Indian Stories by Sri Chinmoy
King Ravana was the greatest hostile force. His Commander-in-chief was Akampan, his uncle. Akampan’s mother, Ketumali, and father, Sumali, were so proud that their son was Commander-in-chief of the great monarch Ravana.
In the Dandakaranye forest, Rama killed thousands of raksasas [demons]. When Akampan brought this sad news to Ravana, the King became furious. He scolded and insulted his Commander badly. “You are useless!” he said to him. “That is why your soldiers could not fight!”
Akampan said, “What can I do? Rama is so powerful, so unimaginably powerful.”
Ravana said, “Powerful? Powerful? You are useless, useless, my Commander!”
Akampan said, “My Lord, you want us to seize Ramachandra’s wife Sita for you. But I tell you, by fighting you won’t get her. You have to play some trick. In some tricky way you have to steal her. In a fair way we will never, never get her.”
Ravana became furious again. “We won’t get her because you have no strength: no physical strength, no vital strength, no mental strength, no soul strength!”
“Soul strength? What is it? I am hearing this word ‘soul’ for the first time from you. What is soul?”
Ravana said, “Forget about it. Forget about it. Physical strength you need. Physical strength!”
“With physical strength we will not be able to get Sita. I am sorry,” said Akampan. “It is only by trickery that we will get her.”
Indeed, it was by playing a trick that Ravana eventually did take Sita away from Rama. But when the fight took place between Ravana and Hanuman, the greatest devotee of Rama, Hanuman threw a huge tree at Akampan and killed him. When Akampan was killed, Ravana’s mother, who was also Akampan’s sister, cried bitterly for the loss of her dearest brother.
Ravana said to her, “My dearest mother, your brother was a great hero. To be a great hero is infinitely more valuable than to remain alive. Akampan is mortal, but his valour, his strength, his capacities — these are immortal. Who cares for his death? Death comes to everyone, but he has fought like a real hero. Therefore, Akampan remains immortal, especially in my life.”
Once Indra, the King of the cosmic gods, did something very, very undivine. Because of this he was compelled to remain inside the sea for some time. In his place a very pious king named Nahusha was asked to rule Heaven.
Nahusha was not only a very pious king but also a very kind-hearted king. Everybody liked him when he was made King of Heaven. But alas, in a few months’ time, some undivine forces entered into him and he wanted to have Indra’s wife, Sachi. Poor Indra, meanwhile, was still in the sea.
When Sachi heard of this she was sad and mad. How could she go to Nahusha? She went to Brihaspati, the Guru of the cosmic gods, for advice.
He said, “Don’t worry. Don’t worry. Just send a message to King Nahusha that only if he can come for you with a chariot driven by seven sages will he get you.”
When Nahusha received the message he said, “It is so easy, so easy.” So he got seven sages to drive the chariot that was taking him to Sachi, Indra’s wife. The great sage Agastya was one of the seven sages. Quite inadvertently, King Nahusha’s feet touched Agastya’s body. Agastya became furious. “How do you dare to touch my head with your feet?”
“Forgive me! Forgive me!” pleaded Nahusha. “I didn’t do it intentionally!”
“Whether you did it intentionally or unintentionally, you did it. Your carelessness is unpardonable. I curse you! You will become a snake!”
King Nahusha cried and cried in front of the sages, but it was of no avail.
Agastya said, “No, I can’t change my curse. You have to go to earth as a snake. You are never to stay in Heaven again.”
So, instead of going to Sachi’s house, Nahusha was compelled to go down to the world. After he was on earth for a long time, Agastya said, “I can now modify your curse, O Nahusha, since you are crying and weeping so bitterly. Yudhishthira, the most pious man on earth, will one day bless you. With his help you will be able to get back your human form and you will be able to return to Heaven.”
Sachi, meanwhile, was so happy and delighted that she didn’t have to go to King Nahusha.
We all know that the game of dice is a most deplorable and most tempting game. After playing for a while, people lose their brains and become senseless. People who are addicted to the game do not remain normal.
Even the most pious, generous and kindhearted people — men such as Yudhishthira — were fond of this game. So many kings lost their kingdoms and became poorer than the poorest because of dice. But they did not give up this game.
