బాలకాండ- పదమూడవసర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- పదమూడవసర్గ:

పెద్దపులి- బాటసారి

రామాపురం అనే గ్రామంలో శివశర్మ అనే బ్ర్రాహ్మణుడు ఉండేవాడు. అతను ఆ చుట్టుప్రక్కల ఉన్న నాలుగైదు గ్రామాలకు పురోహితుడు. ఒకనాడు పొరుగున ఉన్న కృష్ణాపురంలో వ్రతం చేయించటానికి బయలుదేరాడు. రామాపురం నుంచి కృష్ణాపురం వెళ్ళటానికి మధ్యలో రెండు మైళ్ళ దూరం అడవిని దాటి చేరుకోవాలి. ఆ అడవిలో కౄర జంతువులు లేకపోవటం వల్ల రామాపురం గ్రామస్థులు భయం లేకుండా అడవిని దాటి వెళ్ళేవారు. శివశర్మ అడవిలో నడుస్తుండగా అతనికి ఒక చెరువు గట్టు మీద దర్భలు చేతిలో పట్టుకుని కూర్చున్న పెద్దపులి కనిపించింది. దానిని చూడగానే శివశర్మ గుండెల్లో రాయి పడింది. భగవంతుడా! 'ఈ అడవిలో కౄర జంతువులు ఉండవు కదాని ఒంటరిగా బయలుదేరాను... ఇప్పుడు ఈ పెద్దపులి కనిపించింది. దీని బారి నుంచి నన్ను నువ్వే కాపాడాలి' మనసులో దేవుడిని తలచుకుంటూ అనుకున్నాడు. ఆ సమయంలోనే ఆ పెద్దపులి శివశర్మను చూడనే చూసింది. శివశర్మ కాళ్ళు చేతులు భయంతో వణికాయి. ఓ! బ్ర్రాహ్మణుడా నన్ను చూసి భయపడకు. కౄర జంతువయినా... ఇప్పుడు మాంసాహారిని కాదు... ఇప్పటిదాకా చేసిన పాపాల నుండి విముక్తి పొందాలని భగవంతుడిని ప్రార్దించాను... దేవుడు ప్రత్యక్షమయ్యి ఈ కంకణం ఎవరికైనా దానం చేస్తే నా పాపాలు పోతాయని చెప్పాడు. అందుకే నువ్వు ఈ కంకణం తీసుకో అంటూ తన చేతిలో ఉన్న కంకణాన్ని శివశర్మకు చూపించింది. అది నవరత్నాలు పొదిగిన బంగారు కంకణం. చెట్ల ఆకుల్లోంచి పడుతున్న సుర్యుడి వెలుగుకి ధగధగా మెరుస్తోంది. దాన్నిచూడగానే శివశర్మ మనసులో ఆశ పుట్టింది. 

దురాశ దుఖా:నికి చేటు.

వింధ్యారణ్య ప్రాంతంలో భైరవుడు అనే పేరుగల వేటగాడు ఉండేవాడు. రోజూ అడవికి వెళ్ళి, రకరకాల ఆహారపదార్థాలను సేకరించి, వాటితో తన కుటుంబాన్ని పోషించేవాడు. అడవిలో దొరకనిదేముంది? ఆకులు, దుంపలు, కాయలు, పండ్లు, తేనె, వెదురు బియ్యం ఇలా ఎన్నో లభిస్తాయి. కాని, ఈ శాఖాహారం కంటే కుందేలు, జింక, అడవి పంది వంటి జంతువుల మాంసాహారమే ఈ వేటగాళ్ళు ఇష్టపడతారు. భైరవుడు ఒకనాడు ఒక బలసిన జింకను వేటాడి చంపాడు. ఇంటిల్లిపాదీ ఆనందంగా విందు చేసుకోవచ్చుననుకుంటూ, దానిని భుజంపైన వేసుకొని తన ఇంటి దారి పట్టాడు. అయితే ఆ అడవి మార్గంలో అతనికి అనుకోకుండా బాగా మదించి, కోరలు ఉన్న అడవి పంది కనిపించింది. 

భైరవుడు తన భుజం మీది జింక శవాన్ని నేలపైకి దించి, తన విల్లమ్ములు తీసుకున్నాడు. పదునైన బాణంతో ఆ అడవి పంది రొమ్మును గాయపరిచాడు. అడవి పందులకు కోపం మొండితనం ఎక్కువ. వేటగాడి బాణం వెనుదిరిగి వచ్చిందా అన్నట్లు, అది అతి వేగంగా వచ్చి, భైరవుని పొట్టను కోరలతో చీల్చి చంపింది. తర్వాత, అదీ చచ్చింది. వీరి తొక్కిసలాటలో ఆటుగా వచ్చిన పాము కూడా, ప్రాణాలు విడిచింది. 

