|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya ||

Chapter – 115 –The legend of Manu/Emperor Ambareesha -1

In this chapter, Maharishi Vedavyasa describes the Pravriththi as well as Nivriththi Marga of the rulers of the Ikshvaku dynasty.  The Pravriththi Marga is the duties and responsibilities of an individual, based on the Varnna Ashrama Dharma.  The Nivriththi Marga is the duties and responsibilities of an individual to get freed from worldly matters, worldly bondage and ultimately attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death.   The Nivriththi Marga removes the increased dependency on people, possession, fame, and wealth, with the knowledge that it would shovel the individual in extreme fear, anxieties, sorrow, agony, grief, and loneliness; eventually, it would become a burden for others too.  The practice of spirituality teaches withdrawal from worldly matters, bondage, possessions and wealth, eventually attain nearness to the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings.  The human body undergoes a constant transformation; therefore the attachment to the body, material things, and people causes intense grief and hopelessness.  Hence,  Rishis taught us to get hold of the permanent and changeless ‘supreme soul’ through the sacred scriptures.   The rulers of this well-known clan were righteous, and prominent in both Pravriththi Marga and Nivriththimarga of life.  It has become a regular practice in their lives, to rule the Kingdom wisely for several years for the welfare of their subjects, finally assign the Kingdom to the heir of the throne, and move to woods to contemplate upon Supreme Lord Hari.

Shuka Bhramam speaks “ Oh! Rajan, King Nabhaga had a righteous son Ambareesh who was ruling the Sapthadhvipa.  He was the Emperor who had endless fame and splendor, even though he was not proud of his prowess, wealth, or splendor.   He had the supreme knowledge that all these material well-being and bondage is transient in nature, the attachment to it would heave into darkness.   He had a thorough knowledge of addiction to wealth, fame and bondage could lead a miserable life, he wisely ruled the Kingdom without getting attached to it.  He turned all his attention to Lord Vasudeva, who is all-pervading and eternal; he relentlessly served the devotees of Lord.  In this way, he raised his soul from the worldly attachments, thus he could give less importance to his wealth and prowess, and considered them as equal to sand.  He believed the devotion to the supreme as the greatest wealth.  Emperor Ambareesha utilized his senses wisely, he engaged mind and intellect on Lord, by fixing gaze at the feet of Supreme Lord Vasudeva, he employed tongue for singing in praise of the supreme abode of Sri Vaikundham,  he engaged hands in the veneration of supreme Lord and cleaning his shrine without any hesitation, he employed ears listening to the glorious myths of supreme Lord Vasudeva.  He engaged his feet for visiting the shrines of Lord Vasudeva, and he employed head for bowing down before supreme Lord.   His prayers were not for fulfilling wishes or fulfillment of any personal motive or not for the happiness or material welfare.   He spends hours in the association of devotees of Lord, and saintly people, contemplating the endless glories of Lord Vasudeva and, singing and praising his splendor.  He ruled his Kingdom wisely, and the subjects were extremely happy.  Emperor Ambareesha felt the eternal presence of Lord Mukunda in his heart while taking care of his kingly duties.  In this way, he became a favorite of Lord Hari with the constant practice of Bhakti Yoga, and the performance of rites of Swadharma, eventually he could withdraw himself from the worldly matters and bondage.   He has secluded himself from the possession of the Kingdom, precious gems and ornaments, family, wives, children, relatives, etc. which has impermanent nature."

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya ||

Chapter – 114 –The legend of Manu/Rishi Chyavana

Shuka Bhramam continues “ Oh! Rajan, in olden days the fire sacrifices were performed in abundance to please the deities, Somarasa was offered to Lord Indra and deities, but the Ashwini Kumaras who are Lord of Ayurveda were considered as not important deities to receive the Somarasa with Lord Indra.  In every fire sacrifices, Lord Indra and other deities were served with the Somarasa in the first hand and after that, the Ashwini Kumaras receives their portion of it.  The Ashwini Kumaras met the illustrious Rishi Chyavana and requested for his help, so that they could be seated with the Lord Indra and other deities to claim their portion of the Somarasa.  In return, the Ashwini Kumaras promised the Rishi a handsome youthfulness and good physique.  Thus the treatment was begun, a divine herbal medicine was given to  Chyavana Rishi, he was instructed to take a dip in a pond, the Ashwini Kumaras  also took  a dip in the pond along with Chyavana Rishi, when the three of them got out of the pond has become indistinguishable.  Sukanya was troubled at this sight, prayed to Ashwini Kumaras to help her to identify her husband, soon she  recognized her husband whose feet were firm on the ground.  Ashwini Kumaras blessed the couple and disappeared from their sight.”

