not approve the boon I wanted to ask from you. I have no other need. Kindly excuse me”.

A few years passed by. Sandipaka continued to do his service to guru with the same devotion and dedication. One day, when he was at the streets begging for food, Lord Vishnu approached him and said, “My child, I am extremely happy abut your service and dedication to me. Whatever boon you want, please ask me and I am ready to give it. Don’t disappoint me as you did to Lord Shiva”.

Sandipaka was surprised. He said, “Dear Lord! I have never done any service to you; in fact I had never even thought about you. Then how can you become happy with my service?

Lord Vishnu said, “Guru and God are no different. By serving your Guru, you have served me”. Again he ran to his guru and and asked him what boon to seek from Lord Vishnu. His guru said, “I don’t need anything; if you want to ask something for yourself, ask Lord Vishnu”.

Sandipaka ran back to Lord Vishnu and said, “My Lord, please give me the right mindset and discriminative faculty to correctly comprehend what my guru needs so that I can serve him to his fullest satisfaction”. Lord Vishnu was very happy to hear this and he said, “So be it” and disappeared.

When Sandipaka returned home, his guru asked him what boon was sought by him from Vishnu. Sandipaka narrated what he asked. At that very instant, all the leprosy lesions on his body disappeared. His eye sight was also back. Smiling broadly, Rishi Angirasa embraced his disciple lovingly. In fact, getting affected by Leprosy and losing eyesight were simply ploys enacted by him in order to test his disciple’s dedication and devotion.

With full of love, he blessed Sandipaka saying, “I am extremely happy with your devotion. If all disciples serve their gurus with the same dedication and love as you did, they will all lead a trouble free life. Let all future disciples serving their masters attain the status and glory as you have attained”.

[Amma: “Children, this is true Bhakti. If such a devotion exists, nothing else is needed”.]

(Source: Arul Mozhigal-1 – Tamil)

11.  Gandhari’s envy

[Amma: “People coming to spiritual life expect magical progress; they lack the patience and perseverance.  The blossoming of the inner self will happen only slowly and steadily. Everything in nature has a gradual and predetermined duration of time for evolution. Even the blossoming of a flower is a wonder and it happens in its own time.  The birth of a child is another wonder and it takes nine long months to happen. God never makes things to happen in a hurry. Only if you progress step by step, the progress will be real”.]

Gandhari, wife of the blind king Dhritarashtra came to know that Kunti (wife of Pandu, brother of Dhritarashtra) had conceived and given birth to her first Child (Yudhishthira).  Gandhari too was pregnant at that time. She became very envious of Kunti and out of impatience, she punched her abdomen with her hand again and again. On account of it, the fetus in her womb got disentangled and she gave premature delivery to a lump of flesh.

At that time, Rishi Vyasa came to her palace. He took pity on Gandhari despite her act of immaturity. He cut the piece of flesh into hundred pieces, placed them in 100 pots and closed them tight. Using his yogic power, he passed on some of his prana shakti (his vital life energy) into the pots. He told Gandhari to take care of the pots for a specific period and not to open them. Again, Gandhari, out of impatience did not wait till the end of the stipulated period and she opened them. On account of it she got 100 children who were not mentally ripe and mature. These children grew up to become rogues and they became the cause of destruction of their lineage.

(Source: Arul Mozhigal-9 – Tamil)

12.  Lakshmana’s Anger

[Amma: “It is only through love that it is possible to make the heart blossom with divinity. A sage’s presence, love and touch can do lots of good to others. He can make their hearts blossom and develop receptive mindset. Here is an example how a saintly person’s presence and touch can have the power of healing.”]

The date for Sri Rama’s coronation had been fixed. But on account of Kaikeyi, the event could not happen. Kaikeyi asked for two boons from Dasaratha. As per her first boon, her son Bharata should rule Ayodhya kingdom; as per her second boon, Rama should go and reside in the forest for fourteen years. That was how Kaikeyi made use of the two boons her husband had promised to her in the past.

Dasaratha pleaded to Kaikeyi not to insist on Rama’s exile to forest as Dasaratha’s very life was so much attached to Rama. But Kaikeyi was adamant. She said he should not waver from Dharma as the father of Rama, the very embodiment of dharma.  Dasaratha could not do anything.

But Rama, the avatar was happy to accept the effect of the two boons. He had no disappointment nort anger. He was at his peace as usual to him, because he had no attachment.

But Lakshmana, Rama’s brother and his self-appointed personal attendant was aflame with anger when he heard about the news of Rama’s exile.  As Lakshmana loved Rama more than his own life, started abusing Dasaratha unmindful of the fact that he was his father.  He said that he would put Kaikeyi and Dasaratha in the gallows and crown Rama as the king. No one was able to pacify and control Lakshmana’s anger. Rama kept his quiet watching Lakshmana’s anger. Finally, when Lakshmana became somewhat subdued on account of losing all his energy through the expression of anger, Rama went close to him, touched him and said in a soft voice, “My son”.

That’s all. These two loving words and the touch changed Lakshmana completely. His heart opened up. His childlike nature reared up again. His anger fled. He became steady. He felt peace.

After this change happened, Rama gave a brief sermon to Lakshmana conveying spiritual wisdom. His words now went deep into Lakshman’s heart.