Now, who introduced this game? It was Lord Shiva, nobody else. He and his consort, Parvati, used to play this game. Shiva taught his wife how to play because it was her wish to become as good as he in as many ways as possible. She played extremely well, and they had wonderful games together.
In playing dice, Shiva’s consciousness did not descend, as is the case with ordinary humans. Parvati too maintained her highest consciousness. They played dice for the sake of the game. But for ordinary human beings it has always been a dangerous game. One has to lose. One has to win. For ordinary humans who are nothing short of weaklings, naturally the intoxication of the game will prove to be their ruin. Kings would give away their kingdoms, even their wives who were dearer than the dearest to them, to keep their promises when they lost.
But Shiva and Parvati did not become losers. They played dice with innocent joy. So it is not what one plays but who plays that is of paramount importance. For ordinary humans, this kind of life ends in utter destruction.
There was a great sage and philosopher named Gautama. Gautama was able to conquer everything except his pride. Nevertheless, he was a great sage and philosopher.
Once, Vyasa, another sage, spoke contemptuously about a book Gautama had written on logic. He said the book was useless.
On hearing this, Gautama became very, very angry and said that he would never look at Vyasa’s face again.
Vyasa came to realise he had made a deplorable mistake, so he pleaded with Gautama to forgive him. He begged, “I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it. It was a joke when I said that your book was useless. You are never useless, never. I appreciate you and admire you.”
Gautama said, “If you criticise my book it is as good as criticising me. How can you separate my book, my creation, from me?”
Vyasa said, “I understand, I understand. Please forgive me. Please forgive me.”
Gautama agreed to forgive him. But he said, “If I see you in a normal way with my eyes, then I will not be fulfilling my promise. In the sacred books, it is said that it is a great sin to break one’s promise. I have promised that I will not look at you. How can I break my promise? All right, let me put my vision in my feet. Let me put a new eye on my foot, and with that eye I shall see you.”
Vyasa said, “No matter where your eyes are, as long as you see me, I will be very happy.”
So Gautama created a new eye and placed it on his right foot, and from there he looked at the sage, Vyasa. Vyasa was very, very happy that Gautama had forgiven him.
When the period of forgiveness was finished, Gautama removed the eye from his right foot and once more in a normal way he saw and talked with Vyasa.
Ravana, the great hostile force, and his wife, Mandodari, had a few sons. Akshyoi was one of their very, very powerful sons, and his parents were very proud of him.
One day Hanuman, Rama’s dearest devotee, was sent by Sri Ramachandra to find out where Sita was. He came to Sita with greatest difficulty and saw her and talked with her. On his way back to Rama, he destroyed Ashokvana, a most beautiful garden where Ravana and his people enjoyed themselves to their hearts’ content. Hanuman destroyed it completely.
On hearing this, Ravana sent five of his captains and also his son Akshyoi to attack Hanuman. The captains and his son were all killed. His wife, Mandodari, got furious, and scolded him and insulted him, “Because of you, because of you, I have lost my son! He was dearer than the dearest in my life. Why did you send him? Those five captains were not enough?”
“They were not enough and here is the proof,” replied Ravana. “They were also killed along with my son.”
“You should have sent them only! So what if they are killed. Who cares for them? But because of you, my son was killed. I hate you! Never dare to send any of our other sons to fight. You are paying the soldiers in your army. You are paying the captains and the commanders. They have to work for their pay. For them it is either victory or defeat. Either they will take their enemies’ lives or their enemies will take their lives. So let them play with life and death. I want my children to be with me. Let them be heroes with me.”
Ravana asked, “How can they be heroes if they don’t fight and kill?”
“One can become a great hero by developing strength. But one does not have to go into battle to show one’s capacity. One can demonstrate it without killing or being killed,” said Mandodari.
“O Mandodari, you are talking philosophy,” Ravana said.
“My philosophy is if you are sure, then fight and kill. But if you are not sure, then don’t go. Cleverness is also strength. Who wants to lose his life? Life is so precious. If my son is one hundred per cent sure of killing someone, then I will allow him to go. But if he is not sure, then I will not let him go. This son of ours, who was so close to my heart and soul, I lost. But before you send the rest of our sons to any other battle, you must ask me and I shall see.”
Ravana said, “I am the monarch and you are ruling my life. But love is blind, and because of my love for you, I am surrendering to you.”
