The undying spirit of friendship

This is a topic very close to most of us. From the day we enter school as tiny tots, our eyes start searching for familiar faces. Something attracts us to certain people and we become friends. Then as we grow older and wiser we develop deeper bonds with our friends. Though I have heard many people say that beginning with father and mother, relatives are predestined, while we are able to choose our friends. But I feel that even friendship is predestined and we cannot become close to anybody that we come across.

Destiny brought Karna and Duryodhana together. But their friendship has stood the test of time. Duryodhana befriended Karna knowing well that he belonged to a lower caste (at the time of their friendship, it was not known that he was Kunti’s son).

One day, Karna and Duryodhana’s wife, Bhanumati, were playing a game of dice. Bhanumati was losing the game to Karna, when Duryodhana walked in. Seeing Duryodhana, Bhanumati stood up in respect. Karna, thought that she was fleeing from her loss and pulled her down. This caused her pearl chain to break. Karna looked up only to find Duryodhana staring down at him.

Fearing the worst, Karna stood up in silence. Duryodhana, sensing the embarrassment of his friend and wife eased the situation by asking them, if he had to only collect the pearls or string them too! In that one act of his, Duryodhana unmistakably proved that he was a loyal friend and a trusting husband. 

Duryodhana did not believe in the caste system, but believed in merit. Since he felt Karna was fit enough to be a ruler, without taking into account his father’s profession or status in society, Duryodhana made him King of Anga. True to the Kshatriya tradition he fought with valour to protect his kingdom. In all fairness to this often-mistaken character, Duryodhana was a protective brother, dutiful son, trusting husband, loyal friend and above all, a brave warrior and capable ruler. These traits, it is believed, took him straight to heaven when he died, while this honour was not granted even to Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma! When Duryodhana died, the heavens showered flowers over his body in appreciation of the life that he had led!

"Should I only collect the pearls or string them too?"

Karna, on his part, shunned even his mother’s love to be by the side of his friend in the war! In some ways, the gratitude shown by Karna was much greater than the one shown by Kumbhakarna towards Ravana. Karna was hailed as a selfless giver. Knowing this, Lord Indra once went to Karna and asked for the ‘Kavacha Kundalam’ that he was born with. Indra knew that with these on, Karna was invincible and could not be defeated in war. Despite knowing Lord Indra’s intentions through his father, Surya, Karna gave away the Kavacham or the Armour and the Kundalam or the earring that his father had given him at the time of his birth.

His penchant for learning princely disciplines like archery and the Vedas, made him assume the guise of a Brahmin so that he could become the disciple of Parasurama. One day, Parasurama was sleeping on the lap of Karna and just when the Guru was fast asleep, a beetle bit into Karna’s thigh. But Karna withstood moving from the spot. He was more worried about disturbing his Guru’s sleep than the blood oozing out of his thigh. When the hot blood touched the arms of Parasurama, he woke up, only to see Karna bleeding profusely. He at once knew that Karna had fooled him since only a Kshatriya could bear that much of pain, and was infuriated. He cursed Karna and said that the Brahmastra, which he had acquired through falsehood, would not help him when he most needed it! 

During the war, Karna’s chariot got stuck in the mud and Arjuna pierced him with his arrows. Yet, Karna did not die. His dharma of offering to people in need had earned him a lot of ‘punya’, and it was difficult to kill him. Lord Krishna, in the form of a Brahmin, approached Karna and asked him to give his ‘punya’ as alms and Karna obliged. The arrows of Arjuna then killed Karna.

Duryodhana and Karna, two great friends, and extraordinary warriors, were undone by their own wrong doings. Sakuni’s advice to challenge Yudhisthira brought about Duryodhana’s downfall, while it was the hatred towards the Pandavas, triggered by the constant remarks by others on his lowly birth, that made Karna lose his hard-earned weapons. So intense was his hatred that he lost his mind and instigated Duryodhana against Draupadi. What added fuel to the fire wasthe fact that she had earlier refused to marry Karna as he was from a low caste. 

Karna did not spare young Abhimanyu’s life either, and went against all known warring regulations of that period and killed a warrior who was weapon-less. In the end, he died in the same manner in which he killed Abhimanyu.

The one message that meets the eye is that we are bound by our own actions and all of us have some negative trait in us that we need to conquer. I am tempted to quote Edward Wallis Hoch : 

“There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it ill behoves any of us
To talk about the rest of us.”

