THE
MANIFESTATION OF GODDESS LAXMI
Bheeshma
expressed his desire to know about the manifestation of goddess Laxmi.
Pulastya replied-- Once, after being defeated by the demons, the deities went to
Lord Vishnu and sought his help. Lord Vishnu instructed them to collect all the
medicinal herbs, and put them in the Ksheersagar, so that after the churning of
the ocean ambrosia could be retrieved.Lord Vishnu also advised them to use the
Mandar mountain as a Churner and the serpent--Sheshnag as a rope for churning
the ocean.The deities then reached an agreement with the demons according to
which both the groups were supposed to unitedly churn the ocean. The great
Mandar mountain was uprooted and placed on the back of the tortoise--the
embodiment of Lord Vishnu. Sheshnag coiled around that mountain and both the
ends were held by the demons and the deities respectively. The deities
intelligently chose the tail-end, while the demons in their foolishness chose
the mouth-end. The vemon spilled by Sheshnag destroyed the power and strength
off the demons. When the process of Churning began, the first thing to emerge
from the sea-bed was Kaamdhenu--the holy cow. The deities claimed the ownership
of this divine cow. Subsequently, Vaaruni (intoxicating drink) emerged from the
sea-bed, which was claimed by the ignorant demons. During the process of
ocean-churning, various kinds of things emerged out from the ocean--Parijat,
sixty crore apsaras, the moon and the Kaalkut (poison), which were distributed
among the demons and the deities. Lord Mahadev drank the Kaalkut when he saw
that there was no taker for it.
The churning of ocean also resulted into the manifestation of ambrosia-pot,
Uchchaishrava (horse) and Eravat (elephant). Ultimately, goddess Laxmi
manifested herself, seated on a lotus. The deities eulogised her by chanting the
mantras of Sri Sukta. The deities were desirous of having goddess Laxmi on their
side, so were the demons, but Lord Brahma instructed Vishnu to accept her as his
consort. The demons became furious and snatched the ambrosia-pot from the hands
of Sage Dhanvantari. Lord Vishnu then disguised himself as the most enchanting
woman and fooled the demons into giving back the ambrosia-pot. Lord Vishnu gave
the pot to the deities who became immortal after drinking ambrosia. A tremendous
battle was fought between the demons and the deities. But, the demons were
defeated in this battle and fled to the netherworld to protect their lives. The
deities eulogised Lord Vishnu and returned to heaven.
SATI
GIVES UP HER LIFE
On
being enquired by Bheeshma about the reason why Sati gave up her life, Sage
Pulastya narrated the following tale ----
Once, Daksha Prajapati had organised a grand yagya in which he had invited
everybody except Lord Shiva. This Yagya was presided over by four prominent
sages---Vashishth, Angika, Vrihaspati and Narad. Sati went to attend the yagya
despite Lord Shiva's reluctance to send her. After reaching there she asked
Daksha about the reason why he had not invited Lord Shiva.
Daksha said---"Your husband is unworthy of being in the company of other
deities, because of his abhorrent appearance. He smears ashes on his body and
wanders through the cremation grounds. In the name of clothes, your husband puts
on tiger's skin. A garland of skulls keep on hanging down his neck. All species
of serpents coil around his body. Do you think he is eligible to sit in the
company of the deities? Your husband had brought great shame on me and this is
the reason why I did not invite him."
Sati could no more listen to her husband's criticism and gave up her life by
jumping into the oblation-fire.When the news of Sati's death reached Lord Shiva,
he became extremely furious and sent his ganas to avenge her death. The Ganas
went and created havoc at the oblation-site.After the death of Sati, Lord Shiva
became a recluse and lost all interest in his life. His mind was preoccupied by
nothing else but the thoughts of her beloved.One day, Sage Narad informed Lord
Shiva about Sati's rebirth as the daughter of Himvan and Mena. Lord Shiva became
extremely pleased by this good news. Eventually, he reunited with her eternal
consort Parvati.