Mandodari said, “I shall not exploit your love. My love for you shall give you wisdom always.”
There was a great sage named Bhrigu, who married a most beautiful girl named Puloma. Puloma was beauty incarnate. Alas, raksasa [demon] had also admired her beauty and had also wanted to marry her. He was very much in love with her, but Puloma’s father would not give her to a demon. He gladly gave her to Bhrigu, however, and they were happily married.
Puloma knew of the demon’s secret love for her and she hated it. She did not care for the raksasa at all.
One day, when Puloma was walking along the street, the raksasa saw how beautiful she was, but he did not recognise her as Puloma. The raksasa asked a sage standing nearby who she was. The sage, Agni, told him that it was Puloma, the wife of Bhrigu.
The demon asked him, “Where can I see her and talk to her?”
Agni replied, “You are seeing her now. If you want to talk to her, you must go to Bhrigu’s house and see if he will allow you.”
A great desire entered into the raksasa, and he made up his mind to kidnap Puloma. At the time she was pregnant, and while being snatched away a child was born to her. As soon as the child was born, boundless light and boundless power emanated from his body, and the demon was killed.
The sage Bhrigu was extremely angry with Agni. “Why did you tell the raksasa who Puloma was?” He was so furious that he cursed Agni, “Now, Agni, you must eat everything in God’s creation: the good, the bad, the divine, the undivine, everything. Let me see how your stomach can bear undivine things!”
Agni said, “Oh, I have to eat everything?”
“Yes, everything. From now on you cannot leave anything. Everything in God’s creation you have to eat. This is my curse,” said Bhrigu.
Agni was very, very disturbed. He pleaded, “No, no. I can’t do that. I can’t eat everything. Please forgive me!”
“No, you have to eat everything, since you were such a fool. You had to tell the raksasa who my dearest wife was. Yes, our son killed the raksasa, but the very fact that my wife was touched by the raksasa is most painful to me. So you deserve this curse.”
“Will I ever be able, some day, to free myself from this curse?”
“Certainly,” said Bhrigu. “When the hour arrives, you will see. But now you are compelled to suffer from my curse.”
Agni was sad and Bhrigu was happy. Happiness in one’s life, in a sense, produces sadness in somebody else’s life and vice versa.
In the Mahabharata it is said that there was a king named Shwetaki. He was a very good king and a very great king. He performed religious rites devotedly.
One day Agni, the great sage, went to his palace and ate there. Because of the curse that the sage Bhrigu had placed upon him, Agni was forced to eat all things in God’s creation, whether divine or undivine. This day at King Shwetaki’s palace, Agni voraciously ate clarified butter and then he suffered from stomach upset. He tried so many ways to cure himself, but he was not able to free himself from the pain. It was unbearable.
Agni thought to himself, “Since I am suffering so much anyway, I may as well eat everything. I don’t want to stop. How long can I go on suffering from this stomach pain?” So he started eating everything. He went into Indra’s beautiful forest, Khandava, and began eating everything in sight. Indra tried to prevent Agni from eating the animals in the forest, but Agni was so powerful that Indra could not do anything.
Krishna and Arjuna happened to be walking in the forest, and Indra went to them and begged for help. “Look, Agni is destroying my beautiful forest. He won’t allow anything here to remain. Everything is being killed and devoured by him. Now please, please help me. I cannot fight him. Agni is too powerful for me!”
Krishna and Arjuna agreed. “Give us some weapons,” they said. “We have come with nothing. If you can give us some weapons to fight Agni, we shall do it.”
Indra gave the Sudarshan Chakra — Krishna’s famous disc — to Krishna. To Arjuna he gave the famous bow called Gandhiva. After getting these most powerful instruments from Indra, Lord Krishna and Arjuna fought against Agni and finally defeated him.
Indra became very happy and said, “I am so grateful to you two. Please keep your weapons. Krishna, with your disc you will be able to conquer the world. And, Arjuna, with your bow you will be able to conquer the world.”
Indeed, in the time of the Mahabharata Arjuna used his Gandhiva, his most powerful bow, countless times. And with Sudarshan Chakra Krishna killed many undivine beings.
Agni also became happy, for the curse that he had received from Bhrigu was no longer in power. Now he could eat food that was only divine and he no longer had to eat undivine food.
