NITAAI-Veda.nyf > Compiled and Imp Scriptures > Shrimad Bhagavatam > Canto-10 > Part-5 > The deliverance of King Nriga |
The
deliverance of King Nriga.
Once, the princes of the Yadu dynasty-
Samba, Pradyumna, Bhanu, Gada, and others went to a forest near Dvaraka to have
a picnic. After playing for a long time, they became thirsty. While searching
for water, the princes came upon a dried-up well, and when they looked inside,
they were astonished to see a big, wonderful-looking lizard.
Feeling sorry for the lizard, which was
trapped inside the well, the boys tried to lift it out. And yet, in spite of
repeated attempts, they were unsuccessful, and so they hurried home and went to
tell Lord Krishna about the unusual creature.
Krishna
immediately went there with His sons, and simply by extending His left hand, He
very easily lifted the lizard out of the well. Touched by the hand of the
Supreme Lord, that creature gave up its lizard body and appeared as a beautiful
demigod with golden complexion.
Although Krishna knew everything, just to
inform people in general, He inquired, “Who are you, O greatly fortunate one? I
think that you are one of the exalted demigods. What past activity brought you
to this lowly condition? We are eager to hear about this, and so if you think
that it is proper, please tell us.”
The
celestial being bowed down to Lord Krishna, and then replied, “I am a king,
known as Nriga, the son of Ikshvaku. Perhaps You heard my name mentioned when
the list of charitable men was recited.”
“O Lord, You are the knower of everything.
Nevertheless, on Your order I shall speak. Formerly, I gave in charity as many
cows as there are grains of sand on the earth, stars in the heavens, or drops
of rain in a shower. (The king is here emphasizing that he had given many cows
in charity.) I gave young, brown cows,
having only one calf. They all had full udders, and were well behaved,
beautiful and had been acquired honestly. They all had gilded horns,
silver-plated hooves, and were decorated with fine cloth and garlands.”
“I first honored the brahmanas who were
the recipients of my charity, by giving them fine ornaments. These brahmanas
were young and possessed of excellent characters and qualities, although poor.
They were dedicated to truth, austere, vastly learned in the Vedas, and saintly
in behavior. I not only gave them cows, but also land, gold, houses, horses,
elephants, marriageable girls with maidservants, as well as household
items.”
“Once, I gave a cow in charity to a
certain elevated brahmana. Later on, that cow wandered off and re-entered the
cows in my herd. Unaware of this, I proceeded to give that cow in charity to a
different brahmana. At this time, the cow’s original owner came there and
claimed, ‘This cow is mine!’ The second brahmana responded, ‘No. She is mine.
Nriga gave her to me.’ ”
“While arguing in this way, the two
brahmanas approached me. When they accused me of giving for a second time a cow
that I had already given in charity, thus committing a greatly sinful act, I
became bewildered.”
“Finding myself in such a terrible
dilemma, I humbly entreated, ‘O brahmanas, please be merciful to me, for I am
your servant, and had acted innocently, without knowing what I was doing. I
will give each of you 100,000 of the best cows, in exchange for this one
disputed cow, and thus rectify my mistake. Please accept my offer and thus save
me from this difficult situation, or I shall surely fall down into hell.’ ”
“The second owner of the cow said, ‘I
don’t want anything in exchange for this cow’ and the original owner said, ‘I
will not accept even more than what you are offering.’ Both thought that the
cow was theirs, and thus could not be taken back under any condition. While
considering that their rightful position had been usurped, the two brahmanas
angrily left my palace and returned home.”
“O Lord of lords, taking advantage of
this, at the time when I gave up my body, the Yamadutas carried me to the abode
of their master, Yamaraja.”
“Yamaraja then said, ‘My dear King, which
would you like to experience first? Would you like to enjoy the results of your
pious acts, or would you first like to suffer the results of your sins? I can
see no limit to the charity that you had given, or the enjoyment in heaven that
you will consequently receive.’ ”
“Being bewildered, I replied, ‘My lord,
first of all let me suffer for my misdeeds.’ Yamaraja responded by saying,
‘Then fall!’ and at once, I was transformed into a lizard and remained within a
well for a long time. But somehow, due to my charitable disposition toward the
brahmanas, and my great desire to one day have Your audience, I continued to
think of You, even in my degraded condition, and I could remember everything
about my past life.” (Still, the acharyas explain that King Nriga was not an
unalloyed devotee, for he was attached to the conception of himself as being a
pious man, a great giver of charity. Krishna consciousness develops love for
Krishna, and not love for pious activities. Pure devotees do not suffer the
results of karma, whereas King Nriga did.)
“O almighty Lord, how is it that I am able
to see You before me? Even great yogis who constantly meditate upon You within
their hearts can rarely see You, so how can I, who have been blinded by the
tribulations of material life? Only one who has finished his material entanglement
should be able to see You.”
“O Krishna, please permit me to depart for
the world of the demigods. Wherever I live, O master, may I always take shelter
of Your lotus feet.”
Greatly appreciating the mercy that he had
received from the Lord, Maharaja Nriga circumambulated Him and touched his
helmet to His lotus feet. Then, with the Lord’s permission, King Nriga boarded
the celestial airplane that had arrived for him and departed as all those
present looked on.
Lord Krishna then spoke so as to instruct
the Yadus in particular, and the royal class in general: “How disastrous is the
attempt to enjoy a brahmana’s property, even by one who has become very
powerful by the performance of austerity and yoga, and so what to speak of
others? Poison kills only the person who ingests it, and a fire may be put out
with water. But, the stealing of a brahmana’s property destroys three
generations of one’s family, and has no antidote.”
“Kshatriyas
easily become blinded by their opulence, and thus fail to see their downfall.
Childishly hankering to enjoy a brahmana’s property, they are paving their way
to hell. A person who steals a brahmana’s property will live as a worm in stool
for sixty thousand years. One who simply desires to take a brahmana’s possessions
reduces his duration of life, and after meeting with defeat, he will be born
again as a snake.”
“My dear followers, never treat a brahmana
harshly, even if he abuses you or physically attacks you. Just continue to
smile and offer him respect. Just as I always offer respects to the brahmanas,
all of you should do the same, for I will certainly punish anyone who does not
follow My example. Just consider the example of King Nriga.”
Having thus instructed the residents of
Dvaraka, Krishna returned to His palace.