We must learn to respect ourselves before we can respect others. When we understand this, we can begin with being our own best friend, and then we will find that we can understand others around us better!

The Crow and the Cuckoo

Once in the ashram of sage Vidhyatheertha, the disciples were having a very heated debate and the Guru was silently watching them.The students were debating whether it is wise to be selfless or is it foolishness to allow people to make use of you. Since they could not come to any consensus, they decided to approach the Guru and get their arguments judged by the Guru.

Each faction presented its argument. The faction that opined that people should be selfless argued that changing the way others think is not within our control. But if each of us decided to be selfless at least there will be more selfless people and therefore Dharma will survive. Otherwise there will be complete anarchy in the world and the entire earth will move towards destruction.

The other faction which argued that it is foolishness to be selfless had a very strong reasoning too! They bowed respectfully in front of the Guru and told him, “Guruji, with due respects to you, we all felt that as you have been rightly teaching us that God is the full of kindness, let God himself take care of everyone. Who are we to take over the duty of God? God has created all of us equally and if one person can do something the rest of us can do it too!”

The Guru was quite happy and proud of his students as they were able to think beyond his teachings and debate thus. Initially the Guru agreed with both their contention and then started telling a story.

Once there lived a cuckoo on a tree near a village called Lakshmipur. She sang very beautifully and passers-by were enthralled by her voice. She became the talk of the town and people. Everyone used to sing her praises as her voice was melancholic and yet divine. There lived a crow in the neighbouring tree. She could not sing or caw sweetly. People started making unreasonable comparison and used to ask the crow to shut up so they could hear the cuckoo sing. Though the crow felt bad she kept quiet and went about her business.

She built her nest and laid her eggs. The next day she saw that the number of eggs in the nest had increased. She knew that the cuckoo had laid her eggs in the crow’s nest. The crow could stand it no more. But without erupting in anger, she went to a sage who lived under the tree and asked him what she needed to do. The sage told the crow that she had to incubate the cuckoo’s eggs like she did hers. The crow obeyed the sage’s orders. The passers-by who were watching the crow’s nest one day saw a tiny cuckoo emerging from her nest. The word soon spread about the crow’s selfless behaviour. Soon people from the village brought food for the crow. 

The word about the crow’s selflessness spread far and wide and people started eating their food only after offering the first handful to the crow. Priests asked grieving relatives of the dead to offer food to the crow as her blessings will lighten their grief. Soon the crow began to enjoy a status far superior to that of the cuckoo, who by now had become lonely. Even her children flew away from the crow’s nest. Due to her loneliness her melancholy increased and her voice became sweeter. The passers-by stood to hear her voice and her singing, but offered food to the crow and left. 

The crow understood the need to help others irrespective of their behaviour towards her. Each time people offered her food she started cawing and calling as many friends as possible and shared her food with them.

The Guruji paused and looked at his disciples. To his amazement he now saw both the factions had merged into one as they silently stood up bowed respectfully in front of the Guru!

Why Narada remained a bachelor

As is true of any mythological happening, there are many interesting stories behind the bachelorhood of Sage Narada. Let me narrate one such interesting story that perhaps not only explains Narada’s bachelorhood, but also many of the events that followed.

King Ambarish was a renowned Vishnu Bhakta. It is even said that a very pleased Vishnu had given the Sudharshana Chakra as a protection to King Ambarish. Many sages and wise men often visited the King. On one such occasion, Sage Narada and sage Parvata visited the King. As they were discussing the various happenings of the universe and each man sharing his wisdom with the other, King Ambarish’s daughter Srimati came in to wash the feet of the sages and offer them something to eat. The two sages were mesmerised by the beauty and grace of Srimati and both of them wanted to marry her.

They expressed their desire to the king who was now in a dilemma. But being the diplomatic and wise person that he was, he called both the sages for a Swayamvar the next day. Both the sages agreed and as they were leaving, Sage Parvata told Narada that victory was his as he looked better than Narada.

Narada’s knee-jerk reaction to this situation reiterates the fact that when it comes to choosing a bride even the wisest of sages is pretty unsure of what a girl looks for in her prospective groom!

Narada ran to Vishnu and told him about the situation...

Narada ran to Vishnu and told him about the situation that he was in. Vishnu smilingly assured Narada that things would go well and that he shouldn't be too worried. With these assuring words from Lord Vishnu on his side, Narada, somewhat calmly, went away.