So Indra was happy because his beautiful forest was not going to be disturbed any more. Arjuna and Krishna were very happy, because they received such divine weapons from Indra. And Agni was also happy that he had been defeated by them and freed from his curse. Happiness reigned supreme in everybody’s life.
There was a great sage named Uddalaka. He had a disciple named Kahor whom he was very fond of. Kahor was not only very spiritual but he also had a great knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads.
After Kahor had been studying spirituality for a long time, Uddalaka asked him to marry his daughter, Sujata. Kahor happily married his teacher’s daughter, and they lived together quite happily.
Every day Kahor would recite from the Vedas. He was very conversant with the Vedas and everybody admired his Vedic knowledge.
One day, while he was reciting, he heard someone say to him, “You are wrong. You are wrong.”
He looked around to see where the message was coming from. He found that it was coming from inside his wife. At this time his wife was pregnant, and a human voice was coming from the child that was inside her.
Kahor said, “Who dares to correct me? I know the Vedas extremely well. I am an authority! You fool, you are inside my wife, and yet you dare to correct me? Alright! I curse you! When you are born, you will not have a proper body! Your body will be twisted in eight places!”
Sujata was shocked and so sad. She cried, “What have you done? What have you done?”
Kahor said, “What have I done? How could anyone dare to correct me in the Vedas?”
Sujata said, “But is he not to be your son? What will people think of you and what will people think of me?”
“I am so sorry. Anger is such. I have knowledge. I have wisdom. Everything I have. But when the time comes, the undivine forces eclipse our vision. I am really sorry. But what can I do? I have already cursed the child.”
Sujata said, “O God, You have given my husband the Vedic knowledge, but You have not given him the heart’s wisdom. Now both of us will suffer.”
In due course the child was born and, in accord with Kahor’s curse, his limbs were twisted in eight different places. His name was Ashtabakra. When Ashtabakra was born his father was not at home. Sujata was very sad. She was swimming in the sea of tears.
For many years Ashtabakra did not meet his father, who had cursed him, as Kahor had left home while Sujata was still pregnant. He had gone to another kingdom to try to gain wealth by defeating another sage in a contest of Vedic knowledge. Kahor lost and was held there.
Kahor, disciple of the great sage Uddalaka, was married to his teacher’s daughter, Sujata. Kahor was an authority on the Vedas and the Upanishads and everybody admired him for his great knowledge.
While Sujata was pregnant, Kahor went to King Janaka to show his Vedic knowledge. He hoped that the King would appreciate him and give him lots of money and property.
In the palace Janaka had a great sage and scholar named Bandi. When Kahor arrived Janaka told him, “If you can defeat the palace sage in arguments, then only will I give you money and property. But whoever loses the debate will be thrown into the water and have to stay there. Do you agree?”
Bandi said, “Yes, I agree.”
Kahor smiled and laughed. “I can easily defeat Bandi,” he said. “So let us enter into argument.”
From the Vedas and Upanishads they quoted. Each wanted to show his supremacy. At last it was finally proved that Kahor lost. Kahor was thrown into the water and there he had to remain for many years.
Meanwhile, Kahor’s child was born. His name was Ashtabakra. He studied the Vedas and Upanishads like his father and became totally conversant with them. Even before he had been born, in fact, while still inside his mother’s stomach, he had learned the Vedas and Upanishads. It was during this period that he had found fault with his father’s Vedic knowledge and corrected him from inside his mother’s womb. In his anger at being criticised, Kahor had cursed his son and Ashtabakra was born with his body twisted in eight places. Even so, he forgave his father, saying, “My father did the right thing. Why did I find fault with him? It was my fault.”
One day Ashtabakra told Sujata, “Mother, I am now grown up. Please let me go and challenge the sage, Bandi. I will be able to defeat him and free my father.”
Sujata said, “Your father also bragged and said he would defeat Bandi. Because he failed, he is no longer with us. He is inside the water. We can’t see him and he can’t see us. We can’t go to him. He can’t come to us. So, boasting is not good, my son. Let us stay peacefully here. Let us see what God does for us to bring your father back. Definitely one day we will be able to bring back your father.”
