The virtue of TRUTH

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The following story is from the epic Mahabharata:

 

After having lost his kingdom in the game of dice (Indian Ludo) with

Duryodhana, Yudhishtra, the eldest among the Pandavas, was living in

the forest along with his four brothers and their wife, Draupadi. The

Pandavas roamed about freely in the forest and thus got acquainted

with many seers (Rishis) who dwelled there.

 

One day while roaming in the forest, Arjuna and Draupadi came across

a tree bearing a very large gooseberry (nellikai). Draupadi had never

seen such a huge gooseberry before. Desirous of tasting the fruit,

she asked Arjuna to pluck the same for her. Arjuna also heeded her

request and plucked the fruit for her.

 

Just then a sage came by and having witnessed the act of Arjuna,

addressed him thus- " Vijaya! You have acted improperly in haste. This

tree yields a single ripe fruit only once a year. Sage Amitra

partakes this fruit alone once a year. You are already undergoing

days of hardship and now you have added to your woes by this act.

Tomorrow is the day sage Amitra usually comes here to partake the

fruit. "

 

On hearing this, Arjuna and Panchali (Draupadi) were remorse-

stricken. They took the fruit to Dharma Putra (Yudhishtra) and

narrated the entire incident. Yudhishtra regretted what had happened,

but was unable to decide on a future course of action. Bheema

suggested, " We will go in search of the sage and handover the fruit

to him. That is the only way to escape his wrath. "

 

But Nakula said, " Misfortune befell us only because we played the

game of dice without getting the consent of Lord Krishna. Later, when

Lord Krishna inquired as to why we refrained from asking him, we were

dumbfounded. Lord Krishna saved us when we surrendered unto him in

order to escape the wrath of sage Durvasa, who was sent by

Duryodhana. Even now, if we pray to Lord Krishna, he will show us the

way out. " Everyone, including Yudhishtra, appreciated Nakula's

suggestion and prayed to Lord Krishna with fervent devotion. Heeding

the prayer of his ardent devotees - the Pandavas, Lord Krishna

appeared before them. After inquiring about their well being, Lord

Krishna asked the Pandavas, the reason for their prayer. The Pandavas

and Draupadi, after prostrating at the Holy feet of Lord Krishna,

explained their dilemma and prayed to relieve them from the crisis.

 

Filled with love for his guileless devotees, Lord Krishna said, " I

will see to it that the wrath of sage Amitra does not befall you. In

order for that to happen, each one of you must speak only the truth. "

Saying thus, he took them to the gooseberry tree. He placed the large

fruit under the tree and said, " Each one of you should now speak

whatever is in your mind without any deceit. The fruit will go and

cling to the tree on its own accord. " Having said this, he invited

Yudhishtra to speak first.

 

Yudhistra said, " Truthfulness, honesty, tolerance and righteousness

should flourish in this world while wickedness, conceit and

dishonesty should banish entirely. This is my wish. I hold Panchali

responsible for the whole event. " At this, surprisingly, the fruit

moved two feet above the ground and remained in the air. Next, Lord

Krishna asked Bheema to speak.

 

Bheema said, " I wish I could kill Duryodhana this very moment - the

meanest of all the petty-minded people, who does not consider teasing

others as a sin, who does not sympathize with others' sufferings, who

is not free from the desire of appropriating others' belongings and

who does not respect another man's wife as his mother. I also feel

that our trials and tribulations have increased because of our

staying in the forest. " The fruit moved two feet further up.

 

Arjuna spoke next. He said, " Prestige and fame mean more to me than

even my life. Unless I kill Karna in the war, the ambition of my life

will not be fulfilled. " The fruit moved up two feet further.

 

Then Nakula said, " Virtues, a noble birth, wealth or beauty do not

give a person what he desires. I believe that a man can attain fame

just by leading a life in this world that is based on his

discrimination alone. " Again, the fruit moved up two feet.

 

Lord Krishna looked at his beloved Sahadeva and Sahadeva said, " Truth

is my mother. Intelligence is my father and good deeds are my

siblings. The love that I shower on others is my friend. My calm mind

is my wife. The attitude of eradicating the thoughts of hatred,

enimity and vendetta is my son. I believe these to be my real

family. " The fruit moved up by two feet again.

 

Lord Krishna looked at the grief stricken Panchali with benevolence

and she said, " I have five husbands like the five senses, namely,

eyes, ears, nose, mouth and body. Though I have five husbands, I am

being the cause of agony for all. I feel penitent for having acted

thoughtlessly inspite of being well educated. " Just as she completed

her statement, the gooseberry moved up and stuck to the tree.

 

Lord Krishna bid farewell to the Pandavas happily.

 

So children, we must always be truthful in our lives. We saw that God

loves only those who are truthful. We also see from this episode that

if we surrender unto God when faced with trials and tribulations in

our lives, he will free us from all sorrows.