Exited Narada, entered Parvata! Parvata narrated the episode once again and told Lord Vishnu that even the surest of men cannot be very sure when it comes to marriage! Vishnu eased Parvata’s nerves and told him to relax. He assured Parvata too that things would go well.

The next day both the sages went confidently to the Swayamvar, because they thought Lord Vishnu would know what Srimati was looking for in her husband. The Swayamvar began and the two sages were eagerly waiting for Srimati to garland them. Srimati hesitated and called her father. She told her father that she could not see the two holy men, and instead saw a monkey faced man and a bear faced man sitting there, and in between them stood a very handsome man, smiling gently. She told her father that she wished to garland him and threw the garland, which immediately fell around the neck of the handsome man. The next minute, both Srimati and the stranger disappeared.

The sages then saw their reflection in a mirror and saw the monkey and bear faces. They were angered and in their fury, went straight to meet Lord Vishnu. There, by the side of Lord Vishnu, stood Srimati as his wife. Seeing the two sages, Lord Vishnu could not control his laughter. He then told them that he too did not know what a woman would look for in her future husband, but he knew his wife well! Even as Lord Vishnu said this, Srimati turned into goddess Lakshmi. Lord Vishnu then told the sages that it was a shame on them that they could not identify the Goddess. Both the sages were ashamed of themselves and only Narada could overcome his guilt and face Lord Vishnu. He apologised for his mistake and took an oath never to marry!

They saw their monkey and bear face and were angered!

 “But”, he continued, “Since you have insulted a monkey and a bear by laughing at them, in your next avatar as human being, it is the monkey and the bear that will help you reach your goal” said Narada to Lord Vishnu.

A true sage’s words also come true. In his Rama avatar, Lord Vishnu is ably helped by Hanuman and Jambhavan.

What a wealth of morals this story has for all of us to learn from!

Even Gods are spared when they stray away from the path of humility!

King Ambarish and Sage Dhuruvasa

In the era of Sathya Yuga, there lived a king by the name Ambarish who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu, was greatly pleased with the King's sincere devotion and granted him  the Sudharshana Chakra, along with other powers.

Lord Indra, the lord of rain was always jealous of King Ambarish. Once King Ambarish undertook a fast which was to begin on the 11^th of every month in the morning and end the next day. He decided to undertake the fast for one year. As this fast was towards Lord Vishnu, seeking His blessings, completion of the fast would make Ambarish a very powerful King. 

Lord Indra’s insecurity knew no bounds.

As the year was nearing completion Indra decided to break Ambarish’s fast somehow or the other. He visited the ashram of Sage Dhuruvasa, who was one among the Saptarishis. On seeing Indra, sage Dhuruvasa was wonder struck. Normally nobody visited him as word about the sage’s anger was known far and wide!

Indra went to the sage with folded hands and bowing in front of the sage and pleasing the sage in every manner possible. The sage was pleased with Indra and asked him the purpose of his visit. Lord Indra told the sage about Ambarish’s fast and how dedicated the King was. The sage was pleased and praised Ambarish. Indra also told the sage that the next day was the last day of his fasting and that it would be a joyous occasion to be in his midst during the occasion. The sage agreed and visited the fasting King the next day.

King Ambarish was pleasantly surprised and invited the sage to break the fast along with him. The sage told Ambarish that he would join him after a bath. The chosen hour to break the fast was fast approaching, but the sage had not returned. The King’s men urged him to break his fast by drinking water as keeping time was most important. The King was thrown into a situation which all of us face in our day-today- life. Such situations are known as ‘Dharmasangadam’. When the values that you uphold are at logger heads with each other, you do not know which one to uphold and which one to let go. 

He did not know whether to please Lord Vishnu by keeping up his time or to uphold the word given to his ‘athithi’ or guest. He decided that he would take the mid path by drinking water which should be enough to please Lord Vishnu, yet not offend his guest as he had only promised to eat with him.

The sage appeared just as the king was drinking water...

Though the King thought that he had cleverly circumvented the problem on hand, the sage who appeared as the King was drinking water was overcome by anger and in no time his anger turned into rage and the sage plucked a hair from his head which took the form of a demon. 