Ashtabakra said, “Oh no, Mother. I shall not listen to you. I am going to King Janaka’s place and I will defeat Bandi.” So he travelled to Janaka’s palace and like his father before him, he challenged Janaka’s sage and philosopher, Bandi. Bandi accepted the challenge. But this time, it had been decided that if Ashtabakra defeated Bandi his father would be freed. Bandi would not have to go into the water, but Ashtabakra would be known as the greatest scholar and sage.
For quite a few days they argued, each one showing his capacities. Finally Bandi lost. Then Ashtabakra entered into the river and got his father. The moment Kahor came out of the river, Ashtabakra’s body became totally normal. All his bends were gone. His father’s happiness had changed his body.
So everybody was happy. Ashtabakra took his father home and they all lived together happily. This also made King Janaka happy. Even Bandi was happy to know that there was someone superior in knowledge to him.
Bandi was a great scholar and sage, and he also had abundant sincerity. He did not have any jealousy. Bandi said, “If there is someone really superior to me, I should be happy instead of becoming sad and miserable.” So in his defeat Bandi was quite happy. He made up his mind to learn the Shastras, the scriptures, more thoroughly and to devote more time to spirituality. Everyone was swimming in the sea of delight.
There was a great sage named Badanya. Ashtabakra, a great scholar and authority on the Vedas, wanted to marry Badanya’s daughter, Suprabha, who was extremely beautiful. Ashtabakra was enamoured of her beauty. But Badanya would not agree to this marriage.
Finally he said to Ashtabakra, “You go to the Himalayas. There you will see an elderly woman praying and meditating. If she is satisfied with you, then I will allow you to marry my daughter.”
Ashtabakra went to the Himalayas and saw the elderly lady praying and meditating there. He became her guest. She watched his life to see whether he was good, kind, spiritual and so forth. She also wanted to see if he could be assailed by temptation, or if he had self-control. Although she was quite advanced in years, with her spiritual powers she had the ability to take the form of a very young and most attractive woman. Even when the elderly lady became young and very beautiful, he was not interested in her. He prayed and meditated beside her, all the time thinking of Suprabha, his future wife. Ashtabakra and the elderly lady were very good to each other.
One day she said, “Now you go back to Suprabha’s father, Badanya. I will tell him that you are faithful only to Suprabha. Your sincerity has moved me. Therefore, you deserve her. You go.”
He went to Badanya. Badanya said, “I am very pleased with your love for my daughter and your true sincere concern for her. Your interest and faithfulness have pleased me. I give Suprabha to you.”
Ashtabakra and Suprabha went back to Ashtabakra’s home. All were flooded with tremendous joy.
Brahma, the Creator, had a mentally begotten daughter named Ahalya. She was beauty incarnate; nobody could equal her in beauty. She possessed a supreme beauty all the time.
One day Brahma took her to the great sage Gautama and asked him to take care of her for some time and teach her spiritual discipline and dedication. Gautama was very pleased with his disciple. She was also extremely pleased with her Master.
After some time Brahma came to Gautama to take his daughter back. Gautama returned her, saying, “I was so happy to teach your daughter.”
Brahma said, “I am so grateful to you.”
A few months later Brahma came back to Gautama and said, “You have to marry my daughter, for you have been very kind to her and she is all admiration and adoration for you. I will be so proud to have you as my son-in-law. So please marry my daughter.”
“If that is what you want, O Lord Brahma, then I am willing to have your daughter as my wife. Previously she was my spiritual daughter. Now, if she wants me to be her husband, I am more than willing. She is not only extremely beautiful, but also extremely good and kindhearted. I will be very pleased to have her, and I will happily marry her.”
Gautama and Ahalya were married, and they were exceedingly happy. One day Ahalya told Gautama, “On my return home, my father was all appreciation for you. He was seeing my good qualities and he couldn’t believe his eyes that I had become so spiritual.”
Gautama said, “I am so glad to have taught you. I have had many disciples, but none of them could learn things as fast as you did. In every way you surpassed your spiritual brothers and sisters. So I am very proud of you. Now the time has come for you to teach others.”
Ahalya said, “How can I teach others? I have just learned from you!”
“There will be many newcomers. You will teach them, and once they have learned basic things from you, they can come to me for further spiritual knowledge.”
Ahalya devotedly said, “My Lord, I shall do it. To please you in your own way is my life.”
