Trial of Upamanyu

 

Another of sage Ayoda-Dhaumya disciples was Upamanyu


The sage asked Upa to look after the cows and so he went to the fields to tend them. He watched them all day & in the evening came back to his master’s house & paid his obeisance. Seeing his pupil in good condition of body, Dhaumya asked-Upa my child, how did you sustain yourself all day. Upa said-I have sustained myself by begging. The sage said-Upa, what you received as alms should not be used by you without offering it to me & he then took all what he had

 

Next day Upa went to tend the cows & returned in the evening to report. The sage seeing him still in good condition said-I took all the alms, then on what you sustained yourself. Upa said-I begged for second time. Sage said-you shouldn’t have begged 2nd time as this would diminish the support we receive from others. You have proved yourself covetous

 

Next day Upa again went to tend the cows & reported back in evening. The sage still seeing him in good condition asked him the reason. Upa said-I sustained myself on the milk of cows. Dhaumya said-You should not have drank milk without my consent to which Upa felt sorry

 

Next day again when the sage saw Upa in healthy condition, he asked the reason. Upa said-I now sip froth which the calves throw out while sucking on their mother’s teats. Sage said-these calves out of compassion throw out large quantities of froth but it is unlawful to drink it. Upa signified his assent & said he would restrain himself from alms, milk, froth etc

 

Upa one day oppressed by hunger, in forest ate Arka leaves which left him blind. He then fell in a pit in a distraught condition. The sage went looking for his pupil crying Upa where are you? Upa cried from the pit & explained to him how this happened. The sage then asked him to pray to the twin Ashwins to restore the sight

 

Upa prayed with all his heart to the Ashwins & at the end when celestial physicians thus invoked appeared satisfied with his prayers, they came and gave him the cake to be put on his eyes to restore sight. Upa said he dare not put it without asking his Guru. Ashwins said but your master once accepted in the past without asking his Guru?

 

Upa was adamant on his vow. The Ashwins seeing this were very happy & blessed Upa. They then informed Dhaumya about the same. The sage then blessed Upa and his eyes were restored. He also received boon for prosperity, intelligence & wisdom

 

Huge lessons for us. The application for this learning is applicable both for our spiritual & material progress. Real disciple is wholly dependent on his master. He should have full confidence on him, without even an iota of doubt about what will happen to him. He should never make plans independent of his Guru. For such pupil, the master becomes more responsible for his well-being and at the end receives more than what he ever expected

 

Thoughts? #gameoflife

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Never Fall down!   Arjun released an Agni weapon that brightly lit up entire sky. Karna invoked a Varuna weapon that quenched the fire by creating clouds with a Vayavya weapon & then released a favourite weapon of Indra that made thousands of arrows issues forth from his G ā ndiva bow   While being pierced all over, Karna countered Aindra weapon with a Bh ārgava weapon & proceeded to kill many of the foremost Pāncāla warriors. Seeing this, Bhima’s anger blazed up like fire. He chastised his brother by saying: O Arjun, how can you allow these great warriors to be killed within your very sight? Please remember how Karna had insulted Draupadi? Give up your indifference & kill him without delay!   Sri Krsna said: Dear Arjun, you must exert your full prowess now, if need be, you can take help from my Sudarshan Cakra!   After momentarily considering the purpose of his appearance in this world, Arjun replied: Lord, with your permission as ...
Read more
Image
  Make or break!   When Salya agreed to drive Karna’s chariot only on condition that he must be allowed to speak freely whatever he likes, Duryodhana and Karna readily agreed & thus a contract was made. Duryodhana flattered Salya by comparing him to Lord Brahmā, who formerly became Shiva’s charioteer at the time of destroying Tripura   Duryodhana concluded his long talk by saying: Dear Salya, Parasurāma delivered the entire science of weapons to Karna. Therefore, we must intelligently conclude that Karna cannot really be a sutā’s son. He must be the offspring of a demigod born in a Kshatriya family & then abandoned at infancy. Otherwise, why would Parasurāma agreed to instruct him in the complete use of weapons?   Salya replied: I have heard on numerous occasions the story of how Lord Brahmā became Lord Siva’s charioteer. You should not place so much faith in your plans, because even if Arjun is killed, Sri Krsna will exterminate the entire Kaurav...
Read more
Image
Real compassion! Duryodhana who was hiding inside the lake, became very depressed hearing the bitter words from Yudhisthira, but since there was no alternative, he finally made up his mind to accept Yudhisthira’s challenge & fight. He said: I’m only one, whereas you Pandavas are many. Therefore, pls do not demand that I fight with all of you at once. Kindly allow me to combat you one at a time. In that way I will be able to kill all of you & thus repay the debt to the great warriors who died for my sake   Yudhisthira said: O Duryodhana. It is very commendable that you have accepted my challenge. Now you can choose whichever one of us you would like to fight with the choice of weapons will be yours. If you are able to kill any one of us Pandavas, you will be given back your kingdom. Otherwise, if we kill you, you will attain a heavenly destination   Duryodhana said: You have amply displayed your noble character by allowing me to fight against only one opponent...
Read more