कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने ।
kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya haraye paramātmane .
iSalutation to Krishna, Vaasudeva, Hari.
It was a beautiful summer’s day, the skies were clear but the heat of the summer was being blown away with a soothing, cool breeze. The wide open green meadows were lined with leafy trees laden low with ripe fruit. The branches of the giant mango trees weighed low with golden, green mangoes. The mighty Jamun trees showered their bounty of blackish-purple bitter-sweet fruit on to the earth. The banana trees flowers had given way to heavy bunches of ripe fruit. The bees and butterflies glided through the air dropping in on the flowering bushes their wings flapping gently The herd of cattle too were content grazing on the lush over grown grass or resting under shady boughs as they leisurely chewed the cud.
The princes of the Yadua dynasty Sâmba, Pradyumna, Câru, Bhânu, Gada and their friends decided that it was the perfect day for some youthful sport in the outdoors. The grasslands beckoned and the boys rushed off to enjoy the splendid pastures. They amused themselves for quite a while with boisterous sports, plenty of tom-foolery and laughter. However, as the summer sun rose in the skies the boys began to feel thirsty.
Not far ahead they saw a well and ran up to it to draw some water. Unfortunately the well was dry. As they peered in, the boys noticed that deep within the confines of the well was a rather large lizard. The poor creature kept trying to crawl out of the well but each attempt resulted in failure as it would fall right back in.
The boys felt sorry for the lizard and wanted to get it out of the well and set it free. Each of them made attempts to do so. They reached over the side of the well but the lizard could not climb high enough to be held. They tried to use an old rope that they found lying near the well but that was of no use too. They urged the lizard to pull itself out but no matter what they tried they could not release the captive lizard.
The princes headed home and as soon as they reached home they approached Krishna. The young lads knew that if there was anyone who could help the lizard it was Krishna. The princes recounted in detail the incident to Krishna. Having heard the whole story Krishna, as expected, said “Come on boys take me to where you saw the lizard. Maybe I can help him.”
The whole group of princes and Krishna headed to the well. Just as the boys had said there deep in the well was a lizard trying desperately to get out. Krishna bent low against the wall of the well, touched the lizard with his left hand and lifted it out effortlessly. At Krishna’s touch the lizard transformed into a dazzling demi-god whose body glistened like molten gold. He was dressed in the most exquisite silk robes and on his arms, wrists, ankles and neck he wore glittering precious gem studded jewellery. The princes were aghast. They simply could not believe their eyes - a common lizard had transformed into this divine form.
Prince Pradyumna, Lord Krishna’s son, was the first to speak and wondered, “What could have made a demi-God take the form of a lowly lizard?”
Lord Krishna who knows everything and from whom there are no secrets knew the answer to Pradyumna’s question but did not reply. Instead looking at the demi-god he enquired, “Blessed demi-god, pray tell us what compelled you to take the form of a lizard when you have such a beautiful body? Who are you? If you feel you can reveal your story to us please do so.”
The glowing demi-god prostrated at Lord Krishna’s feet. Then rising up he said, “Lord you are the knower of everything - the past, present and future. You know who I am and why I had been relegated to live the life of a lizard. However as you have asked me and I have always desired nothing more than to abide by you I will tell you my story.”
Bowing low before the Lord and with folded hands the celestial being said, “I am King Nriga, son of King Ikshväku. I was a charitable man and prided myself on my generosity. I believed above all that it was my duty to be charitable. I would gift gold, precious jewels, grain and cows to the people and especially to the holy Brahmins who would grace my court with their presence. The cows I gave in charity were not ordinary cows. Each one was very young and had given birth to only one calf. They were full of milk, very peaceful and healthy. All the cows were purchased with money that I had earned legally. Their horns were gold-plated, their hooves were bedecked with silver plates, and they were covered with silken wrappers which were embroidered with pearls and necklaces.”
One day a cow from a neighboring field entered my property. I was unaware of this. Hence when a Brahmin came to my palace I unknowingly gave away the cow that did not belong to me. The cow had belonged to a Brahmin. As the Brahmin to whom I had just gifted the cow left he passed another Brahmin who insisted that the cow was his.”
The first Brahmin was most affronted to be told that he was taking away a cow that belonged to another and indignantly retorted, “Nonsense this cow belongs to me. King Nriga has gifted me this cow. It is mine.”
The second Brahmin was most annoyed to hear this and said, “How could King Nriga give you my cow? It is not his to give away.”
The two Brahmins decide to return to the palace and confront King Nriga. The King who hadn’t realized that the cow was not his to give away folded his hands and said, “Forgive me holy sage I had no idea that the cow was yours. It was grazing in my pastures and I mistakenly thought it was mine. I do apologize as it was an action taken inadvertently.”
The Brahmin was unrelenting and said, “I don’t care how this happened. All I want you to do is give me back the cow that belongs to me.”
King Nriga turned to the Brahmin he had given the cow to and said, “Respected sir, please find it in your heart to forgive me for what I am about to ask of you.”