Gautama, the great sage and philosopher, and his wife, Ahalya, were living together very peacefully, very happily and very fruitfully. But alas, Indra, king of the cosmic gods, became terribly jealous of them.
He said to himself, “Ahalya was the most beautiful woman. It was I who deserved her. How could it be possible for Gautama to marry her? I wanted to marry her. No, I cannot tolerate this! I must do something. I must punish both of them. It is I, the King of the gods, who deserved her and not that silly Gautama.”
So one day he took Gautama’s form and went to Ahalya while her husband was bathing in the river. He appeared before her in an absolutely vital and emotional consciousness.
Ahalya knew it was not her real husband and said, “I know, I know, Indra. You have come and taken the form of my husband. You are not my husband Gautama, but still I love you. I have tremendous love for you. You are so handsome, so beautiful, so powerful. I have tremendous love for you.”
Indra said, “Really I wanted you long before you were married. I always treasured you inside my heart. I have tremendous, tremendous love for you. Your very name, your very beauty, thrill my heart. Certainly we are meant for each other.”
“It seems so,” said Ahalya.
At that very moment Gautama came. As soon as Gautama saw both of them, he used his third eye of destruction. “I am using this, Indra, to punish you. How can you fall in love with my wife? I curse you! With my third eye I am making you impotent.”
Indra said, “Forgive me. Forgive me.”
“No forgiveness. No forgiveness. You impossible, unthinkable character!”
To Ahalya he said, “Unthinkable! Unbelievable! You are my best disciple! You I married because of your father’s request. You surpassed everyone in spirituality. Now this is what you have done with your life? Falling in love with this worst possible scoundrel, Indra! You also I am cursing. You will live here unseen by people. You will eat only wind. You will never have any proper food. You will lie down here practically dead. Nobody will care for you. Everyone will despise you for your unfaithfulness.
“You were the most beautiful woman, but now there will be many who will be more beautiful. Now that I am withdrawing my blessing-power, you will be a disgrace and everyone will hate you. But I tell you, after many, many years, Sri Ramachandra will pass by here and walk over your body. He will forgive you. When he does, you will be relieved of your sin and you will regain your spirituality and beauty. In the meantime, my curse and your life will go together. I gave you my aspiration, my realisation, my occult power, everything! And you became unfaithful. Impossible creature!”
Gautama’s rage cursed both Indra and Ahalya. Indra assumed his own form and was cursed with impotency while Ahalya lost all her physical beauty and withered away to mingle with the dust of Gautama’s palace grounds.
Sri Ramachandra was walking past the palace of the ancient sage and philosopher, Gautama, when he heard a cry from the earth beneath his feet. Looking down he saw the frail frame of a woman in the dust. As he helped her up her body became alive and she cried, burying her tears in his feet. “O Rama!”
Rama said, “What have I done? Please tell me what I can do for you. Forgive me!”
The woman said, “I am Ahalya. I was the wife of Gautama, the sage. My body has lain here for hundreds of years because of the curse Gautama put on me. I was unfaithful to him when Indra tempted me. I was left here to feast on the wind, and all my beauty was taken from me.”
Rama said, “What can I do for you?”
“You have already done it, my Lord. You have touched me. Now I am pure. Now I am pure. You have saved my life. Now please tell me what I can do for you?”
Rama said, “What you will do for me? You are free from your sin. That is what gives me most joy. So from now on, remain in your beauty. Never be unfaithful. Lead a life of purity, as you lived before you were married. Please go back and regain your purity, regain your spirituality, regain everything that you had.
“Physical beauty should be an expression of inner beauty. Physical beauty must not attract others. On the contrary, physical beauty should only inspire others to become friends with their own inner beauty, which is all light. Physical beauty must not be a hindrance. Physical beauty must not lord itself over others. Physical beauty should be an added thing to the inner beauty. It should be a true expression of the inner beauty, which reflects the Divinity and Immortality within us. Inner beauty and outer beauty must go together, fulfilling each other. Inner beauty is self-giving. Outer beauty is Light-spreading.”
Ahalya fell down at Rama’s feet and offered her heart of gratitude to him. Rama blessed her and said, “I accept your gratitude-heart. Take my blessingful joy and pride.”
Published in Great Indian Meals: Divinely Delicious and Supremely Nourishing, part 7