ముంగిస - పిల్లాడు

ఎంతవారయినా తొందరపాటులో తప్పులు చేస్తుంటారు. చివరికి ఆ తప్పును తెలుసుకొని బాధ పడతుంటారు. తొందరపాటు ఎప్పడూ ప్రమాదానికి హేతువు. శివరామపుంలో విష్ణుశర్మ అనే పండితుడు ఉండేవాడు. అతని పెరటిలో ఉన్న కుంకుడు చెట్టు క్రింద కలుగు చేసుకుని ఒక ముంగిస ఉండేది. అది విష్ణుశర్మ భార్య పడేసిన చద్ది అన్నం తిని జీవిస్తూ ఉండేది. ఒక రోజు విష్ణుశర్మ ప్రక్క ఊరిలో జరుగుతున్న పురాణ మహోత్సవాలలో పాల్గొనేందుకు వెళ్ళాడు. ముంగిస ఇంట్లోకి వచ్చి సరాసరి మధ్యగది లోకి వెళ్ళి తలుపు మూల చల్లగా ఉండటంతో పడుకుంది. అదే గదిలో విష్ణు శర్మ ఏడాది పిల్లాడు ఉయ్యాలలో నిద్రపోతున్నాడు. విష్ణుశర్మ భార్య వంటగదిలో పనీపాట చేసుకుంటోంది. ఎక్కడి నుంచి వచ్చిందో గాని ఓ పాము ఇంటి పైకప్పులోకి చేరింది. అక్కడ నుంచి ఉయ్యాల నుంచి నెమ్మదిగా ఉయ్యాలలో పడుకున్న పిల్లాడి వైపు రాసాగింది. అదే సమయంలో కళ్ళు తెరిచిన ముంగిస ఉయ్యాల వైపు చుసి పాముని గమనించింది.

మూడు చేపలు

మంచిని ఎవరు చెప్పినా వినాలి. అలాకాక అజ్ఞానంతో, మూర్ఖత్వంతో ఆ మంచిమాటలను పెడచెవిన పెడితే అందుకు తగిన ప్రతిఫలం అనుభవించక తప్పదు. ఇతరులందరూ అబద్దాలు చెప్పేవాళ్ళు అనుకుంటే అంతకు మించిన పొరపాటు మరొకటి లేదు. అలాంటి పొరపాటులు ఒక్కొక్కసారి ప్రాణాలకే ముప్పు తెస్తాయి అది ఎలాగో ఈ మూడు చేపల కధ ద్వారా తెలుసుకుందాం. 

The Brahmin and The Cobra

The Brahmin and The Cobra

Haridatta was a Brahmin who was very poor. He was a farmer but the piece of land he cultivated gave him very little to survive. One day, unable to stand the heat of the summer sun, he went to a big Tree in his land to rest for a while. Before he could spread himself on the ground he saw in the nearby anthill a huge cobra swaying with his hood open. He thought, “This cobra must really be the Goddess of this land. I have never worshiped her, which is why I am not able to get anything from the land. From today, I will worship her.” At once he went back to his village and returned with a glass full of Milk.  He poured it in a bowl and turning to the anthill said, “O ruler of the land, I did not know you were living in this anthill. That is why I have not paid my tribute to you. Please excuse me and accept this humble offering.” He then placed the bowl of milk at the anthill and left the place.

Next day when the Brahmin came to his land before the Sun was up; he saw a gold coin in the bowl he had left at the anthill. Henceforth, he came alone every dawn, collected the coin, offered the milk in the bowl and left. One day the Brahmin, leaving for another village on business, asked his son to go to the anthill and offer milk. When the son went the next day, he found a gold coin in the bowl. He collected the coin and thought, “This anthill must be full of gold. If I kill the cobra, I can collect all the gold in one go instead of coming here every day.” He then struck the cobra with a big stick. But the cobra deftly dodged the blow but stung the son to death with his poisonous fangs. Returning to his village the next day, Haridatta heard the story of his son’s death and at once realised that greed was behind it.