THE
ORIGIN OF DEITIES, DEMONS & SERPENTS
Bheeshma
requested Sage Pulastya to explain how different entities like the deities,
demons and serpents came into being.
Pulastya replied---Having failed in his repeated attempts of increasing
population by the means of 'sankalpa' Daksha Prajapati was left with no option
but to take the help of copulative creation. He begot sixty daughters from his
wife named Virini. In course of time ten of them were married to Dharma whose
names were---Arundhati, Vasu, Jami, Lamba, Bhanu, Marutvati, Sankalpa, Muhurta,
Saadhya and Vishwa.Vishwa gave birth to Vishwadeva, while Saadhyaa was the
mother of Saddhya. Marutvati gave birth to Marutvan. Vasu had eight sons who
became famous as the Vasus---yourself (Bheeshma), Dhruv, Soma, Dhar, Anil, Anal,
Pratyush and Prabhas. Bhanu had a son by the same name i.e. Bhanu. Mahurta begot
deities, who were the lords of auspicious moments. Lamba gave birth to Ghosh
while Jami had a daughter named Nagvithi. Arundhati became the mother of all the
creatures of this world. As far as the offspring of eight Vasus are concerned,
'you' (Bheeshma) have four sons--Shant, Vaitand, Samb and Munibabhru. Dhruv had
a son named Kaal. While Soma was the father of Varcha. Dhar had two sons--Dravin
and Havyavaah. Anil had three sons--- Pran, Raman and Shishir. Anal also had
three sons---Shakh, Upshakh and Naigameya. Pratyush had a son named Deval, who
later on became a famous sage. Prabhas was the father of Prajapati
Vishwakarma--the architect of the deities.
The names of the eleven Rudras are---Ajaikpad, Ahirbudhnya, Virupaksh, Raivat,
Har, Bahuroop, Trayambak, Savitra, Jayant, Pinaki and Aparajit. All of them are
said to be the lords of the Ganas and have all together 84 crore progenies known
as the Rudraganas.
Sage Kashyap had thirteen wives---Aditi, Diti, Danu, Arishta, Sursa, Surabhi,
Vinta, Tamra, Krodhvasha, Ira, Kadru, Khasa and Muni. Kashyap had two sons from
Diti---Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Hiranyakashipu had four sons---Prahlad,
Anuhlad, Sanhlad and Hlad. Prahlad also had four sons---One of them was Virochan.
Virochan was the father of Bali. Vanasur, who had one thousand arms, was the
eldest son of Bali.Hiranyaksha had four sons, who themselves had 27 crore sons
and grandsons in all. Kashyap had begotten one hundred sons from Danu, among
whom Viprachitti was the most powerful.Viprachitti had fourteen sons from
Sinhika---Sainhikeya (Rahu), Kansa, Shankh, Nala, Vatapi, Ilwal, Namuchi,
Khasrima, Anjan, Narak, Kaalnaabh, Parmanu, Kalpavirya and Dhanuvanshavivardhan.
Kashyap also had six daughters from Tamra--Shuki, Shyeni, Bhasi, Gridhi,
Sugridhi and Shuchi. All six of them gave birth to various species of birds.
Shuki was the mother of Parrots and Owls. Shyeni gave birth to hawks while Bhasi
was the mother of ospreys (a large fish eating birds.) Gridhi gave birth to
Vultures and Sugridhi was the mother of pigeons. Shuchi was the mother of
cranes, Swans and other similar aquatic birds. Vinita was the mother of Garuda
and Arun---Supreme among birds. Arun was the father of Sampati and Jatayu.Sursa
was the mother of the serpents and had given birth to one thousand snakes.
Similarly, Kadru gave birth to one thousand cobras.Surabhi, one of the thirteen
wives of Kashyap had given birth to cows, buffaloes as well as beautiful women.
Muni was the mother of the celestial damsels --apsaras. Arishta gave birth to
Kinnars and Gandharvas. Ira was the mother of various vegetation like grass,
trees, creepers and bushes.
