Parikshith meets Sage Suka
Though Parikshith was trying to
meditate, he could not bring his mind to one- pointedness. The fear of
impending death was tormenting him. His heart had become soft and tender due to
the fate he had to face in a week and the time was slipping away fast. He was
shedding tears profusely and sharing his fate with many sages who were present
on the banks of Bhagirathi river.
Meanwhile, a youthful ascetic with
an extraordinary bright face and splendor moved through the gathering of the
sages, like a fast stream of light and reaching the presence of the king, he
seated himself on a sand pedestal. The onlookers were amazed at this sudden
appearance. Very soon, one wise old sage recognized him and approached him with
folded palms. “Blessed indeed are all of us. This ray of Divine effulgence is
coming from no other than Sage Suka, the son of Sage Vyasa”, said the old sage,
“From the moment of birth, this person is free from all attachment. He is the
master of all knowledge.”
King Parikshith was gazing with
devoted admiration at the face of Sage Suka and said, “Lord, I have a doubt
pestering me. Please remove it and give peace to my heart.” Sage Suka
interrupted him and said, “King! The reason I have come to you is to end this
doubt that is pestering you. I shall resolve your doubt and grant you peace.”
The King spoke humbly and with great
anxiety, “Lord! What should a person facing death, who is aware of the end,
engage in? What should his mind dwell upon? After succumbing to death, he
should not be born gain. If this is his desire, how should he spend the days at
his disposal? This is the problem that is bothering me at present.” “What
should I do now?” The King pleaded gain for guidance.
Sage Suka answered: “King! Withdraw
your mind from worldly thoughts and fix it on Hari, the Lord who charms all
hearts. There can be no greater spiritual exercise than this.” Suka asked (as
if he didn’t know), “O King, please reveal to me who you are and why you are
worrying about your death?” At this, the king replied, “Lord, my name is Parikshith.
I am the son of Abhimanyu who was killed in the Mahabharata war. I am the
grandson of Arjuna, the great warrior.” The king then narrated the curse he had
received.
At the mention of the name Arjuna,
Sage Suka’s eyes began to sparkle! “Your grandfather Arjuna and Lord Krishna
were very good friends. So, I shall instruct you in the Divine wisdom of Srimad
Bhagavtham. Listen to it with all your heart. There is no activity holier than
that. It has incorporated in it, every conceivable source of auspiciousness and
joy.” Once the other sages heard this, all the sages and king Parikshith sat
around Sage Suka below the pedestal to hear the stories.
Parikshith was curious to know how
Arjuna and Krishna became good friends. So, he posed the question, “Swami! How
did Arjuna and Krishna meet?” Sage Suka smiled and said, “It is a long story!
(Sai Amruta Vani readers don’t have the patience to read these long stories)
So, I will tell you a brief version of it. Listen carefully!”
Krishna and Balaram (Krishna’s elder
brother) were present at Draupadi’s Swayamvaram (the festival for choice
of bride-groom). Arjuna won Draupadi’s hand by hitting the rotating fish with
his bow which was the testing game that Draupadi’s father had set up. Arjuna
started walking towards the Palace exit holding Draupadis hand. At that time,
Krishna approached Arjuna and said, “I know you - but you do not know Me! I am
the son of Vasudeva. My name is Sri Krishna. I am older than you. I recognized
that you are one of the Pandava brothers. At last, I am able to meet you. This
bride is an embodiment of virtue and intelligence.” This was their first
meeting.
Parikshith asked, “Lord, How did
they become thick friends after this first meeting?” “There is more to it” said
Sage Suka, “ Vasudeva’s (Krishna’s father) sister is Kunti. Kunti is the mother
of Arjuna. So, Kunti is Krishna’s aunt. Arjuna is Krishna’s nephew. Not only
that, Subhadra was the daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini (second wife of
Vasudeva). She was born after Krishna and therefore she is Krishna’s younger
sister. Arjuna married Subhadra and therefore, Arjuna is Krishna’s
bother-in-law. Because of these multiple relationships, Krishna became the
dearest friend of Arjuna.”
Sage Suka started narrating all the
stories of Krishna and interesting episodes of Arjuna with Krishna over the
next six days. From the stories, Parikshith felt as if he was standing in front
of Lord Krishna completely bathed in His Divine grace. Parikshith shed tears of
joy when he heard all the sweet stories consecutively for six days.