The Brahmin went to the anthill the day after his son’s cremation and offered milk to the cobra. Without coming out of his hole, the cobra told Haridatta, “You have come here for gold forgetting that you had lost a son and that you were in mourning. The reason is greed, pure greed. From today, there is no meaning in our relationship. Blinded by his youth, your son has struck me and I bit him back. How can I forget that blow? How can you suffer the grief of your son’s death? Finally, I am giving you this diamond, don’t come back again.”

MORAL: Excess of greed is harmful.

బాలకాండ- పన్నెండవసర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- పన్నెండవసర్గ:

బాలకాండ- పదకొండవసర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ-పదకొండవసర్గ:

బాలకాండ- పదవసర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- పదవసర్గ:

బాలకాండ- తొమ్మిదవసర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- తొమ్మిదవసర్గ:

బాలకాండ-ఎనిమిదవ సర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ-ఎనిమిదవ సర్గ:

బాలకాండ-ఏడవ సర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ-ఏడవ సర్గ:

బాలకాండ- ఆరవ సర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- ఆరవ సర్గ:

బాలకాండ- ఐదవ సర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- ఐదవ సర్గ:

బాలకాండ- నాల్గవ సర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- నాల్గవ సర్గ:

బాలకాండ- తృతీయసర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- తృతీయసర్గ:

బాలకాండ- ద్వితీయసర్గ:

శ్రీమద్రామాయణము- బాలకాండ- ద్వితీయసర్గ:

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శ్రీమద్రామాయణము-బాలకాండ- మొదటిసర్గ:

Sage Bhrigu (Bhrigu Maharshi)

Sage Bhrigu (Bhrigu Maharshi)

Introduction to the story of Sage Bhrigu:

 We came across the great Sage Bhrigu when we were recounting how the sage Chyavana was born to Him through his wife Puloma. We also recounted briefly how Sage Bhrigu tested the Trinity. Now let us know  Prajapati, Manasputra of Lord Brahma.

In the beginning, when Brahmaji was asked to create, He was alone. So, He started creating mentally and the sons thus created like Vasishtha, Atri, Narada etc. came to be known as Manasaputras of Brahma. Thus it is clear that in the highest spiritual planes, the thought itself is enough for the thought form to take shape into a material body. This power, this energy, Shakti, is glorified as aspects of Divine Mother in Sri Lalitha Sahasranama Stotra (IcchaShakti, JnanaShakti, KriyaShakti).

Maharshi Bhrigu was one of the Manasputras (born by a wish) of Lord Brahma (It is said that he was born from the heart part). Sage Narada, Vasishtha, Atri, Gautama etc. were others. Bhrigu is considered as one of the Nine Brahmas. He was married to Khyati (the daughter of Daksha), Puloma (daughter of Kardama) and Usana. Two sons, Dhata and Vidhata and a daughter Shri were born to Khyati. Maharshi Bhrigu is also called Prajapati (creator) as he was created by Lord Brahma to help him in the process of creation of the universe. Chyavana was his son from Puloma as we have seen.

Sri Lakshmi, his daughter became the consort of Shri Vishnu. Since She is the daughter of Bhrigu, She is called Bhargavi (Bhargaveem, Bilva Nilayaam, Vararohaam, Yasaswineem, Vasundharaam, Udaaraaangaam, Harineem,. Hemamalineem…goes the Daridrya Mochana Stotram). Similarly Sukracharya, the preceptor of Daityas is another son of Bhrigu born to Usana and hence is known as Kavi, Bhargava etc. We will try to catch up more about these great sages in future.

Maharshi Bhrigu had accomplished many Yagnas and had helped others to accomplish them. With his powers, he fulfilled the wishes of people for begetting sons. During the two months of Shravana and Bhadrapada, he made the chariot of the Sun God as his abode.

