The uniqueness of the Srimad Bhagavatam is that it is Bhagavan Himself. That is why we say, “Jai bolo Bhagavata Bhagavan ki jay!” We hail Srimad Bhagavatam, as the Lord Himself. Srimad Bhagavatam is like another incarnation of Vishnu, like the Dashavatar. Srimad Bhagavatam says that the ten avatars of Vishnu are not the only avatars of Vishnu. There are countless avatars of Vishnu. One of the unique avatars is Srimad Bhagavatam. It is the Lord’s incarnation as Sound. Simply worshiping Srimad Bhagavatam can benefit us so much! All we have to do is have a text of Srimad Bhagavatam in our pooja room. In our culture, we feel the divinity in everything, living or nonliving. We are taught to respect every single thing. Before we get down from bed, we thank Mother Earth for letting us walk on her or jump on her, and we apologize. We wake up with that consciousness, that everything has divinity. It comes back to how the book of Srimad Bhagavatam, is Bhagavan himself. Srimad Bhagavatam is something that everyone can read. It is even for the worst of the worst, the best of the best, and for everyone in between. It can emancipate even a common man.
There is a beautiful story that has the same lesson, and something we can learn from. On the banks of the Tungabhadra river, there lived a man named Atmadeva. He was a righteous man, who followed the path of dharma. He was married to a woman called Dhunduli. They were very rich. She was from a very nice family, but she also had her own quirks and tricks. She was a very angry person, and she would pick fights over the smallest things, and she loved gossiping. Atmadeva on the other hand, was very pious, and when he walked on the streets, people would say that it looked like the Sun himself was walking on the streets. He shone like the sun, because of the tapas he had and the dharma he followed. They had a lot of riches, and a lot of money, but Atmadeva was very sad. He did not have a child. So every day, Atmadeva sat brooding and weeping and crying. He was too overwhelmed, so he started giving gifts, or dhaanam. He thought by doing this dharma, he’ll be blessed with a child. All that happened was that he lost half his wealth, and did not get a child. He was very sad.
One day, unable to bear the sorrow, he decided to just leave the house. He kept walking and walking, until he stopped because of thirst and tiredness, and found himself in the middle of the forest. There was a small stream nearby, so he went there, took a drink of water, sat down and started weeping again. A sadhu came to the same place looking for water, and saw Atmadeva crying. He asked Atmadeva what was wrong. When the sadhu showed him sympathy, Atmadeva started crying loudly. He told the sadhu the situation, while the sadhu listened patiently. The sadhu closed his eyes, and after a while told Atmadeva that not only will he not have a child in this birth but he won’t have a child in his next seven births. He also said that Atmadeva should give up his wealth and pleasures, and take up sanyasa. Atmadeva was aghast! He said that he would not take up sanyasa, and he started pleading with the sadhu to change his fate and bless him with a child. After immense persuasion by Atmadeva, the compassionate sadhu gave Atmadeva a fruit, and said that if his wife ate the fruit and led a dharmic life, she will bear a child. Atmadeva was overjoyed. He took the fruit, and ran back to his home to present the fruit to his wife. He showed the fruit to his wife, and explained everything.
However, Dhunduli had a different view of things. She did not want to bear a child, because it would be too much pain and it could disfigure her. She would have been fine with adopting a child, but she did not want to bear a child. She told her husband that she will eat it later. Immediately, she went to her sister’s house, and told her of the situation. The sister said, “I’ll tell you what. I am pregnant with a baby, which will come out in a few months. Tell your husband to go on a pilgrimage for one year. In the meantime, the baby will be born, and I will give it to you. You tell your husband that it is the child you bore. Throw your fruit into the cow shed.” They both laughed about the marvelous plan they had made. As Dhunduli’s sister said, Dhunduli told her husband to go on a pilgrimage for one year, and within one year, the baby would be born. Atmadeva, being very gullible, agreed, and set off on the pilgrimage. Just like they planned, a son was born to Dhunduli’s sister, and she gave it to Dhunduli. When Atmadeva came back, he saw him, and called him Dhundukari. Meanwhile, a cow ate the fruit, and did not give birth to a calf, but gave birth to a boy with cow ears. Seeing this, Atmadeva named him Gokarna, meaning one with the ears of a cow. To Atmadeva’s surprise, Dhundukari was a very vile person who robbed and harassed people even at a very young age. Gokarna, on the other hand, was a very pious and righteous child. Atmadeva was very griefstricken with Dhundhukari’s attitude and persecution. Dhundukari was killing children, robbing, and he started taking money from his father. When all the money was spent, Dhundukari started beating his father and his mother!
Atmadeva could not stand it and fell at Gokarna’s feet. Gokarna asked what was wrong. Atmadeva said, “My son is beating me up and is bent upon killing me.” Gokarna smiled and said, “He is beating you and you are still calling him your son. I will tell you what, give up everything. Take this as a lesson. Go to the forest and read the dashama skanda from Srimad Bhagavatam and you will be saved”. Atmadeva did what he told, and he attained the feet of Lord Krishna.
Atmadeva, represented as a common man, attained the feet of Lord Krishna. Gokarna, who was a mahatma, represents the best of the best, and Dhunduli was represented as the worst of the sinners. What happened to them? This story is not done yet. You will see what will happen to this family in part two…
Listen to the original video by Sri Poornimaji here: <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6vpoRUySN0&list=PLf2GTja1Pr3M1OyValRiybM9Yu3E_bgJT&index=9&t=1106s
By Charu Srivatsan, 11 years, Minnesota, MN
Based on Sri Poornimaji’s Kishora Bhagavatam sessions.
