In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Sukhaachaarya concluding his “marathon” discussion of all the twelve “Skandhas” of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana put together, within a span of seven days. King Parikshit was totally absorbed in listening to Sage Sukhaachaarya’s golden words of wisdom and towards the end of the discussion, he feels that all his doubts have been cleared. He replies to Sage Sukhaachaarya and thanks him upfront for spending seven days of quality time with him in making him understand the important points that are necessary for him to attain Moksha. It is to be remembered that King Parikshit was cursed by a sage that his end would come within the next seven days due to a snake bite. We’re now at the verge of the seventh day ending and with this, Sage Sukhaachaarya has also concluded his accord. Now, King Parikshit is totally alleviated from the fear of death due to the snake, and proclaims to Sage Sukhaachaarya that by listening to this Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text fully, he has clearly understood that the “Atman” and “Deham” are totally different entities by nature and that, there is absolutely nothing called “death” that is going to bestow upon him. This is because, the Atman is permanent and has no destruction of any sorts. It is only the “Deham” or the “physical body” that is going to get destroyed, which, he’s going to take another physical body after this. Hence, King Parikshit thanks Sage Sukhaachaarya for the long “eye-opener” and for making him understand the essence of our Sanaatana Dharma within seven day.
As Sage Sukhaachaarya listens to King Parkshit’s reply thus, he responds, “Oh Parikshit! I’m very happy that you’ve understood the essence correctly. For this, I had employed 18,000 slokas!” King Parikshit replies thus, “Oh Sage Sukhaachaarya! You chanting 18,000 slokas might not be a big thing for yourself, but it is something huge for a “zero” like me! Seven days before, I was trembling with fear and depression after receiving the curse, and now with your divine and profound grace, you’ve transformed me completely with these 18,000 slokas. Thus, it might not be a great achievement for you, but for me, it is a great achievement of transformation. With all the spiritual maturity and the power of penance, you can chant not only 18,000 slokas, but even 10 times more than that. For people like me who are zeroes in terms of spiritual knowledge, this is a huge accomplishment! Within seven days thus, you have succeeded in transforming me from what I was to what I am today. Now, I’m extremely happy and I’ve clearly understood the fact that death can never bestow upon me forever. I’m indeed waiting for that moment of the snake bite, so that I can attain the highest “Moksha” with your divine grace and blessings!”
Saying thus, King Parikshit stands up, folds his hands in respect and pays tribute to Sage Sukhaachaarya. Receiving all the respects from King Parikshit, Sage Sukhaachaarya immediately leaves the palace! We might wonder why Sage Sukhaachaarya left immediately, leaving his ardent disciple alone to fend for himself! If we might have been in that state, we would have waited for King Parikshit to attain Moksha, see how he’s being bitten by the snake, mourn his death, etc. But Sge Sukhaachaarya never even waited for any of this to happen. He immediately leaves the palace by saying that there are many other disciples of his, who are waiting to listen to this sacred Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana text. We should understand here that had he sat there for few more minutes, the effect of all what he had discussed for the past seven days, would be totally neutralized. Once King Prikshit explains that he has understood all the important points, the job of Sage Sukhaachaarya is over then and there! It was only because King Parikshit was unable to understand these points, did Sage Sukhaachaarya explain everything in detail. However, the moment King Parikshit understood that the “Atman” and “Deham” are not the same, Sage Sukhaachaarya doesn’t even stop there for a moment and he hurries away from that spot. This is the level of detachment a Guru should have to his Sishya (Disciple).
Normally, Sage Sukhaachaarya was a person who doesn’t even stand at one place continuously for two minutes. For instance, as a Sage, when he goes to each house to obtain “Bhiksha” for his meal, if the householder doesn’t come within the next two minutes to offer him the “Bhiksha”, he wouldn’t stand there for the third minute itself! He would just walk off from that place thinking that Bhagawan wants him to fast on this particular day! Such was Sage Sukhaachaarya’s detachment level! If such a detached Sage should stay with King Parikshit for seven full days and give all the important knowledge and wisdom, whose fortune it is? It should be both King Parikshit’s fortune and the world’s fortune as a whole – To obtain such a valuable text from a great sage!
Now that Sage Sukhaachaarya leaves the scene, King Parikshit is now waiting for the inevitable incident to happen. It is at this time, “Takshaka”, the snake makes his way to King Parikshit’s palace, searching for him. So for today, let us stop with this point, and we shall wait till the next episode to witness King Parikshit attaining “Moksha” through the snake bite! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 