Cursing of Vishnu

When the battle ensued between the Devatas and the Daityas, the Devatas led by Indra had the upper hand. Daityas went to their Guru, Sukracharya and sought his help. He left for severe Tapas (penance) to please Lord Siva and get the MritaSanjivini Mantra Siddhi. During his absence, the Daityas sought refuge in Usana, the mother of Sukracharya. She assured them protection and she came out of her cottage and using her powers froze the devatas. Once they became immobile, they became easy targets for the Daityas and were subjected to various tortures by the Daityas. The Devatas prayed to Lord Vishnu to protect them and get them out of the predicament. Vishnu understood that the curse on Devatas could not be annulled unless Usana was killed. But Usana being a lady was not to be killed as per dharma. However, Vishnu realised that unless she tried to harm Him, He could not kill her without violating the dharma. (No first strike principle!). Vishnu disguised Himself as a ferocious beast and tried to scare Uasana. Usana saw through the disguise of Vishnu and said to Him: “Vishnu, I am doing my duty of protecting my children and You are supposed to be impartial and protect dharma. You have now become biased and this Adharma cannot be left unpunished. I am going to curse you. You and Indra will be reduced to ash!” Before these words were spelt out, Vishnu killed Bhrigu’s wife with a sharp arrow and separated her head from the torso. Once Usana was killed, her powers also left and Devatas became free. Sage Bhrigu cursed Vishnu to take birth on earth and go through the cycles of birth and death and thus suffer like us. He brought his wife back to life with his powers. Vishnu accepted the curse of the sage as He accepted the curse of Sage Durvasa. Vishnu stood in an invisible form between the sage and Ambareesha, Vishnu’s staunch devotee and took the curse on Him when the sage was cursing Ambareesha.

Bhrigu tests the Trinity and declares Vishnu as the Best

When a big Yagna was planned and the question of deciding who among the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva should be considered the best and made the Chief of the Yagna, all the sages requested Bhrigu to decide. He agreed and went first to Satya Loka, the abode of Brahma. Brahma was busy with His work of creation and did not receive the sage properly. Bhrigu, who shared the Rajo Guna from His father Brahma, also did not greet Him or pay His respects to Brahmaji. Sage Bhrigu did not hesitate to curse Him! From Satya Loka.

Bhrigu went to Kailas where Siva and Parvati were busy with the cosmic dance. Siva ignored Sage Bhrigu and did not stop His dance. Bhirgu got furious and cursed Siva too. Another version is that Siva wanted to embrace Sage Bhrigu but Sage Bhrigu did not accept because He felt Siva’s conduct was not vedic (Siva is also called Vama Deva) and followed some left hand practices, Vamachara. So, Siva got angry and ran after Sage Bhrigu with His trishul and was about to kill him, but was pacified by Mother Parvathi.

 Bhrigu left Kailas and reached Vaikuntha. Sri Vishnu was relaxing with His consort and Bhrigu got angry and kicked Vishnu on His chest. Now see the Leela of Vishnu. He immediately got up and bowed to the sage and started pressing the feet of the sage Bhrigu. He apologised to the sage for not noticing his arrival and also the feet of the sage would have been hurt by the impact of His chest, which is hard like a diamond and because of the many ornaments. Bhrigu was pleased with the satvik nature of Vishnu and came back to the rishis and proclaimed Vishnu as the best.

Bhrigu Maharshi kicked Vishnu on His chest, He apologised, seated the Maharshi on a throne and pressed the feet and removed an extra eye of the Sage in one of his soles (Sage Bhrigu was rather proud of that eye). Immediately the spiritual eye of Bhrigu opened and he realised his mistake and also praised Vishnu for His satvik qualities and declared to the assembly of the sages that Vishnu is greatest. Lakshmi got very much annoyed and left Vaikuntha saying that Her residence was defiled and She could not stay in that place. She left Vaikuntha and came to earth and stayed at Kolhapur. She felt the pangs of separation and started doing tapas to Siva to regain Vishnu. Vishnu, in the meantime, left Vaikuntha because that place lost all sheen and glory when Lakshmi left. He came down to the earth to Tirupati / Tirumala area. The present temple of Sri Venkateswara (Srinivasa) is because of that. 

Sage Bhrigu helps King Yavanashwa to beget a son

King Yavanashwa did not have children and approached Sage Bhrigu for help. The sage got a Putra Kameshti (an Ishti is a special Yagna and Putra Kameshti means an Ishti performed for begetting sons) performed and gave a vessel containing the holy water to the king and asked him to give it to the queen. In the middle of the night, the king developed a severe thirst and drank the water by mistake (by destiny). When the sage came to know of it, he told the king that the laws of destiny were inviolable and he had to now bear the son himself! (Recently, a man gave birth to a child through the intervention of modern science – may be our ancestors knew the secrets involved!). The king carried the fetus for a hundred years (this indicates the long life span of those times and presumably all biological processes were also slower. Shakuntala carried Bharatha for 3 years). The baby thus born is Mandhata, one of the six Chakravarthies. More about him later…