At this time, King Parikshith told
Sage Suka, “Master! Time is fast approaching its end as far as my body is
concerned. Please tell me the story of the birth of Lord as Krishna. May my
final hour be blessed by that sacred story.”At this, Sage Suka became very
happy and spoke thus: “Maharaja Parikshith, I am also filled with joy at the
prospect of spending the few remaining hours in reciting the wondrous birth of
Sri Krishna. Only those who are ripe in Bhakthi can grasp its meaning. Others
revel in the depths of sin and have no use for it.”
Lineage of Sri Krishna’s parents: Maharaja, long long ago, the world was ruled by a Yadu
dynasty king named Ahuka. He had two sons Devaka and Ugrasena.
When they grew up, the king got them married and they shared the burden of the
kingdom. Years slipped by. Devaka had seven
daughters and Devaki was the eldest of all. Ugrasena had nine sons and Kamsa
was he eldest son. Devaki and Kamsa play a vital role in this story of Sri
Krishna. Within the precincts of the capital city of Mathura, there lived a
Yadu prince Surasena. He had ten sons and five
daughters; the eldest son was Vasudeva and the
eldest daughter was Kunthi.
Devaki, the daughter of Kamsa’s
paternal uncle was given in marriage to Vasudeva; the marriage was celebrated
on a grand scale. Kamsa had no sisters of his own and so he loved Devaki as his
dearest self.Kamsa showered Devaki with costly raiments, and precious jewels
and took special interest in pompous hospitality to everyone. On the third day,
the bride has to be sent to the groom’s home and Kamsa himself drove the
newly-weds in a magnificent chariot.
The thundering prophecy and Kamsa’s
anger: Suddenly, there was a brilliant
lightning flash and a terrific sound over the chariot. Everyone froze into
pillars of immobility. All the music was silenced in an instant. Through the
sky the following words exploded: “O, Kamsa! This very sister whom you love as
your own self so affectionately – her eighth child will deal you death! Reflect
on that coming calamity!” and the shining figure disappeared from the sky.
Kamsa lost control of himself, the
reins fell off his grasp and was filled with fury. His thoughts took a decisive
turn. With the sister alive, the killer will be born; with the sister killed,
no one can deal him death! Kamsa lifted Devaki from her seat by her plaited
hair and pulled the sword out of the scabbard with the intention of slicing her
head off. What an awful sight was this! He should attempt to kill the very
sister he loved so long deeply and whom he was escorting! No one dared to avert
this disaster.
Vasudeva pleads: Meanwhile, Vasudeva rose and held both the hands of Kamsa
tight in his grasp. “Dear brother-in-law! I too heard the voice from the sky.
We do not like any harm come to you. For a man like you, it is not proper to
indulge in such cruel acts. Release your sister from the hold. If you firmly
believe in the voice from the sky, I assure you that I shall entrust to your
care every child that is born of her. While my offer is there, if you still
slaughter your sister, you will suffer from this monstrous sin”. When Vasudeva
pleaded like this, Kamsa said, “Well! Be warned! Keep up the word you have
given me”. He asked his brother to take charge of the chariot and returned to
his palace.
Time passes: In due course, Devaki became pregnant, nine months passed
and she delivered a son. As promised, Vasudeva handed over the new-born babe,
rolled in warm clothing to the tender mercies of Kamsa. However, Kamsa had no
mind to kill the tender baby. He said, “Dear brother-in-law, this babe can
cause no harm to me! It is the eighth child! Please take back this child!”
Devaki was extremely happy that her first born was restored to her. She poured
her heart out in gratitude to God for this blessing.
Narada creates confusion: Meanwhile, sage Narada came to Kamsa’s court and enquired
about Kamsa and his kingdom. During the course of the conversation, Narada said,
“So, it is the eighth child that is going to kill you. Is it the eighth child
counting from the first born or the last born or from the middle? Do not
disregard death as a distant contingency!” With these parting wordsNarada left
the palace.
Kamsa’s anger: Narada’s words were like poking a dagger into a bleeding
wound. Kamsa flew into a rage and sent word for Vasudeva. He roared, “How many
children you have now?”Vasudeva’s lips quivered as he replied, “Now I have
six!” Kamsa yelled, “Tomorrow morning bring all six and hand them over to me.”
Vasudeva walked like a corpse, went to Devaki, held her in tight embrace and
broke the sad news. Next morning, Vasudeva handed over all the six children
unwillingly to Kamsa and burst into tears. The ego centric maniac caught hold
of each of them by the leg and beat them out of shapeon the hard floor!
Meanwhile, the seventh pregnancy! Surprisingly, it was aborted in the seventh
month! When Kamsa came to knew about this, he thought that Devaki was capable
of some strategy to deceive him. So, he put both of them in a closely guarded
prison.
Now, wait for the next installment
please!
Jai Sai Ram
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