Khasa gave birth to crore of Rakshashas (monsters) and Yakshas.Kashyap had also
begotten forty-nine Marudganas from Diti.
THE
ORIGIN OF MARUDGANAS
Bheeshma
requested Sage Pulastya to describe how all the Marudganas came into existence.
Pulastya replied--- All the sons and grandsons of Diti had perished in the
battle fought between the deities and demons. Diti---the mother of daityas
(demons) wanted to take revenge, so she started doing a penance at the bank of
river Saraswati, which lasted for 100 years.Being pleased by her austere penance
Sage Kashyap arrived and expressed his desire to bless her with a boon. Diti
wanted a mighty son who could kill Indra. Sage Kashyap then implanted his sperms
in Diti's womb and instructed her to remain there (where she had been doing
penance) for 100 years. He also instructed her on various do's and don'ts which
a pregnant woman is expected to observe. Diti agreed to follow his
instructions.Mean while, Indra got wind of her pregnancy and became scared. He
wanted to destroy the foetus at any cost, so he arrived at the place where Diti
was staying. He had disguised himself to avoid being recognized by Diti. He
engaged himself in her servitude, waiting for an opportune moment to destroy the
foetus.
This way, ninety-nine years had passed and only three days were remaining after
which Diti was expected to give birth to a son. As the inevitable day approached
nearer, Indra started becoming restless.One day, Diti was very tired and fell
down asleep. Her hair was untied and her head had stooped down while she was
sleeping, just opposite to the instructions Kashyap had given to her. Finding
the moment opportune, Indra entered into Diti's womb and cut the foetus into
seven pieces with his Vajra. The seven fragments of foetus instantaneously got
transformed into seven infants and started wailing. Indra became furious and
once again he attacked them with his vajra and severed them into seven pieces
each. But to Indra's sheer amazement, there were 49 infants, all wailing loudly.
He tried to stop them from crying by shouting 'Marud' (don't cry), but to no
avail.
Indra realized that the infants had attained immortality on account of the 'Pournamasi
Vrata', which Diti had devoutly observed during the course of her penance. Indra
named the infants as Marudganas and blessed them. He then begged for Diti's
forgiveness and took her along with the Marudganas to heaven. The Marudganas,
despite being born in the clans of demons, never associated with them and hence
were revered even by the deities.Bheeshma expressed his curiosity to know about
the detailed description of all the fourteen manvantars. Pulastya said--The
first manvantar was called Swayambhuva, named after Swayambhuva- Manu. Yamya was
the prominent deity of this manvantar. Marichi and other six prominent sages
were the Saptarishis of this manvantar. Swayambhuva- Manu had ten sons---Aaghnigha,
Agnibahu, Vibhu, Savan, Jyotishman, Dyutiman, Havya, Medha, Medhatithi and Vasu.
The second manvantar was named after Swarochish--Manu. Swarochish--Manu had four
sons--Nabh, Nabhasya, Prasriti and Bhavan. Tushit was the prominent deity of
this second manvantar. Dattatreya, Atri, Chyavan, Stanba, Pran, Kashyap and
Vrihaspati were the saptarishis of this manvantar.
The third manvantar was called Autam and derived its name from Autami Manu, who
had ten sons--Isha, Urj, Tanuj, Shuchi, Shukra, Madhu, Madhav, Nabhasya, Nabh
and Saha, Bhanusangyak was the prominent deity of this manvantar. Sage Urj and
other six sages were the saptarishis then.
The fourth manvantar was called Taamas--named after Taamas-manu, who also had
ten sons like his predecessor. The names of his sons were--Akalmash, Tapodhanva,
Tapomool, Tapodhan, Taporashi, Tapasya, Sutapasya, Parantap, Tapobhagi and
Tapoyogi. Kavi, Prithu, Agni, Akapi, Kapi, Janya and Dhama were the Saptarishis
of this manvantar, while Saadhyagana was the prominent deity.