Sumukha helped by Sage Bhrigu

Sage Bhrigu built his hermitage near the Kailasa Mountain and was living there. He was carrying on his penance there. One day, a man with a tiger face came to see him accompanied by his beautiful wife. Though Sage Bhrigu knew who they were, he asked the man to tell him about himself. The man prostrated himself and said: “Maharshi, I am Sumukha, a Vidyadhara and this is my wife. While returning from heaven, I was transformed like this. Kindly give me a solution to get back my original face.” Sage Bhrigu used His divine insight and said to the Vidyadhara: “Sumukha! You observed Ekadasi fast and next day you had a head bath. You got afflicted with this tigerly face because of that mistake. Now, I will tell you how to rectify your mistake. Go and have a bath in a sacred river in the month of Magh and you will be absolved of your earlier dushkarma. You will get back your original face. Go with my blessings.” Sumukha did as directed by the sage and got back his original handsome face. It is Guru Kripa that we are reading this in the month of Magha only. Sai Ram.

Bhrigu Maharshi saves the life of Jamadagni and Renuka

Once in a battle with Kartaviryarjuna, Jamadagni lost his life. His wife Renuka wanted to accompany Sage Jamadagni on the funeral pyre. Sage Bhrigu stopped her and brought her back to life along with the Sage Jamadagni. Later Jamadagni was killed by the sons of Kartavirya who was killed in a battle by Parasurama, son of Jamadagni. More about that later, when we take up the stories of Jamadagni and BhargavaRama –Parasurama. Vishnu, who was cursed to take births on earth by Sage Bhrigu, chose to incarnate in the lineage of Bhrigu! It shows that what happened was the leela of Vishnu. As directed by his great grandfather, Parasurama prayed to Siva and got by His blessings, Bhargavastra. Sage Bhrigu also revealed all the secrets of the creation of universe etc. to Sage Bharadwaja, who came to him in search of that esoteric knowledge. Sage Bhrigu also authored Bhrigu Sutras, a treatise on astrology. He also authored Bhrigu Nadi, which tells us the future of several people. There are other Nadi Granthas like Agastya Nadi etc. He also became known as a Smritikarta, author of Smriti. However, Manu Smriti became much more popular.

Thus we can see that Sage Bhrigu was a great Jnani, a great tapasvi, a great maharshi, who became a Brahmarshi (a Rishi who became one with the Brahman) by his great penance. He became the originator of a great lineage. 

The Sage's daughter

Once upon a time there lived a sage on the banks of a river. He and his wife did not have any children. One day when the sage was praying in the middle of the river, an eagle happened to pass by and dropped a female mouse in the hands of the sage. The sage found the mouse in his hands on opening his eyes. He took it home to his wife.

On reaching home, he talked to his wife about the mouse and they decided to convert the mouse into a young baby girl. The sage and his wife began to take care of the girl child and brought her up as their daughter. The child grew day by day to a beautiful maiden. At the age of sixteen, the sage decided to find a match for the girl. He and his wife decided that the Sun God would be an ideal match for their girl.

So the sage prayed for the Sun God to appear. The sun god appeared and the sage asked him to marry his daughter. But his daughter said, "Sorry! I cannot marry the sun god because he is very hot and I will be reduced to ashes in his heat and light. The sage was displeased and asked the sun god to suggest a possible groom. The sun god suggested the name of the Lord of the clouds. For, the cloud can easily stop the rays of the sun.

The sage then prayed for the lord of the clouds and once he appeared, he took him to his daughter. The daughter once again decided not to accept him as his groom. She said, "I do not want to marry a person as dark as him. Moreover, I am afraid of the thunder he produces". The sage was dejected once again and asked the lord of clouds for a suitable groom. The lord of clouds suggested, "Why don't you try the lord of wind, for he can easily blow me away".

The sage then prayed for the lord of the wind. On the appearance of the wind-god, he took him to his daughter. His daughter rejected the groom saying that she cannot marry the wind god who is always on the move. Dejected once again the sage asked the wind-god for a suggestion. The wind-god suggested the lord of the mountain which was rock solid and stopped the wind easily. So the sage then went to the mountain lord and requested him to marry his daughter. But the daughter once again rejected the mountain lord saying that he was too cold-hearted for her to marry and requested the sage to find somebody softer but stronger than him. The mountain god then suggested a mouse to him, because the mouse is soft and yet can easily make holes in the mountain.

This time the daughter was happy and agreed to marry the mouse. So the sage said, "Look at what the destiny had to offer you. You started as a mouse, and were destined to marry a mouse in the end. So be it". He then converted her back to a she-mouse and got her married.

Story moral: Destiny cannot be changed.