Jahnava Nitai Das Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 One of the most endearing figures in the epic Mahabharata is Vidura, the strong but often helpless uncle of the Pandavas who tries to protect them from all the intrigue perpetrated by the evil minded Duryodhana and at the same time striving to serve King Dhrtarastra, the doting and ambitious father of the Duryodhana. Vidura occupies a unique position in Mahabharata, being constantly tossed between his duty as a minister to the king, his loyalty to the throne, his affection for his family and his adherence to religious principles. Vidura is none other than Yamaraja (or Dharmaraja), the demigod responsible for punishing or rewarding people based on their actions. Yamaraja, as the lord of death, is one of the most powerful demigod and as the dispenser of justice one of the wisest. Yamaraja is one of the twelve Mahajans, and has complete understanding of the Vedic scriptures and their conclusions, and is on the level of such exalted personalities as Brahma, Narada, Siva, Kapila, Bhisma, Prahlada, etc. Yamaraja cursed ************** Once there was a great ascetic named Manduka Muni who lived in the forests performing austerities. On a particular day, while the sage was deep in meditation, a band of robbers being pursued by the soldiers, hid their loot in his hut and also tried to hide in there. Eventually the soldiers tracked the thieves and arrested them. Since the loot and the thieves were found in the hut of Manduka Muni, they arrested him also. As was the law at the time, the thieves as well as Manduka Muni were sentenced to die, by being pierced by lances. However just as the sentence was about to be executed, the king heard of this and immediately stopped the execution. Then on behalf of his soldiers, who were ignorant of the position of Manduka Muni, the king humbly apologized and begged for forgiveness. Manduka Muni, enlightened after long austerities, understood that all that is happening to him was a result of his own past karma, and thus readily forgave the king and his subjects. However, curious about what sins he had done for which he was to be punished in this way, Manduka Muni went to the abode of Yamaraja and inquired about this. At this time Yamaraja revealed that when Manduka Muni was a child he had once killed an ant by piercing it with a thorn, thus he was to be punished in this way. However Manduka Muni considered the punishment not commensurate to the activities of an innocent young child. Considering that Yamaraja had acted in a way befitting one who has no knowledge, Manduka Muni cursed him to take birth as a sudra. As per the curse, Yamaraja fell from his position and took birth as Vidura, a sudra. In his absence, Aryama, one of the twelve Adityas (sons of Kasyapa Muni and Aditi) officiated at the post of Yamaraja. One may wonder that how is it possible for Yamaraja, the Lord of justice, a Mahajana, to make such an error of judgment? The acaryas reveal the hidden reason for this pastime. As the Lord of justice, Yamaraja is always busy dealing with the sinners and does not get an opportunity to associate with the Lord and His devotees. However as Vidura, he got the personal association of Krishna and His pure devotees. He also got an opportunity to witness and preach the glories of the Lord and to purify himself. After living his life as Vidura he returned to his planet, Pitraloka and resumed his duties as Yamaraja. Thus the curse by Manduka Muni was really a benediction arranged by the Lord as a special favor to His devotee. Birth of Vidura ************ Emperor Santanu, the king of the Kuru dynasty, was once very much taken by the beauty of Satyavati, the daughter of a chief of fishermen. The ambitious father of Satyavati placed the condition that the son of Satyavati would be future king. Since Santanu had already crowned the eminently qualified Bhisma (born from the union of Santanu with Ganga devi, the presiding deity of the holy river Ganages), as the prince regent, he refused to accept this condition. However, driven by the love for his father, Bhisma voluntarily gave up all claims to the throne and vowed to forever serve the throne. Since one of the requirements of becoming a king is to marry and produce an heir, Bhishma effectively relinquished all claims to the throne by taking the vow of celibacy. From Satyavati, Santanu had two sons, Citrangada and Vicitravirya. Citrangada was killed in a fight by the Gandharva king also bearing the same name. Vicitravirya later married Ambika and Ambalika, the two daughter of King Kasiraja. However he also died in an untimely manner, without producing any heirs. Satyavati requested