In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Dhurvasa making his way to Mudgala’s house at the Kurukshetra-Desha not once, but around six times – Once every fifteen days when Mudgala’s wife would prepare a meal for their family. Everytime Sage Dhurvasa would come, Mudgala and his wife would offer all the cooked food to him and for the next fifteen days the entire family would starve. Again at the end of the fifteenth day when the paddy volume is coming up to a considerable level, Mudgala’s wife would cook some food for all of them, only for Sage Dhurvasa to come and consume everything and go! This was continuing on and on, and for the next two months or so, the family of Mudgala was starving. Yet, Mudgala was firm on his “Dharma” of offering “Dhaanam” to Sage Dhurvasa whenever he comes.
As Sage Dhurvasa comes for the sixth time in the continuum, he looks at Mudgala’s facial expressions and body language. He knows very well that Mudgala is being tortured in some way and is being exploited. Sage Dhurvasa observes Mudgala’s face and thinks thus,”Oh wow! Let me see today whether Mudgala has any anger on his face. Let me see if he exhibits that regret on his face due to the anger. Let me observe if Mudgala is feeling bad that I’m coming again and again every time! If I find any such expressions on his face, it means that he is performing the “Dhaanam” just for the sake of doing it, and is not doing it whole-heartedly!” As Sage Dhurvasa thinks thus and observes Mudgala, the result was contrasting to his thoughts! Mudgala’s face showed no signs of anger or frustration or regret. He was with his original smile and gratitude written all over his face, exactly the same way as he served Sage Dhurvasa for the first time! Indeed, Mudgala was extremely grateful to Sage Dhurvasa that he had obtained that great opportunity to serve a great sage not once, but six times continuously! Surprised by Mudgala’s calm body language and demeanour, Sage Dhurvasa who is known for his high anger asks him thus, “Oh Mudgala! You’re meticulously serving me with all your food that you had stacked up for the past fifteen days without eating anything! You’ve not done it once, but this is the sixth time you’re doing it! However, I find no sense of anger that I’m always coming to snatch away your food. I find no signs of regret in your facial expressions that this Sage Dhurvasa is coming every now and then and making my family starve! Is my observation correct? Aren’t you frustrated or sad with my arrival every now and then, which makes you and your family starve?”
As Sage Dhurvasa asks thus, Mudgala is in tears of joy! He replies thus, “Oh Great Sage Dhurvasa! We are extremely fortunate that your divine lotus feet touched upon our home. Moreover, we’re even more grateful to you for accepting what little we offer you. In fact, to be very frank with you, I was scared internally every day as to whether I’m satisfying your appetite properly or not, because the paddy that I bring home is extremely low in quantity. I was scared whether you would get angry and we would fail in our “Dharma” of not offering the “Dhaanam” to your fullest content. Indeed, I’m happy that your appetite is satisfied and we do not care about our appetite at all. We are more concerned about the “Dharma” of offering the “Dhaanam” and as a family, we are extremely fortunate that we’re getting an opportunity to serve a great Sage like you! Indeed, I consider this as a resultant of some “Punya-Karma” that I might have performed during some of my earlier birth(s)! Hence, we do not have any regret in serving you. Indeed we’re happy to be with you!”
Saying thus, Mudgala falls on Sage Dhurvasa’s feet with tears in his eyes. Upon seeing Mudgala’s unconditional surrender and his noble sacrifice, Sage Dhurvasa’s heart melts! He too is in tears and immediately lifts Mudgala from his feet! Sage Dhurvasa replies to Mudgala thus, “Oh Mudgala! I have been testing you for the past six times! You’ve indeed passed my test with flying colours! Nobody in this world is as good as you when it comes to offering “Dhaanam” meticulously without “Madam” (Pride) and “Maastaryam”. You’re a “down-to-earth” person and even if it is a small quantity of paddy, you’re offering it with all your heart! Even Kubera in the Deva-Lokha cannot be equal to you when it comes to giving! Moreover, let me tell you one thing – Why do you think your mind is extremely pure and focused on “Dharma”? It is because of your “Aahaara-Shuddhi” (Extremely austere food practices). I know how you collect the paddy every day and I know how meticulously your wife supports you in executing your “Dharma” properly. Hence, this “Aahaara Shuddhi” has brought about the “Sathva Guna” in you at an advanced level. This is the reason why your mind and body are sound, even if you’re starving for so many days continuously without any food or water! Hence, I’m ordering hereby – There will be one divine “Vimaana” that would come exclusively for you from the “Svarga Lokha”. You can get into it and transcend to the “Svarga Lokha” and from there, you would go to the ultimate “Moksha-Samrajya”. I hereby provide my divine “Anugraha” for the same to happen immediately!”
So for today, let us understand up to this point and let us also join hands with Mudgala and Sage Dhurvasa to celebrate this auspicious moment! We shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well, to find how Mudgala transcended towards the “Svarga Lokha” and move on further from here! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 