The fifth manvantar was called Raivat--named after Raivat Manu, who had ten sons
as well--Varun, Tatvadarshi, chitiman, Havyap, Kavi, Mukt, Nirutsuk, Satva,
Vimoh and Prakashak, Bhutrajaa and Prakriti were the two prominent deities of
this manvantar and the names of the saptarishis were--Devabahu, Subahu, Parjanya,
Somap, Muni, Hiranyaroma and Saptashva.
Next arrived the sixth manvantar---Chakshush. This Manvantar derived its name
from Chakshush--Manu, who had ten sons and among whom Ruru was the most
prominent one. Lekh, Ribhu, Prithagbhoot, Varimool and Divau were the prominent
deities of this manvantar. The names of Saptarishis were--Bhrigu, Sudhama, Viraj,
Vishnu, Narad, Vivaswan and Abhimani.
The present manvantar, which is the seventh in order, is called Vaivaswat. The
Saptarishis of this manvantar are---Atri, Vashishth, Kashyap, Gautam--yogi,
Bhardwaj, Vishwamitra and Jamdagni.
The eighth manvantar will be called Savarnya and will be named after Savarni
Manu, Savarni Manu will have ten sons---Dhriti, Variyan, Yavasu, Suvarna,
Dhrishti, Charishnu, Aadya, Sumati, Vasu and Shukra. The Saptarishis of this
manvantar will be--Ashwatthama, Rishyashringa, Kaushikya, Galav, Shatanand,
Kaashyap and Parashuram.
The nineth manvantar will be named after Ruchi--Manu and will be called Rauchya
manvantar. Ruchi--manu will have a son named Rauchya.
The tenth manvantar will be called Bhautya and will derive its name from Bhautya
Manu--Son of Bhuti.
The eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth manvantars will be named after
Merusavarni, Ribhu, Veetdhama and Vishkvasen Manus respectively.
All these fourteen Manus successively rule this world for the total period of
1000 Chaturyugas. At the end of Kalpa each of them unite with Lord Brahma.
KING
PRITHU AND THE SURYA DYNASTY
Bheeshma
enquired Sage Pulastya about the mighty King Prithu upon whom the earth was
named as Prithvi.
Sage Pulastya replied---Anga-Prajapati was the descendant of Swayambhuva Manu
and Sunitha was his wife. In course of time, Sunitha gave birth to a son, who
was named Ven. After growing up, Ven turned out to be an extremely irreligious
person and used to spend his time committing all sorts of immoral deeds. The
sages tried to bring him to the virtuous path but to no avail. They became
furious and cursed Ven as the result of which he died. The sages then churned
his dead body, which resulted into the manifestation of a mean caste called
Mlechchha. They kept on churning his body and in the process, an extremely
virtuous entity manifested from the right hand of Ven. He held various weapons
like mace, bow and arrows in his hands. He was none other than Prithu--the
embodiment of Lord Vishnu.
After being crowned as a king, Prithu was saddened to see the prevalence of
immorality throughout the length and breadth of earth. The lack of virtuosity
and religiousness among the inhabitants of earth made him extremely furious. He
decided to destroy the earth. The earth became scared and fled in the guise of a
cow. Prithu chased her wherever she went. At last, the cow halted at a place as
she had got tired. To save her life, the cow agreed to fulfill all the desires
of Prithu. Prithu then milked the cow, which later on got transformed into
cereals. Similarly all the deities, ancestors and other human-beings milked the
cow and received numerous invaluable things.
Prithu was a just king. Peace and prosperity prevailed during his reign. People
were religious and free from any kind of sorrow. The earth is named after him as
Prithvi.Sage Pulastya then went on to give a detailed description of Surya
dynasty---Vivaswan (Surya) had three queens---Sangya, Ragyi and Prabha. Ragyi
had a son named Raivat while Somgya was the mother of Vaivaswat--Manu, Yama and
Yamuna. Once, Sangya being unable to bear the extreme radiance of Surya created
a superficial entity from her body and instructed her to act as Surya's wife in
her absence. The name of this superficial woman was chhaya, who had two sons and
two daughters from Surya. The names of her sons were Saavarna--Manu and
Shanaishchar, while the names of her daughters were Tapti and Vishti.
