22. A Test from Gods
Advertisements
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A-
15px
A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.
“I am thirsty and hungry can you please”
The ministers were stunned to see King Shantanu hand over his water to the man. The Chandala however hesitated,
“Mahajan! I am not sure whether I can take your water...I am a Chandala Mahajan...I am an …”
The king shook his head and handed over the water to him,
“You are also part of my subjects I cannot say that you are any different from my people....”
The Chandala took the water from the king and happily drank it. King Shantanu watched the man happily drink the water and had a smile on his face. His minsters were looking unhappily at the king. The dogs of the Chandala began to bark pitifully as they stared at the oblation in the King’s hand and drooled.
The Chandala tried to calm down his dogs, he had a bitter expression on his face. These dogs had stayed for too long with him as he raised them from their birth. He had starved for far too many days and was unable to feed his dogs. He treated these dogs as his children and his heart pained to see them starving. He looked at King Shantanu and helplessly shook his head.
‘The King had already quenched his thirst with water and was unable to provide him any more food. He knew the significance of the oblation in King’s hand and thus turned around to leave.
King Shantanu felt regret in his heart for unable to help his subjects. A sudden idea interrupted his thoughts as he called,
“Halt Chandala! You have arrived at my doorsteps how could I return you and your family with an empty stomach.”
Chandala was stunned and he gratefully bowed and replied,
“In this drought, you quenched my thirst with water which was meant for yourself and thus saved my life. How can I overly impose on you? There is no need for you, God has given us this life; he will surely take care of us.”
King Shantanu hurriedly grabbed hold of Chandala’s hand, breaking the taboo of untouchable. King Shantanu took out a dagger from a belt tied on his waist. He plunged the dagger in his thighs as he scooped out the flesh from his thighs and offered it to one of the dogs.
His ministers had a horrified expression on their faces as they tried to convince their king. One of the ministers spoke,
“Your Majesty! It is not wise to offer your life for dogs of a Chandala.”
“Yes, your Majesty! Your life is far more important than some dogs. Your people need you to look after them and the Yaga is about to finish successfully. We can’t compromise with your life.”
All of the ministers spoke in unison as they persuaded their king to stop this reckless action. But the king shook his head in disagreement as he spoke,
“It is Dharma that teaches us to treat every lifeform kindly. The worth of a king and a beggar is the same in the eyes of death. Both of them would die one day. We were born empty-handed and we would die empty-handed. What is there to brood about on this matter?”
King Shantanu slit another of his thigh as he fed the second dog. The last dog pitifully looked at King Shantanu as its stomach growled.
With no more flesh left on his thighs, King Shantanu prepared to plunge the dagger in his chest. His action was stopped by Chandala as he grabbed his hand.
There was a flash of light as divine light shone on King Shantanu’s body. His wounds began to heal rapidly. His weak and shriveled body began to recover back to its previous majestic appearance. He was blinded by this flash of light as he closed his eyes.
After a while, the flash of light faded as King Shantanu slowly opened his eyes. The sight in front of him stunned him for a while as he gawked at it.
Rows and rows of Devatas were lined up in front of him as they had praise and respect in their eyes. All of them were charmed by the virtues of King Shantanu as they praised him. King Shantanu kneeled before the Devatas as he paid them respect.
God-King Indra stepped forward as he took hold of King Shantanu and lifted him. God-King was deeply impressed and pleased by King Shantanu’s benevolence. He earnestly praised King Shantanu as he said,
“King Shantanu we heard rumors about your virtuousness in heavens. It piqued our curiosity as we considered the rumors were exaggerated. So, we decided to test you, King Shantanu.”
“Your virtues turned out to be even beyond our expectations. You were ready to sacrifice your life selflessly for the sake of your subjects. Such devotion and dedication will surely be rewarded.”
King Shantanu had a relieved expression on his face as he heard those words.
‘He didn’t care for the rewards from the Devatas. What mattered the most to him was the well-being of his subjects.’
God-King Indra seemingly understood the intention of King Shantanu as he calmed him down and said,
“Don't worry about your people. All the famine was a part of the ploy of the Devas. Everything will be back to normal and your people would always be happy and prosperous.”
Yama, the God of death spoke,
“All the Devas had come disguised as the first three-man and the cow. I still did not believe them. I came as the Chandala, and I must say that you stumped me. I believe that you are one of the most virtuous King ever.”
He nodded his head at King Shantanu and continued,
“Today, I God of Death Yama shall grant you a boon. You would be able to bless any being to have control over their death- ‘the boon of Ichha Mrityu’.”
God-King summoned a scimitar in the shape of a lightning bolt and gave it to King Shantanu. He addressed the details of the weapon
“This is divine sword Indrahasa blessed with my divinity crafted by ‘God Vishwakarman’ – the divine engineer and architect of heavens.”
As King Shantanu brandished the scimitar a flash of light accompanied by a bolt of lightning was discharged in the air. Clouds began to gather as a thunderstorm gathered.
God-king Indra suppressed the clouds and thunderstorm as he continued,
“This scimitar has the power of thunder and lightning. When brandished it will release a bolt of lightning and will summon thunderstorms.”
King Shantanu thanked God-King Indra and tied the Scimitar to his belt.
Varuna, the God of Rain, and Oceans came forward. He presented a Ring with a deep blue gem adjourned on its top to the King Shantanu. King Shantanu gratefully accepted it and wore it on his finger as Varuna Deva explained,
“This is no ordinary ring, the deep blue gem on top of it is the Origin Water. One of the original drop of water at its creation, the source of all rivers, seas, and oceans. This ring has a soothing effect on the nerves of the wearer as it calms their mind like the seas and makes their thinking vast like the ocean. This ring also grants immunity to any kind of calamity born from the water like flood and heavy downpour or drought. Rubbing once on the gem will lead to rain and rubbing it twice would stop the rain.”
This was a very useful divine item as his kingdom will never have to worry about excessive or shortage of rainfall. His kingdom will prosper even more as lush greenery will cover the fields.
Now it was Vayu Devas' turn. Vayu Deva summoned a divine chariot pulled by five white divine horses. He began to explain about the Chariot,
“This is ‘VayuRatha’, a divine chariot personally crafted by Divine engineer Vishwakarman. These divine horses were reared in the stables of heavens as they fed upon the grass grown in the divine garden of heaven. This chariot has my flag decorated on top of it which signifies my blessing. This chariot is fast like wind capable of traveling almost instantaneously anywhere in this lok. It will move unhindered and is the fastest chariot after Pushpaka Vimana of Kuber Deva.”
After this, all of the Devas gave their respective blessings to King Shantanu and retreated to heaven.
--------------------------
Pitamah Bhishma narrated this story to Rudra. Rudra had shiny eyes as he was mesmerized by this story but he still doubtfully asked,
“Is this Chariot the divine Chariot ‘VayuRatha’.”
Pitamah Bhishma nodded and replied,
“King Shantanu was my father. Pleased with my bravery and courage in a fight against Rakshasa, he gifted this Divine Chariot to me.”
Rudra was excited as he exclaimed,
“King Shantanu was a very powerful and benevolent man. Pitamah could you please tell me more stories about him.”
“Haha!… of course, he was very powerful. He was my father after all. I received my courage and bravery from his blood as it flows through my veins. I will surely tell you more stories in the future, but now it is time to go to the palace and arrange a place to sleep for you. After all, we will start your primary education from tomorrow.”
The Chariot entered the Capital as it marched towards the Royal Palace.
0
Support The Legend of Rudra
Patreon