As requested by Ashwini Kumaras the fire sacrifice has begun, Maharishi Chyavana recited the hymns to invoke the Ashwini Kumaras while serving the Somarasa to Lord Indra and deities.  Lord Indra was fuming with anger, took his Vajrayudha to sieve off the head of Chyavana Rishi was got his hand immovable with the divine power of Rishi Chyavana.  Lord Indra requested Maharishi Chyavana to release his hand from the frozen state and agreed to serve the Ashwini Kumaras with the Somarasa along with the deities. 

Shuka Bhramam speaks “Once King Sharyadhi visited the hermitage of Maharishi Chyavana, he was desired to perform a fire sacrifice with the help of Maharishi.  He saw his daughter Sukanya with a handsome youth; he was shaken to see her with a young man instead of Maharishi Chyavana. King Sharyadhi was too angry, Sukanya prostrated before the King, he said “You have disrespected an illustrious Sage who got married to you; it is really shameful to see that you have changed your mind after witnessing a youth, how could you forget all your culture and traditions?  You have born in an illustrious clan; you have brought shame to your clan.  You have become shameless, you should have added pride to your clan instead you have brought disgrace to us.”  Sukanya spoke “Oh! Father, do not feel ashamed.  This youth is your son-in-law.” Sukanya narrated the incident happened in his absence, King Sharyadhi was pleased. Later, King Sharyadhi performed Yaga with the guidance of Rishi Chyavana and obtained offspring.  Oh! Rajan, in this way, all the members of this clan of Manu made their life fruitful contemplating upon supreme Lord Vishnu.”

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya ||

Chapter – 113 –The legend of Manu/King Sharyadhi

Shuka Bhramam speaks “ Oh! Rajan, I shall narrate the story of Prishadhashva who was born in the clan of Manu/Ikshvaku went to learn under the guidance of Sage Vashishta.  In the hermitage of Sage, he was assigned with the duty of safeguarding the Yagna arena and taking care of the cows. One night, a lion entered in the cowshed, it created huge chaos in the shed, cows and calves produced loud shriek, were started to flee in different directions in the darkness,  Prishadhashva ran towards the cowshed after listening to the hue and cry.   In the darkness he could not make out what’s happening, he took the sword and chopped the head of an animal thinking it is a lion and returned to hermitage.  The next morning, he went inside the cowshed and shocked at the sight, he saw a headless body of the cow of the highest breed in the pool of blood.  He could find the ear of the lion as well.  He was deeply hurt by his action in the darkness, he cried out loudly in utter guilt.  Even though Sage Vashishta understood the entire situation, he could not control his anger; he cursed Prishadhashva to become a Shudra.  Prishadhashva left the hermitage of Sage Vashishta, spend his remaining life in solitude contemplating upon Lord Vasudeva resides as a soul in living beings, a compassionate Lord to the distressed people.  He cut off himself from the worldly matters and lived in utmost serenity.  He considered all those happened in his life as the grace of the supreme Lord.  In this way, Prishadhashva elevated his soul from his own mistake as well as from the curse of his preceptor.”

Shuka Bhramam continues “ Oh! Rajan, listen to the legend of King Sharyadhi who was highly intellectual, has profound knowledge of Veda, he taught the priests who have performed the grand fire sacrifice of Maharishi Angirass on the second day.   He had a daughter named Sukanya, who is virtuous, intelligent and beautiful as well, she was well talented in archery used to accompany her father in hunting expedition.  Once Sukanya and King Sharyadhi went to woods, while the King was searching for his prey, Sukanya went with the females'  companions accompanied from the palace.  While roaming in the woods, Sukanya could witness a big anthill and two blazing eyes inside the mound were spreading extreme radiance.  Sukanya was curious took a sharp dried wood piece and punctured the blazing eyes, eventually, it started bleeding.  Soon, the King’s men and the attendants assembled could not take breathe, their stomach crammed with air and they could experience severe uneasiness.  King Sharyadhi could sense the situation, that something went wrong, and enquired his attendants “Oh! Attendants, an illustrious sage who is immersed in penance is in trouble, find out who hurt him.”   Sukanya replied “ Oh! Father, I saw an anthill with two blazing like eyes, I have pierced it open, found it is bleeding.”  Soon King Sharyadhi rushed to the anthill, removed the mud and safely took out Maharishi Chyavana from the anthill. King Sharyadhi fell at his feet and begged for forgiveness.  He offered beautiful daughter Sukanya to Maharishi Chyavana, to take care of him in the woods and assist him in performing daily rites and penances.  Sukanya relentlessly served her husband Maharishi Chyavana and pleased him.

|| Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya ||

Chapter – 112 –The legend of Manu/Ila

The life events can be taken personally as well as fact, if it is taken personally it would hurt and it stirs up various emotions like fear, guilt, ego, pride, jealousy, etc… eventually it can put the individual in extreme distress.   If it was taken as a fact, the intensity of grief or sorrow would be less.  Therefore the broader perception would lessen the emotional burden; many of the life-threatening events become uncomplicated.  The happiness and sorrows are inevitable if it was taken as the grace of the Supreme Lord, who is all-pervading, and then there will be no emotional break-down or wreck.  An elevated soul remains unhurt in any adverse situation in life.  The narrow-mindedness is fickle and rickety in nature; it gets disturbed easily, causes agitation even in case of trivial incidents.  The Intellectuals/ broad minded people are firm with a balanced mind; they face the challenges in life with extreme courage, they are thoroughly aware of the fact that the body has to undergo a constant transformation, the supreme soul remains changeless.

King Pareekshith “ Oh! Bhraman, kindly describe the clan of Manu/Ila.”

Shuka Bhramam speaks “ Oh! Rajan, Manu had no offspring, once he approached his preceptor Sage Vashishta seeking advice for a virtuous offspring.   Sage Vashishta advised the couple to follow strict austerities to perform the ‘Puthrakameshti Yaga’.  The Queen visited the hermitage of Sage Vashishta to know more about the objective of the Yaga.  Sage Vashishta informed the Queen about the desire of the King to obtain a boy child; an heir to his throne was refused by the Queen.   She revealed her desire to have a daughter and expressed her desire to offer more contributions to Brahmins who performs the Puthrakameshti Yaga.  Thus the Puthrakameshti Yaga was performed under the guidance of Sage Vashishta, the porridge that appeared from the fire sacrifice was offered to Queen.  In due course of time, the Queen was pregnant with a child and gave birth to a girl child.  The Queen took the child to reveal to the King was extremely disappointed.  King called for Sage Vashishta and questioned ‘Why did it happen? How come my wish for a boy child went wrong?’  Sage Vashishta informed the King about his fellow-priests who were persuaded by the Queen.  Sage Vashishta consoled the King not to be anxious about the turn of events, and the girl child was transformed into a boy with the divine power of Sage Vashishta.  Years passed, the boy has grown to a handsome youth, once Sudhyumna went for hunting expedition with his men.  Suddenly, Sudhimna and his men arrived in a place, instantly they have turned to females attired in attractive garments.  Shortly,   Budha, the son of Soma/Lord Chandra arrived in the wood and saw an attractive woman/Sudhyumna, immediately they have fallen in love with each other and married.  In due course of time, Budha’s wife Ila gave birth to a child.  In the meantime, the King’s men returned to the palace and informed the King about the incidents that took place in the woods, and the marriage of Sudhyumna with the son of Lord Chandra, eventually King Manu called out for Sage Vashishta and briefed the incident to him.  Sage Vashishta with his divine powers understood the wood where Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi spend the days after marriage and performed various passionate sports in this wood, during this period a few saintly people arrived in the wood and saw the mesmerizing beauty of Goddess Parvathi, but they moved out of the woods silently.  Lord Shiva saw Goddess Parvathi in utter shyness, and he cursed the wood, later whoever enters in this wood has become female.  Sage Vashishta contemplated upon Lord Shiva and appealed to him, in order to keep up the promise given to Goddess Parvati and Sage Vashishta’s promise to Manu, it was decided that Sudhyumna should live the life of a female for a month and male for another month.  Thus, the son of Manu spends days of manhood in the administration of the Kingdom, during womanhood he took shelter inside the palace.  Finally, the people of the Kingdom came to know about the curse on the son of Manu, started mocking at him.  Sudhyumna was deeply hurt and returned to the wood, immersed in intense penance.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudhevaya||