Shanaishchar became immortal as a planet while Yamuna and Tapti became rivers.
Vaivaswat Manu had ten sons among whom 'Ila' was the eldest. After appointing
Ila as his successor, Vaivaswat, manu went to do penance.Once, Ila transformed
into a woman after tresspassing a forest where Lord Shiva and Parvati were
enjoying privacy. It was Lord Shiva's curse that any male who ventured in to
that forbidden forest would become a woman. Later on, Buddh became enchanted by
Ila's beauty and married her.
Meanwhile, when Ila did not return to his kingdom, his brother Ikshvaku went in
search of him. Ikshvaku reached the outskirts of the same forest but did not
enter it. He managed to please Shiva by his devotion. When Lord Shiva appeared,
Ikshvaku requested him to make Ila a man once again. Shiva told him that it was
impossible but assured him by saying "If you perform an Ashwamedha yagya
and donate all the virtue thus acquired to me, then your brother will be able to
live as a man for one month. But, after one month he will again become a woman.
Thus, his form will keep on changing every alternate months."
Meanwhile Ila gave birth to four sons among whom Utkal, Gaya and Haritashwa were
prominent. This way, Ila became the source from which the lineage of chandra
sprouted.Ikshvaku ruled over Madhya-desh. He had one hundred sons, all of whom
ruled the territories situated north of Meru Mountain. Ikshvaku also had one
hundred and fourteen more sons, who ruled over the areas situated south of
Meru.Kakusttha was Ikshvaku's grand-son. Kakusttha had a son named Suyodhan.
Some other prominent kings coming from this lineage were--Prithu, Vrihadashwa,
Kuwalashva, Purukutsu, Dharmasetu, Muchukund, Tridhanva, Traidharun, Satyavrat
and Satyarath.
The most truthful king Harishchandra was Satyarath's son and Rohit was his son.
Famous kings like Raghu, Dilip Aja, Dirghabahu and Prajapati-Dasharath were the
descendants of Ikshvaku. Dasharath had four sons among whom Sri Ram was the
eldest and who had killed the demon king Ravana. Ram had two sons--Lav and Kush.
BASHKALI--THE
DEMON KING
Bheeshma
requested Sage Pulastya to reveal Why Lord Vishnu had to take incarnation as
Vaman. Sage Pulastya replied--- Once, during Satyayuga, the demons had defeated
the deities and driven them out from their abode--heaven. The mighty demon,
Bashkali was their leader. He had become immortal an account of a boon received
from Lord Brahma. Indra went to Lord Brahma and narrated the aweful tale of the
deities. Lord Brahma assured him that Lord Vishnu would certainly help in this
matter. Lord Brahma contemplated on Lord Vishnu who appeared in a very short
time.
When, Lord Vishnu came to know about the deities's pitiable condition, he
promised them that very soon Bashkali's wings would be clipped.
Lord Vishnu said---"Very soon, I will take incarnation as Vaman. Indra will
have to come along with me and demand a piece of land measured by my three
steps. I shall then reveal my giant form and send him to the patalloka after
making him bereft of his kingdom. In course of time Lord Vishnu manifested as
Vaman from Aditi's womb. His manifestation was simultaneously marked by various
auspicious signs--the air became full of fragrance, the deities started
rejoicing, the trees started shedding flowers on their own and all the desires
of living beings were fulfilled.
Lord Vaman then went to Bashkali's palace accompanied by Indra. Both of them
marvelled at the grandness of Bashkali's city, which was surrounded by a high
boundary-wall.Bashkali was a very virtuous and benevolent king. He was truthful
and well versed in all the scripture. His subject lived in prosperity and
enjoyed a long life.When the demons saw Indra coming with a dwarf they informed
Bashkali. Bashkali instructed the demons to bring both the guests with due
respect.