Bhisma to produce heirs from the womb of Ambika and Ambalika, since at the time the Vedic scriptures permitted a man to produce offsprings from the widow of his brother (this is however forbidden in the present age). However Bhisma declined because of his vows. Satyavati then summoned Vyasa deva, who was also her son, produced by a previous mystical union with Parasara Muni. Vyasa deva, was a perfected, completely self-realized brahman and an empowered incarnation of Lord Krishna. He agreed to his mother's request and approached the wives of his deceased brother. Shocked by the austere appearance of Vyasadeva, Ambika refused to open her eyes during the union and thus Dhrtarastra was born blind. Similarly Ambalika was trembling with fear at the approach of Vyasa deva, and thus her son Pandu was born very pale. When Satyavati requested Ambalika to try again, the terrified queen instead send a maid servant, a sudra woman. Vyasadeva was very respectfully served by this woman. Pleased by her, Vyasa deva gave her the benediction that the very personality of religion would take birth in her womb, and thus from their union was born Vidura. Since at the time, the child took the caste of his mother, Vidura was considered to be a sudra. He was maintained by the royal family and because of his keen intellect he became on of the closest minister of King Dhrtarastra. He later married a woman with a similar lineage. Vidura's role in Mahabharata ************************ Vidura was the personification of religion and treated every one fairly. He always spoke out strongly against his evil minded nephew Duryodhana and he always criticized Dhrtarastra for allowing his attachment for the throne and his son to override his duties as a king and protector. In other words he treated every one equitably. He saw that Pandavas as pious and without a protector, so he sheltered them. In Duryodhana he saw greed and evilness, so with equal compassion, he chastised him. In his brother the king, he saw weakness, so he strongly advised him on what is right and what is not. In all situations, he was calm and detached. At the time Krishna came as a messenger for the Pandavas, requesting some land for them to rule, Duryodhana bluntly refused. Vidura at this time strongly criticized Duryodhana and advised Dhrtarastra to cast away his irreligious son. Stung by this criticism, Duryodhana openly insulted Vidura in the court, calling him an ungrateful sudra. Vidura accepted this insult with his usual equanimity and used it as an opportunity to separate himself from the intrigue. He calmly got up from the court, placing his weapons on the door and walked away. Being a pure devotee of the Lord, Vidura used this opportunity to visit places of pilgrimages and associate with saintly men. In this way he carried on for close to thirty years, traveling widely and taking the association of highly elevated sages and devotees. Purification of Vidura ****************** During his travels, Vidura met and inquired from the great sage Maitreya, who was a close associate of Vyasa Muni, the father of Vidura. The conversation between Vidura and Maitreya forms the foundation of the Srimad Bhagavatam, and spans three cantos of the scripture. Since Maitreya had been previously purified by the association of Uddhava, a pure devotee of the Lord, and by none other that Sri Krishna Himself, he was eminently qualified to answer the intelligent questions of Vidura. In this way, Vidura who was eminently qualified to begin with, became a pure devotee by the association of other pure devotees. In his concluding pastimes, Vidura returned to Hastinapura to visit his elder brother Dhrtarastra once again. Out of compassion for his brother, Vidura instructed him strongly about the matters of life and death, sin and punishment and finally convinced him to leave the comforts of his palace. Deep in the jungle, under the expert guidance of Vidura, Dhrtarastra perfected the astanga yoga and gave up his body in a burst of flames generated by the fire of his yoga. His chaste wife Gandhari entered the fire, meditating on her husband. Vidura, a sadhu exemplified *********************** Vidura exemplifies the qualities and behavior of a sadhu. He was always calm and self controlled, even in the face of adversity and personal insult. He was the well wisher of every one, irrespective of their friendship or animosity towards him and his instructions were for the ultimate material liberation. He was detached from both praise and insult and completely absorbed in increasing his association with the Lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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