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Sree Guru Charitra
Index
Chapter 11
Namadharaka was eager to know the details of the miracle. So,
Siddha resumed his account:
“Oh Namadharaka, in a town called Karvir, there lived a Brahmin
couple. They had a son who was illiterate. People heckled saying,
‘You are indeed an animal without a tail and horns but endowed
with only two legs. It is the good fortune of cattle that you do
not feed on grass. Education is a treasure of which no one can be
robbed. It grows by being given away to one’s disciples. It can
make even the lowest of the lowly, a great man. Even a poor man
can gain wealth through the power of education. Like a chaste
wife, education affords pleasure and it protects us like a mother.
It comes to one’s rescue in a crisis, like a friend. In doing
good, it is like the father. It’s like the guru in enlightening
us. You who are devoid of such precious education are indeed a
beast’. The boy felt humiliated. He at once retired to the forest,
forswore food and sleep and meditated on the Divine Mother. As she
did not grant him her vision, he cut off her his head the next
day. That night, the Divine Mother appeared in his dream and said,
‘There is a sannyasi on the other bank of the river Krishna. Seek
refuge in him. It will do you good.’
Accordingly, the young man visited Sree Guru the next day and
bowed to him in reverence. Sree Guru placed his hand on the young
man’s head in blessing. At once the young man regained his tongue,
and also attained mastery over all branches of learning in a
trice. There is nothing strange in this. Such defects as
dull-wittedness are destroyed in those who ever meditate on the
sacred feet of Sree Guru, which have in them such mystic signs as
Vajra. What to say then, when the Lord Himself personally
blessed a man? The Brahmin youth returned to his native place,
Mahurapura, and by leading a life of spiritual discipline,
attained perfection.
Later, Sree Guru set out in the southern direction. After visiting
the holy place of the eight sacred rivers (ashtateertha),
he proceeded to the place of confluence of rivers Krishna with
five other sacred rivers. Then he reached western shore and stayed
there for some time. In this place, rivers Saraswathi, Siva,
Badra, Surabhi and Bhogavathi join the two rivers Krishna and
Veni. Thus, it came to be known as the confluence of seven rivers.
It is the most sacred of all places of confluence of rivers. This
place has the township of Kurupura which is as holy as
Kurukshethra, a confluence of rivers as holy as Prayag and a
Yugaalaya (shrine of the Yuga) like Kasi. The fig tree (Udumbara)
in this place is as great as Lord Vishwanadha of Kasi. Here abide
the sixty four yoginis. By worshipping them, man can attain
godhood. He who battles at this confluence of the rivers in the
lunar month of Maagha is sure to attain heaven. Here are a
crore holy spots. The place can bestow liberation on those who
aspire for it, worldly comforts on others and is pleasing to the
pious. The Lord made his abode under a fig tree.
In this village of Amarapura lived many learned Brahmins. One day,
Sree Guru went to the house of a Brahmin and called out for alms.
As there was no rice in the house, the housewife offered him a
vegetable. The Lord was satisfied with this. But while leaving the
house, he uprooted the creeper that afforded vegetable to that
family and walked away to his hermitage. The housewife saw that
and said to herself, ‘Alas, why did he uproot this plant? I hope I
have not committed any folly to incur his displeasure’. Her
husband consoled her saying, ‘Oh pious one, do not weep. Joy or
sorrow is the result of one’s own previous actions and are never
caused by others. The whole creation is subservient to the Lord.
One has got to experience pain or pleasure at the allotted time.
No one can alter it. He, who gives us life, sustains us. The Lord
who is the creator, preserver and destroyer of this universe looks
equally on a beggar or a king, the intelligent and the
unintelligent. Do not be sorry for the destruction of the plant.
This act shall prove for our own good’. So saying, he tried to
replant it and in the process, discovered a treasure pot
underneath! At once he went along with his wife to Sree Guru and
reported the matter. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Oh blessed
couple, this is a profound secret. If you proclaim it, the
treasure will vanish. Enjoy this wealth and pleasure along with
your children. Later you shall attain liberation. Go home for the
present!’ Returning home, the couple devoted all their time to
meditation on the Lord.”
Namadharaka asked, “Oh! Holy one, why did the Lord live by alms?
Besides, when the peepul tree is so sacred, why did he take
shelter under a fig tree?”
Siddha replied, “Son, living by alms is the way of Lord Shiva.