Bashkali treated his guests with all honour and asked Indra about the reason for
his sudden arrival. Indra praised Bashkali's benevolence and said---"The
short brahmin accompanying me is desirous of a piece of land measured by his
three steps." Bashkali was amused at this ridiculous demand and requested
Vaman to ask for anything he wished. But, Vaman wanted nothing more than a small
piece of land measured by his three steps.
Shukracharya-Bashkali's guru smelled something fishy and warned him, but he was
not to listen. Bashkali then requested Vaman to go ahead and measure the land by
his three steps.Suddenly, Lord Vaman transformed his physique into a giant size.
His first step reached the Surya-loka and his second step touched the
dhruva-loka. He hit the top of the universe with his third step as a result of
which water poured down. The water got collected and came to be known as
Vaishnavi river. But, the land had still not been measured and hence Lord Vaman
reminded Bashkali of his vow and ultimately the helpless Bashkali surrendered to
the will of Lord Vaman and sought his refuge. Lord Vaman blessed him and sent
him to Patalloka.
SRI
RAM KILLS SHAMBUK
After
killing the demons king Ravan, Sri Ram returned to Ayodhya. Many sages had
arrived there to bless him on the occasion of his crowning ceremony. Sage
Vashishth was one of them.As Sri Ram was conversing with the sages a brahmin
arrived there with the corpse of his son and wailed---"O son! Your death is
certainly due to some flaw of Sri Ram. Now, your mother and I have decided to
give up our lives as there is no point in living."
Sri Ram's heart was filled with grief and he asked Sage Vashishth as to how the
brahmin could be helped. Sage Vashishth revealed to Sri Ram that the brahmin's
son had died a premature death because of Shambuk. Vashishth said--"Shambuk
is a Shudra by birth, but he is doing an austere penance. Shudras are not
entitled to do penance in all the three yugas, except the Kaliyug. So, only his
death can bring back the brahmin's son alive."
Sri Ram instructed both his younger brothers--Laxman and Bharat, to look after
the state's affairs in his absence and went in search of Shambuk boarded on his
Pushpak Viman.Sri Ram saw a man doing penance at the shore of a reservoir. He
landed his Pushpak Viman and went near that man. He introduced himself and
enquired about the man's identity--Sri Ram asked--Why are you doing such an
austere penance. Who are you?
Without moving the man replied that he was a shudra named Shambuk. He said---- I
am desirous of attaining to devaloka and hence I am doing this penance.Sri Ram
took out his sword and severed Shambuk's head. All the deities hailed Sri Ram
and the brahmin's child became alive once again.
MANIFESTATION
OF GANESH & KARTIKEYA
Once,
before taking her bath, goddess Parvati anointed unguent on her body and while
removing it created a human form from the accumulated dross. The head of this
human form resembled an elephant. Parvati then playfully immersed the human-form
into river Ganga. But, to her sheer amazement the human form became alive and of
enormous size. She accepted him as her son and he was none other than
elephant-headed deity-Ganesh.
Once, Lord Shiva became so deeply fascinated by her consort. Parvati hat he did
not come out from his palace for 1000 years. The deities became worried and sent
Agni to find out the reason. Agni disguised himself as a parrot and entered the
palace where Shiva was enjoying privacy with Parvati.
Meanwhile, Parvati went at the bank of a reservoir to quench her thirst. After
reaching there she saw six divine women (matrikas) carrying water in the leaves
of lotus flowers. As Parvati was thirsty, she requested them to give some water.
The matrikas agreed on the condition that a son born to her (Parvati) should
also have to be accepted as their son. Parvati gave her conscent. The matrikas
gave Parvati water to drink.
Hardly had Parvati finished drinking water than a divine child emerged out from
her womb. The child possessed various weapons like, trident, shakti and a noose
in his hands. He was none other than Kartikeya.The deities appointed Kartikeya
as the commander of their army. During that time, a mighty demon named Tarakasur
used to torment the deities. Kartikeya killed that demon on the request of
deities.