(Source: Arul Mozhigal-9 – Tamil)

13.  The story of Markandeya

The sage Mrikandu had no children for a long time. In order to beget a child, he did severe penance to please Lord Shiva. Finally the lord appeared before him and asked, “Do you wish to have an intelligent and radiant son who will ie at the age of sixteen or a useless dullard who will have a long lifespan?” Mrikandu prayed for the former kind of child.

As was foretold by Lord, the newborn baby developed into a prodigy endowed with all qualities. The parents named him Markandeya (son of Mrikandu). All the four Vedas and other scriptures spontaneously dawned in his intellect. Everyone who came in contact with him felt attracted by his good qualities and behavior. But his parents were unhappy and would weep upon looking at his face, remembering that he would die at the age of sixteen. Somehow they managed to conceal this fact from him.

One day, Markandeya noticed the sorrow in his parents’ face and inquired the reason for it. They told him about the secret of his birth. Thenceforth, Markandeya immersed himself in intense tapas with the strong determination to please Lord Shiva and overcome death.

At last the fated day arrived. When the messengers of death came, they found Markandeya sitting in samadhi, absorbed in the thought of Lord Shiva. Since they could not approach him at that state, the God of death himself, Yma, came to take away Markandeya’s soul. Waking from samadhi and seeing Yama, Markandeya threw himself on Shivalinga and embraced it tightly. Throwing his noose around Markandeya and the Linga, Yama tried to pull Markandeya away.

Infuriated, Lord Shiva emerged from the Shivalinga an killed Yama in order to protect his devotee. The Lord then bestowed eternal life on Markandeya and blessed him that he would remain sixteen years old for ever! Then, in response to the prayers of the gods, Lord Shiva brought Yama back to life.

(From Awaken Children-2)

14.  Jada Bharata and the deer

[Amma: “The next birth one takes after death will be according to to the thought one has at the time death. At the moment of death, only the unfulfilled and strong desires will decide what you will become in the next life. If they are godly thoughts, then you will become a devotee; if they are worldly thoughts, you will again be thrown into the world of vasanas. That’s why it is said that you should cultivate divine thoughts through regular practice. You cannot think of God all of a sudden, especially at the moment of death”.]

Jada Bharata was a king in the ancient times. As the fruit of a life of righteousness, he developed a spirit of detachment and a strong desire for God-realization. Entrusting the kingdom to his eldest son, he left for the forest in order to do intense sadhana.

One day, while engaged in japa by the side of the river. he saw a fawn being swept away by the current of the river; getting up, he rescued the fawn and took it to the hermitage. With great care and love, he raised the fawn as if it was his own child.  Soon he forgot all about japa, meditation and other spiritual practices due to his preoccupation with and affection for the fawn.

Unexpectedly, the time of his death arrived. Even at that time, he was lamenting the fate of the deer and died while looking at it. Naturally, he was reborn as a deer, but due to his previous sadhana, he remembered his mistake of the previous birth and remained aloof from his mother and all other deer. Finally, he was reborn as a man and achieved the Highest Goal through a life of detachment.

(From Awaken Children-2)

15.   The right interpretation of dharma

After Pandavas and Kauravas completed their formal education and learning of archery and other skills in weaponry under the tutelage of Kripacharya and Dronacharya, the elders like Bhishma, King Dhritarashtra and others wanted to designate the next crown prince to rule Hastinapur after Dhritarashtra.  The task was to assess who between Duryodhana (the eldest of Kauravas) and Yudhishthira (the eldest of Pandavas) would be the better choice to rule the nation.

At that time, a murder case came to the king’s court for judgement. Bhishma suggested that both Duryodhana and Yudhishthira should hear the case and suggest the right delivery of judgment according to dharma that they had learned.

It was a case where a Brahmin, a Kshatriya, a Vaishya and a Sudra joined and conspired together to commit a murder. The inquiry revealed that it was indeed true that all the four persons produced in the court were the culprits in committing the crime.

When asked about the punishment to be metered out to the culprits, Duryodhana said that all the four must be hanged since their had conspired together to do the murder.

When Yudhishthira was asked, he said, “Since a Sudra is not exposed to dharma shastras,  he is not fully aware of what is right and what is wrong. Hence he can be whipped 50 times for the crime and released. The Vaishya is definitely far more exposed to dharma through education which means he has done the crime knowing what is wrong. Hence his punishment must be more severe. He can be whipped 50 times and imprisoned for 5 years.

“A kshatriya, being in ruling class, is far more aware of dharma; in fact, he is duty bound to maintain dharma in society. If he commits a murder, it is a serious crime. Let him be whipped 100 times and incarcerated for at least 12 years.

“As for the Brahmana, any form of indulgence in violence is totally prohibited.  As a Brahmin, he is exposed to all dharma shastras and he is the one responsible for propagating the shastras to Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Thus a brahmin conspiring and committing a murder is an extremely serious matter. Nothing short of hanging him to death would be the right judgment in my opinion. However, as per Shastras, Kshatriya like me cannot impose such a punishment to a Brahmin, who is to be revered by all classes of people. Hence I would rather ask the Brahmin to choose the right and appropriate punishment as ordained in the shastras for himself”.

Hearing the judgement, all the elders in the court gave a standing ovation to Yudhishthira for his wisdom and the right grasp of the essence of shastras. Everybody felt that Yudhishthira was indeed the right choice for becoming the future king.

(From one of Amma’s beach satsangs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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