The Brahmin looked dubiously at the King as he continued, “I will give you the very best cow I have in my fold or you can take the one you pick out but please could you return this cow to the rightful owner.”
The Brahmin who had been gifted the cow was appalled at the very thought of returning his prized possession and said, “I am perfectly happy with this cow that you gave me. I do not wish to exchange it. Since you gave it to me it is now mine.”
King Nriga then requested the Brahmin who was the owner of the cow, “Since I have already gifted the cow and am unable to get it back could you please consider taking any of the cattle from my herd? I beg that you consider this suggestion. I have several heathy cows that will serve you well for many years to come. Take as many cows as you please but I beg that you find it in your heart to forgive me for my mistake. Ask for whatever else you wish and I will give that to you as well.”
However, here too the Brahmin remained adamant that he wanted his own cow back and nothing else.
The King tried to plead with the Brahmins but neither would relent. Finally the Brahmin, to whom the cow had originally belonged, walked off in a huff and seeing this, the other Brahmin too left leading his recently acquired cow away.
The King had inadvertently stolen from a holy man. Though it had never been his intention he had unknowingly done an injustice to a religious and pious person. Another wrong doing on his part was that he had tried to take back from another holy man what he had already gifted him. These actions, though done unwittingly were bound to have an effect at some point on the king’s life. According to the law of karma or the law of cause and effect every action we take will have an effect on us either in this life or in a future life even when the action has been taken by mistake.
The benevolent King had done a great deal of charity in his life. He had given away food grains, silver, utensils, garments, jewels, household furniture, chariots and even land to the needy. Being a religious man he worshipped the Lord with devotion and performed sacrifices according to Vedic rituals. The King had also, for the welfare of his people dug wells, planted flowering and fruit- bearing trees, constructed roads, created clear-water ponds and had faithfully performed his duties as a king. By these actions he had accumulated a lot of good karma.
Years went by and finally the day came when the king died of old age. This was when he met with Lord Yama, the God of death. Lord Yama said, “Nriga, I am here to give you a choice. You have accumulated both good and bad karma in your life. Do you wish to enjoy your good karma first or pay for your bad karma first?”
With not a second thought the king replied, “I wish to pay first for the wrong that I have done in my life.”
Hearing this Lord Yama said, “Are you sure you want to pay for your bad karma? Let me tell you that you have done so much good in your life that if you choose to enjoy your good karma you will do so for innumerable years. In fact you will enjoy the benefits of your good actions almost forever. ”
Despite what Lord Yama had said the King remained firm in his resolve and replied, “I am sure that I want to pay for the misdoings I have done in my life first before enjoying the benefits of my good actions.”
The King truly believed that he ought to pay off his debt for the wrongs he had done before he had the right to enjoy the benefits of his good actions.
As per his wish Yama transformed the good king into a huge lizard and dumped him into the deep, dark, dry well. But as the king had been kind, caring and magnanimous throughout his life Lord Yama allowed him the gift of remembering his last birth as well as the reason for his life as a lizard.
Hence for every minute of his life as a lizard the king knew he was paying for his wrong actions. He continued to pray to the Lord for forgiveness and cheerfully accept his fate as a trapped reptile. He waited with patience and his faith in the Lord never wavered. He knew that one day he would complete paying his dues for his wrong actions. This is what he had chosen when Lord Yama had come for him and he was content with his choice.
When Lord Krishna pulled him up out of the well and he gained a divine form the King prostrating before the Lord said, “Despite being in a debased life form I continued to keep you in my thoughts at all times and hence felt no suffering, humiliation or regret. There was just one desire in me and that was that I should see you someday. Today you have fulfilled my most cherished desire. Many people desire to see you and some may be blessed to see you in their hearts. I feel most cherished that you have chosen to bless me with your presence. I am indeed most fortunate to see you before my eyes.”
The Lord looked on Nriga with kindness and blessed him. A golden aerial chariot appeared to carry the King to his heavenly abode. But before stepping into the chariot the King said, “Lord you have given me the body of a demi-god. I will now be taken to a heavenly planet. But before I leave I ask of you one more boon - a blessing that will ensure that no matter where I go or what form I take I will forever remain your devotee and have you foremost in my thoughts always. May I never forget you and live only according to your will.”
Lord Krishna lifted his right palm and blessed Nriga saying, "So be it."
Nriga fell to his knees, prostrated and touched Lord Krishna's lotus-feet. Then he stood up and climbed into the aerial vehicle which immediately rose into the skies, flew beyond sight and well beyond the white clouds.
LIFE LESSONS
1. Like King Nriga let us try to be charitable.
2. Like King Nriga let us not be afraid to pay for our wrong doings.
3. Like King Nriga let us never lose faith in God even when we suffer great hardships.
4. Let us always pray to God for forgiveness from any wrong we might do intentionally or unintentionally.
5. From this story we learn that good deeds will always be rewarded.