Chapter – 111 – The legend of Matsya Avathar -3

King Sathyavratha eulogized Lord Hari who has assumed the form of a giant fish “Oh! Bhagavan, Oh! Preceptor, I am drenched in ignorance of worldly existence, I am worn out of happiness and sorrow, I have lived all my life to please my senses, I was seeking happiness in the people and material things, and I have been in search of material welfare and people to make myself happy.  Oh! Bhagavan, Oh! Parmaguro, your nearness could break the worldly bondage that I have fastened myself with others, my body consciousness, and attachment to material possessions, like a blazing fire that removes dirt from the precious yellow metal.  Oh! Bhagavan, the nearness of a preceptor could wash off the impurities like Avidhya/ignorance Kamam/lust and desires Karma/addiction to physical activities, excessive attachment to worldly matter, worldly affairs, and the increased expectations, ego, jealousy, pride, anger, etc.  Oh! Bhagavan, Oh! Paramaguro, I shall take refuge at your lotus feet, like blind seeking help from the intellectual who has eyesight, kindly elevate my soul to the highest state of serenity.  Oh! Bhagavan,   I am fortunate to have your presence, there are people who wandering without any ultimate objective, they copy each other’s way of living blindly, ultimately heave themselves into the darkness of ignorance due to lack of a preceptor, Oh! Lord, kindly bless me with the supreme knowledge that can elevate my soul to the supreme Lord.  Oh! Bhagavan, you are the closest companion of all the living beings, you are beloved deity who resides as a soul in living beings, kindly liberate me from the worldly bondage and elevate my soul.   Oh!  Supreme Lord, kindly removes all my impurities and fills my intellect and mind with brightness, thereby eradicate all the worldly bondage and elevate my soul.”

Shuka Bhramam concludes “ Oh! King Pareekshit, the supreme Lord Hari who was surrounded by Rishis and King Sathyavratha, described the ultimate philosophy/Thathva/ultimate truth of Sanathana Bhramam.  Later, Lord Narayana killed the demon Hayagreevah and restored the Veda.  Thus the King Sathyavratha attained the supreme knowledge.  Whoever reads or listen to the legend of King Sathyavratha and the glorious incarnation of supreme Lord Vishnu as giant fish would get liberated from all the apprehensions, eventually attain the highest of the state of spirituality known as supreme bliss.  I shall prostrate before the supreme Lord Hari who has assumed the form of a giant fish to restore the Veda and elevated the soul of King Sathyavratha who was troubled by the deluge.”

The giant fish represents the Beeja/Shukla that is deposited in the womb of a female, it has the resemblance to baby fish, it is deposited with the water, and the growth of the baby fish in the Kamandalu has not stopped, it continued the growth, in this process it has adopted a river, pond, finally it has grown to a giant size was deposited in the ocean as its shelter place.  The human life subject to constant transformation in every second, during this process it gets attached to various material welfare and bondage, it constantly undergoes happiness, grief, fear, anxieties, pain and sorrows, the intellectuals who are thoroughly aware of the impermanent nature of all the living beings, and material things, they are Jijyasu/curious who conducts the search for the ultimate truth, remain in the association of Sadhus/saintly people, and learning scriptures, eventually attain union with the flawless supreme Bramham, with the constant practice of meditation, contemplation, Pranayama etc.  Thus the imperfect soul immerses in the contemplation of flawless Bhrama and remains in the supreme bliss, like the rivers merge with the ocean to attain perfection.   The mind and intellect should merge with its origin, known as supreme soul and the physical body unites with the Prakrithi.    The ignorant end up in extreme distress, guilt, and shame with their constant search for sensual pleasures and prepare them to take re-birth.

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudhevaya||

Chapter – 110 – The legend of  Matsya Avathar -2

Shuka Bhramam speaks " Oh! Pareekshith, listen to me carefully,  King Sathyavratha spoke “ Oh! Bhagavan, Oh! Supreme Lord Hari, Oh! Narayana, Oh! Avyaya who is imperishable, I have understood that you are not an ordinary fish; you have assumed the form of a fish for the welfare of the living beings, therefore, kindly reveal your real form to me. Oh! Purushashreshta, I shall prostrate before you. Oh! Bhagavan, kindly narrate to me why did you assume the form of a fish?”  Lord Hari replied “Oh! Rajan, on the seventh day from today, the three worlds would immerse in the water, at that point of time, I would send a ferry occupied by the Saptharishis, you have to collect the seeds of plant life, and accommodate yourself in the ferry.  This ferry can be tied with the tusk/horn of mine while traveling on the ferry; I would explain the essence of ‘Bhramam’ to you, the all-pervading nature of mine.”  The giant fish disappeared from the sight of King Sathyavratha."

Several years have passed, King Sathyavratha relentlessly thought of the marvelous incarnation of Lord Hari as giant fish.   Suddenly, the heavy downpour began followed by thunderstorms, lightning, eventually, it caused intense deluge, and he remembered the instructions of supreme Lord Hari. King Sathyavratha could witness the ferry occupied by the Saptharishis, as instructed King Sathyavratha took a seat in the ferry with the seeds of plant life.  The Saptharishis advised the King not to get intimidated by the flood and contemplate upon Lord Keshava, who will not leave his devotees in distress.  The ferry was unsteady, moving with the strong currents of the water and wind, caused intense trepidation in Rishis, they have witnessed a giant fish with a long trunk appeared before them.  The Saptharishis and King Sathyavratha reverentially greeted the Lord with folded palms, thus the ferry was safely fastened on the trunk of the giant fish.