That is why Lord Datta manifested himself as a mendicant and
accepted cooked food as alms in accordance with the scriptural
injunctions. Now for your second question: Lord Vishnu, in his
manifestation as Man-lion (Narasimhaavataara), tore the demon king
Hiranyakasipu’s body to pieces and destroyed him. Afterwards,
owing to the poisonous action of the demon-king’s blood the Lord’s
claws pained very much. He was relieved of the pain only through
the efficacy of the leaves of the fig tree. Henceforth, this tree
has acquired the power to destroy the sins, agony and misery of
the Lord’s devotees. Lord Vishnu proclaimed that he, along with
his consort, goddess Lakshmi, would abide in the fig tree.
Wherever the Lord who is the Self of the whole Universe is, there
abide the Vedas, all the holy places of pilgrimage, holy
rivers and gods. Therefore, the fig tree has come to be a
veritable Kalpavriksha on earth. Hence, in this place, the
Lord, then manifest as Sree Guru, was being worshipped by the
yoginis and fed by them everyday. Not knowing this, certain
Brahmins of this place wished to observe how Sree Nrisimha
Saraswathi lived without seeking alms from the village of
Amarapura and hid themselves nearby. One day at noon, seeing the
manifestations of the yogic power of Sree Guru, they were scared
and ran away in dismay. Then they employed one Ganganuja to keep
watch over the Guru’s movements and ways. After witnessing several
spontaneous manifestations of the master’s divine power, he was
converted and became a staunch devotee. He used to visit the
Master everyday and render homage to him.
One day, Ganganuja came for the darshan of the Lord and
witnessed a miracle. As the water in the river Krishna gave way,
Sree Guru walked into it! The devotee also followed him in
amazement and saw him enter a heavenly city on an island. Then
Sree Guru sat on a high throne and was accepting the worship
offered to him by the Yoginis. The Lord noticed Ganganuja and
said, ‘Who are you? Why have you come here?’ The devotee replied,
‘Lord! My name is Ganganuja and I belong to this region. I came
for your darshan. How deluded are mortals that take you for
a man!’
The Lord blessed him and said, ‘My son, as long as I stay in this
part of the country, do not divulge what you have seen to anyone’.
The man agreed. Henceforth, he used to visit Sree Guru every day
and pay his respects with greater faith. One day he asked the
Lord, ‘Holy one, they say that a pilgrimage to Tristhali is
very meritorious. Please enlighten me about it’. The Lord was
pleased with his question and said:
The three holy places, Prayag, Varanasi (Kasi) and Gaya are
collectively called Tristhali (the trio of holy places). So
too, in this place, the confluence of the rivers, the Yugaalaya
and Karvir together constitute the Tristhali. Then the Lord
made the man wear his own wooden sandals and mysteriously
transported him to both the Tristhalis, i.e., to the six
holy places in all, which are hundreds of miles apart. When they
were back again, as mysteriously, the Lord said, ‘I have shown you
both of them; you recognize the similarity between them, follow
the path of righteousness that befits you and attain liberation’.
Accordingly, Ganganuja broke the shackles of ignorance through
meditation on the guru and attained liberation in course of time.
Later, once the Lord reflected: ‘The glory of this place is
spreading fast. Hence, many unrepentant sinners will flock to this
place, along with the righteous. So, I will have to change my
abode’. The Yoginis of the place knew of this and one day, they
entreated him saying, ‘Lord, leaving us all, where do you intend
to go?’ and they wept. He consoled them and said, ‘Oh Yoginis!
Indeed, I shall ever abide here, but to the eyes of the ignorant,
I shall seem to have left this place. Lord Amareshwara, Goddess
Annapurna, Lord Vighneswara and I shall ever be here, fulfilling
the wishes of the devout. Henceforth, this holy place shall grow
famous and become a populous town with many comforts. Such
obstinate forms of illness as typhoid, diseases of the eye,
leprosy, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, paralysis and chronic
diseases of the digestive system shall be miraculously cured in
this place. Barren women will be blessed with children. The poor
shall be blessed with wealth and the devout shall be liberated. In
short, every one shall be provided with the object of his desire.
A sacred bath, taken at the confluence of the rivers on the days
of sacred festivals, will bestow on devotees the merit of having
given away a thousand cows as a gift. Even a little japa,
homa (fire-oblation) and bestowing gifts on pious Brahmins
will secure infinite religious merit to the performer. Every step
which a devotee takes in circumambulating any holy object in this
place will confer on him the merit of having performed the
religious sacrifice called Aswamedha (the horse-sacrifice).
Any ritual offering made shall elevate one’s ancestors to the
divine realms’. Having thus comforted the Yoginis, Sree Guru left
his wooden sandals under the holy fig tree and blessed them
saying, ‘Whoever takes a bath in the Ashtateertha and
worships my padukas along with the Yoginis shall secure the
fulfillment of their wishes’ and he left the place for the banks
of the river Bheema”.
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