AN
IDEAL BRAHMIN AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GAYATRI MANTRA
Describing
about the qualities of an ideal brahmin, Sage Pulastya said--- Once, Narad had
asked Lord Brahma as to who was worthy of receiving Vishnu's blessings. Lord
Brahma had told Narad that Lord Vishnu showered his blessings on those who
engaged themselves in the service of brahmins. A brahmin should be virtuous and
well versed in all the scriptures. A brahmin who does not observe the rituals as
mentioned in the Vedas, brings disgrace to his ancestors. An ideal brahmin is
respectful towards his parents, teachers and treats his guests with due honour.
He never aspires for women other than his wife and chants the sacred Gayatri
mantra everyday.
Goddess Gayatri is said to have manifested in the lineage of Sankhyayan. She is
of fair complexion and fire is the symbolical expression of her mouth. Lord
Brahma dwells on her forehead, Lord Vishnu in her heart and Lord Rudra has his
abode in her braided hair. The Gayatri mantra consists of 24 letters and each of
them is related with a specific deity. There is a mention of Gayatri mantra,
which consists of 18 letters. It begins with the word 'agni' and ends with 'swaha'.
The mantra is as follows---OM
AGNERVAKPUNSI YAJURDEDIN JUSHTA SOMAM PIBA SWAHA.
A person, who chants the mantra for 100 times, becomes
liberated from gravest of sin. The various deities related with the twenty-four
letters of Gayatri Mantra are as under-
Deity
A
devotee should then perform the ritual of 'nyas' by mentally establishing
different words of the Gayatri mantra in the various parts of his body as given
below --
Regular
chanting of Gayatri mantra bestowes similar virtues attained by the study of all
the four vedas. A brahmin who does not know Gayatri mantra is considered to be
worse than a shudra. Anybody who chants Gayatri mantra attains salvation.
BRAHMIN'S
LIVELIHOOD
Describing
how a brahmin should earn his livelihood, Lord Brahma said to Narad--Alms, which
a brahmin gets without making any demand for it, is called Vritta. 'Unchhavritti'
is even better than Vritti and it means collecting foodgrain which are scattered
in places like fields, granary, market-place etc. A brahmin should accept the
dakshina that his host gives him after the completion of yagya-ceremony. He
should engage himself in educational activities. He can also earn his livelihood
by engaging himself in other auspicious activities.
If the circumstances do not permit a brahmin to earn his livelihood by any of
the above mentioned means, then he may opt for the occupation of a kshatriya. In
such a case, he should endeavor to have mastery both over the vedas as well as
different weaponary. Battle should be his last option. When the very existence
of religiousness is at stake, he should wage a war against irreligious people
and to protect the religion.
In an emergency situation, a brahmin can also choose the occupation of aVaishya
and earn his livelihood by doing business or agriculture. But, while earning his
livelihood by doing agriculture, he should in no circumstances abandon his own
duties (duties of a brahmin). He should be honest while doing business and never
try to exploit the customers.
NAROTTAM---THE
BRAHMIN
Describing
about the importance of five virtuous deeds, Pulastya said to
Bheeshma---"The five supreme virtuous deeds are--obedience to parents,
faithfulness towards husband, equanimity, not having enmity towards friends and
devotion towards Lord Vishnu. By pleasing his father, one pleases all the
deities. Mother is superior even to all the places of pilgrimage combined
together.
Pulastya then narrated the same tale to Bheeshma, which lord Brahma had once
told some prominent sages ---
Once, there lived a famous Brahmin called Narottam. He had acquired divine
powers on account of his austere penance but unfortunately he never treated his
parents with respect.After taking his daily bath, Narottam hanged his wet
clothes in the open sky without any support and they used to dry without falling
down on the earth. This special power had made him very arrogant.One day, a
crane flying in the sky passed dung on his face, which made him very furious.