King Ambarish knew that since he had done no wrong, his devotion would save him from any danger. Faith in God and trust in oneself are the two weapons required to face any situation.  King Ambarish’s trust in himself and his steadfast faith in Lord Vishnu brought forth the Sudharshana Chakra which promptly beheaded the demon. It then turned towards the sage who started running for his dear life. The sage went to Lord Brahma, the creator, who could not help him. Then the sage ran to Lord Shiva, who also expressed his inability to help the sage. Finally the sage went to Lord Vishnu. Vishnu, unfortunately could do little in the situation, as the Chakra was at the service of King Ambarish. The sage went to King Ambarish who prayed to Lord Vishnu and the Chakra immediately fell to the ground as did the anger of the sage!

The King and the sage broke the fast as agreed and the sage was extremely happy to be with the King at an auspicious occasion. While the sage blessed the King he also realised that the place for him was his ashram. He was duty bound to bless the people who came to his ashram seeking his advice and blessings.

Kannagi – the spirit behind modern democracy

 

 The story of Kannagi is one of great inspiration even in modern times. Though democracy is considered to be a recent phenomenon, in spirit it has been in existence for a long time. 

Silapadhikaram is the story of a husband and wife, Kovalan and Kannagi. Kovalan was a rich merchant and led an honorable life, until he met Madhavi, a dancer.

He left Kannagi and started living with Madhavi. The couple had a chld Manimegalai, who later became the protagonist of another literary epic, Manimegalai. After a spat with Madhavi, Kovalan returned to his wife Kannagi.

He returned to her, only because he knew his wife will accept him. She,indeed, accepted him but not without telling him why she did so. 

This, to me, is the defining moment in the entire Silapadhikaram. She said, and when translated in English it goes thus: “You may have committed a wrong deed, but I still remain the same and have not changed in my path of virtue, therefore I shall continue to serve you”.

She has her differences with her husband, yet she guided him in the path of righteousness by giving one of her anklets. She told him to sell them and start a business. While taking the anklet to the market in the kingdom of Pandiya King Nedunchezhiyan, unfortunately, he was arrested by the king’s men, mistaking him for the thief who stole the queen's anklets.

Without a proper trial being conducted he was executed for stealing one of the Queen’s anklets. On hearing the news of her husband’s death, Kannagi went to the court of the Pandiya King and there unfolded the famous court room scene (which probably was the motivation for many Tamil movie makers later on), where Kannagi was allowed to present her cause. Being an outsider in the state (she belonged to Kaveripattinam, in Poompuhar which was a part of the Chola dynasty), having lost her husband and all other wealth she had, she stood in front of a King who has just slayed her husband. She demanded justice from the King and asked him what the anklet worn by his Queen were filled with. Hailing from a rich business family, her anklets were filled with the most precious gems. 

The Pandiya King replied to all her queries and said that his Queen’s anklets were filled with pearls. The King broke the Queen’s anklet and finds it filled with pearls. Kannagi then broke open the anklet that she had with her. Precious gems rolled on the floor of King Pandiya’s court. 

He then broke the one that was taken from Kovalan and as precious gems rolled out, the Pandiya King fell from his throne to his death. Following her husband the Queen too fell to her death. Kannagi then cursed the city of Madurai to be consumed by fire. Barring animals, children, women and good people, she cursed everything else to be burnt. 

Having taken her revenge, she traveled to Chera kingdom where she lived until her death. Many debates over Kannagi’s action of burning innocent people have raged time and time again. But when we take a closer look at the people she spared, it is evident that the war between her and the Pandiya Kingdom saw the death of bad men and warriors. This is what happens in any war waged. So in that sense, her actions are justified. 

In spirit she followed true democracy. The King did not uphold justice and Kannagi did not fight injustice with injustice. She fought bravely and within the framework of social justice punished injustice.

An interesting fact that I read somewhere, “Husband and Wife are like a pair of scissors. They work in opposite directions, yet do not hesitate to cut anything that comes in between them.”

Kannagi had her problems with Kovalan, yet did not spare the King who caused a separation between them!

The Pandiya King was the epitome of high moral values. His Queen’s anklets are filled with pearls. Being the King of a wealthy nation, he could have afforded to fill his Queen’s anklets with the rarest of gems. But he chose to fill it with pearls as his kingdom was rich in pearls. He chose to own only what was made in his country, thereby upholding patriotism in the truest sense. This also proved that he was a man of high self-respect.  His folly seemed to have been the haste while delivering justice. For this he was punished in the end.