The ‘Pralaya’ deluge/flood causes havoc in the life of living beings on the Earth, Pralaya is two kinds, one is Prakrithapralaya which causes the destruction of material things and living beings and the second one is  Bhramapralaya which is the union of the soul with the supreme soul.   The Rishis described the creation of the Universe and living beings out of Thriguna of the human mind and intellect, which functions under the influence of the supreme soul, therefore it should merge with the Supreme Lord.  The mind and intellect which has the constant influence of Sathvik nature merge with Bhramapralaya with the continuous practice of meditation, contemplation, disciplines, and Pranayama, etc.  In this way, the individual attains the serenity of mind, which has the ability to react to any situation with a balanced state of mind, be it happiness or sorrows, disgrace or admiration, honor or humiliation.  The essential five elements such as Earth, Water, Agni, Vayu, and Ether, undergo Prakrithapralaya.

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudhevaya||

Chapter – 109 – The legend of Matsya Avathar -1

The sacred scripture Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran comprises various legends that are strictly related to the life of humans on the Earth.  It is not a plain story; it is the lessons on human life.  The story of Gajendra taught us about the misconception of humans that all those possession, wealth, family, children and relatives, are the only source for happiness in life. The elephant Gajendra took great pleasure in various amusements in the herd of elephants, was once trapped in the clutches of a crocodile and called out for help, none of the family members or his own physical strength could get him out the mouth of the crocodile.  He was miserably failed to protect himself, so he called out supreme Lord Hari.  In this way, most of the realities in life go against expectations.  In the story of ‘ Samudra Manthan’ Sage Durvass offered the highly auspicious garland that was received from the abode of Lord Vishnu to Lord Indra who received it carelessly, later it was thrashed on the floor by Airavatha.  Sage Durvassa expected congenial behavior from Lord Indra was disturbed by his arrogance and cursed the deities to lose their fame and glory.  The legend of Mahabali who is well known for his great sacrifices, as an Emperor he had the self-assurance that he could offer anything to  Vatu Vamana, but the turn of events made Mahabali sacrifice himself to Vatu Vamana.  More often the expectation does not match with the realities of life.   Whatever experienced in life has been taken as the greatest lesson learned, and shut down the doors to learn new things could destroy the growth of an individual.    Therefore an inquisitive mind followed with humility is essential for the growth of spirituality as well as the material living.  The greatest knowledge can be attained only with a sense of humility and curiosity.

Pareekshith spoke “Oh! Bhagavan, I would like to hear the glorious incarnation of Lord Hari as Maya Matsya/giant fish.  Why did the all-pervading Lord who has immense prowess, manifested as giant fish and performed various amusements? Why did he assume lowly creature like a fish?”

Shuka Bhramam speaks “ Oh! Rajan, supreme Lord Hari has taken various incarnations, surprisingly all his incarnations have the nature of ‘wind’ that does not attach to the matter; it has free-flowing nature and will not get polluted with the changes in the atmosphere.  Hence, whatever forms assumed by the supreme Lord will not stain him due to his independent nature like ‘Air’.  I shall narrate the story of Mathsyavathar to you.  Once, the whole universe was immersed/Laya in water due to the influence of ‘Time’, at that moment, Lord Bhrama who had the possession of four Vedas on his face was seized away by a demon named Haygreevah, hence Lord Hari assumed the form of a giant fish and regained the Vedas from the demon and handed to Lord Bhrama. The King Sathyavratha who is an ardent devotee of Lord Hari attained the grace of the Supreme Lord.”

Shuka Bhramam continues “ Oh! Rajan,  King Sathyavratha was taking penance on the river banks of Krithamala, one day he entered to perform ablutions in the river, he took a handful of water and found a baby fish in it while dropping the fish,  it requested the King ‘ Oh! Rajan, Oh! Deenavathsala, I am helpless, you have seen big water creatures in this river, and if you drop me in the water they would swallow me. So kindly protect me.” The King was not aware of the real nature of the fish, he decided to protect it.  He put back the fish in his Kamandalu and took it to his hermitage.   In a short, while the fish began to speak “ Oh! Rajan, I cannot fit my body in this vessel, therefore kindly transfer me from this vessel.” King Sathyavratha was curious, transferred the fish into a big vessel.  In this way, he keeps transferring the fish according to its size of the growth, finally, it has grown up to the size of  a gigantic aquatic animal, and it requested the king to deposit  in the ocean.”