Narottam cursed the crane as the result of which it was burnt to death. His
special power vanished due to the sin acquired by killing an innocent bird. Now,
no longer his clothes remained in suspended position in the sky.
Narottam became very sad. Suddenly he heard a heavenly voice instructing him to
see a 'chandala' named Mook. "His discourses would be beneficial for
you."- Said the heavenly voice. Narottam went in search of Mook--the
chandal and found him in the servitude of his parents. Mook was a great devotee
of his parents and his total devotion towards his parents had blessed him with
an extraordinary power-his house used to hang in the air without any
support.Narottam was deeply amazed at this wonderful sight. He wanted to know
how Mook had acquired such divine powers. But, Mook requested him to wait, which
made Narottam very angry. Mook then told Narottam---"I can talk to you only
after attending to my parents. I am not that crane which was charred to death by
your curse. If you don't have time then go and meet that 'faithful-wife. She
will answer your questions."
Narottam did not know where that faithful wife lived, so he stood there
wondering what to do next. Suddenly Lord Vishnu emerged from Mook's house
disguised as a brahmin. He took Narottam to the 'faithful-wife's house. All
along the way Lord Vishnu preached Narottam on the qualities of a chaste woman.
As both of them were about to reach that chaste woman's house, lord Vishnu
disappeared, leaving Narottam all alone.
Narottam requested the woman to enlighten him on the finer points of virtuosity.
But, the woman was busy attending her husband and requested him to wait.
Narottam threatened to curse her, to which the woman replied---I am not that
crane whom you had cursed. If you are in a hurry then you can go and meet
'Dharm--Tulaadhar'. He is an honest businessman and is capable of answering your
queries."
Lord Vishnu once again appeared from that woman's house disguised as a brahmin.
Narottam asked him as to how were both Mook and faithful-wife aware of the
incident in which the crane was charred to death. Lord Vishnu told him that both
of them had acquired this special power by the virtue of their respective
religiousness.
Lord Vishnu and Narottam proceeded towards the place where Dharmtuladhar did his
business transactions. As they were about to reach the place, Lord Vishnu
disappeared once again, leaving Narottam all alone.Narottam saw Dharmtuladhar
busy in his dealings with total honesty. He requested him to reveal as to what
made the wet clothes to hang in the air without any support. Dharmtuladhar
requested him to wait but Narottam was in a hurry to get answer to his
questions. Dharmtuladhar told Narottam--Please wait for sometime, as I am busy
doing my business transactions. If you don't have time then you can go and meet
Adrohak, who is fully capable of giving answer to your questions. Lord Vishnu
once again accompanied him disguised as a brahmin.
When both of them were about to reach the place where Adrohak used to live, lord
Vishnu disappeared and Narottam was left all by himself, once again. Narottam
requested Adrohak to preach on the essence of religiousness. Adrohak was a man
of impeccable conduct and had full control over the sensual urges. He advised
Narottam to meet the supreme devotee of Lord Vishnu, who lived nearby. Adrohak
said-- You would get answers to all your questions. He will reveal to you the
reason that made wet clothes to hang in air without any support.Narottam then
proceeded towards the place where the supreme devotee of Lord Vishnu lived. Lord
Vishnu once again accompanied him in the guise of a brahmin.After reaching
there, Narottam expressed his desire of seeing Lord Vishnu. The supreme devotee
took him to a temple situated inside the house-premise.
Narottam was amazed to see the same brahmin, who had been accompanying him all
along the way, siting on a lotus flower. He realized that the brahmin was lord
Vishnu himself. Lord Vishnu blessed him and said---Be respectful towards your
parents, if you want to attain to my abode. I dwell in the houses of people who
are virtuous, truthful, possessed equanimity and who have full control over
their passion. This is why you found me present at the homes of chandal,
Tuladhar & Adrohak.
Narottam realized his mistake and decided to be in the servitude of his parents
for the rest of his life.