Today we see many kids and grown-ups speaking ill about their parents and elders, to the extent of even cursing them. Do these curses harm the elders? Irrespective of the harm, what happens to the fate of the people who curse? Let us understand the consequences from an incident in the Mahabharata.
Mandavya, a pious sage was once engrossed in deep penance in his hermitage. A group of thieves, chased by the king’s men, came by and hid all the stolen goods in the sage’s hermitage. The soldiers asked the sage about the thief, but he didn’t answer them as he was in deep meditation. The soldiers found the thieves in the hermitage, and arrested them all including the sage and presented them in front of the king.
The king ordered punishment by impalement. All the thieves and the sage were thrust on to a tall trident. Even such deep pain did not disturb the sage’s meditation! Even after many days the sage was completely fine and did not show any signs of death. The king asked his soldiers to remove the trident carefully. The soldiers could not remove the trident fully. A part of it was still stuck in the sage’s body. Thus he was referred to as Ani Mandavya (Mandavya with the trident).
Years later, when the sage met Lord Yama and enquired about the incident, Lord Yama said that the punishment he had to endure was linked to a sin he had committed during his childhood. As a child, the sage had pierced a locust with a grass blade. Angered by Yama’s reason (the sins committed as an ignorant child), the sage cursed him to be born on Earth as the son of a servant. The curses of such sages always proves beneficial to mankind in one way or the other. This one in particular led to the birth of an important character in the Mahabharata.
Lord Yama was thus born as Vidura. He was born to Lord Vedavyasa, and was the brother of Pandu and Dhritarashtra. His mother was a servant maid of Queen Ambalika. Vidura grew up to become the Prime Minister of the kingdom of Hastinavathi, the Kuru dynasty. His wisdom surpassed that of Brihaspati and Shukracharya. He was considered an embodiment of knowledge. He was synonymous with truth, righteousness, dutifulness, ethics and impartiality. Due to such impeccable qualities and sanctity, he was adored by Lord Krishna Himself, and consequently by many other stalwarts of his time and later. His advice to Dhritarashtra is relevant even today and is popularly called Vidura Neeti.
The purpose of reading scriptures should not be limited to historical learnings. Each character, every event mentioned in them has a lesson to convey. We would be lost in understanding them if not for the commentaries by Shriman Madhwacharya and his disciples.
At the outset, it seems valid that Yama punished the sage for a petty reason. But it is to be noted that Lord Yama is much higher in hierarchy than the sage. He could have dismissed the curse right away. Instead, he accepted the curse as per the will of the Lord. With the curse a proportionate amount of merit earned by the sage was lost. The sage had accumulated excess merit than he deserved. Thus the Lord made him curse Yama and burnt away the excess merit. Neither the sage nor Yama can act independently. They were all acting as per the wishes of the Supreme Lord, who spun up the stage for the birth of Vidura.
We should thus be very cautious when we speak. Speak only when necessary and with knowledge. Carefully examine the actions of elders and question with utmost obedience. Incurring the wrath of souls above oneself in hierarchy is a confirmed ticket to self-destruction. The Lord may ignore His haters, but will never let anyone harm His devotees. This is His vow.
Another learning from the incident is that devatas (demi-gods) and rishis (sages) accumulate excess merit. Ordinary human beings like us will never reach our potential, let alone accumulate excess merit. Therefore, we must strive harder to achieve the best we can and lead our lives as taught by Shriman Madhwacharya. This alone pleases the Lord and nothing else.
Ramaa-kalatrana Daasa-vargake Namipenanavarata || Always at the humble feet of Sri-Hari’s dasas!!
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