DIVINEINFORMATION PART 114 387 . SriMadh Bhagavatham.... part 95 Posted by: "DILIP KUMAR RAVINDRAN" [email protected] Date: Thu Apr 28, 20116:21 am ((PDT)) 387 AMBHARISHA To Naabhaga was born Ambharisha, who, though possessed of theentire earth with its seven continents,was aware that such possessions were transitory as in a dream. He attained thatlevel of devotion to the Supreme Lord Vasudeva and His devotees, whereby allthe huge possessions were no more thana clod of earth to him. Ambharisha projected his mind - thought - ever on Krishna'sFeet; his words in recounting the excellences of Krishna; his hands in cleaning His places of worship; his ears in listeningto the sports of Krishna; his eyes to looking at the holy images of Mukunda;his sense of touch to contacting His great devotees; his sense of smell toimbibing the fragrance of Tulasi leaves offered at His lotus feet and his senseof taste in the consumption of His foodofferings. With his feet he ever circumambulated the holy temples of the Lordand with his head he ever bowed to Him. Discerning God everywhere andadhering to the precepts of the learned,Ambharisha was ruling the earth. Ambharisha worshipped the Lord by Aswamedha Yagas in theproximity of Saraswati river. The Supreme Lord Vasudeva bestowed on AmbharishaHis discus, which protected His devotees and frightened their adversaries. Together with his queen, who was alike in devotion andvirtues,Ambharisha observed for a yearthe Dwadasi Vratam. Towards the closeof the vow, they observed fast for threedays in the month of Kartika, bathing in the Yamuna and worshipping God inMadhuvana. Ambharisha offered God and His desireless devotees, worship with sandalpaste, flowers, Arghya and costlyclothes and jewellery. He also sent tothe abodes of holy men sixty crores of cows, young, gentle, yielding abundantmilk, all decorated with costly clothes,golden encasements for the horn and silver shoes for hooves. After the Brahmanas were offered delicious food and withtheir permission, when Ambharisha was about to break his fast, there arrivedthe sage Durvasa, whom Ambharisha appropriately received and invited forfood. The sage agreed and went to the river Yamuna for his bath andoblations. The Dwadasi would last only for Half-a-Muhurtha (24 minutes) within whichAmbharisha had to break his fast. He wasin a predicament andconsulted withthe wise for a course which would both meet his austerity and at the same timenot constitute a sacrilege towards the guest, Durvasa rishi. Ambharisha bemused: The learned say that taking water is considered as taking food as well as nottaking food too! He drank some water and awaited the arrival of the sageDurvasa, whom he received with the utmost devotion. The sage, by his yogic power, gleaned Durvasa'sbreaking his fast. With his bodyquivering with rage and face distorted with the arching of his eye-brows, thesage told the king who was standing in front of him with folded hands, Look at your transgression! You wicked, proudof your wealth, devoid of devotion toMahavishnu, arrogant of your kingship, it is very painful. You invited theguest who besought to your home, for food, and yet, you chose to take foodahead of him. I shall instantly demonstrate to you the evilrepercussion . So saying, Durvasa, whowas burning with anger, pulledout a lock of his matted hair andthrough it created a Kritya - fiend - as fierce as the fire of dissolution. Even as the Bhuta was racing towardsAmbharisha with sword in hand and causing tremors by his footstep, Ambharisharemained quiet. The discus, which was already endowed on Ambharisha by the Lord for his protection, burnt up the Bhuta. Frightened at the failure of his effort and by the discus chasing him,Durvasa began to run in all directionsin vain as the Sudarsana pursued him in all the quarters, sky, heaven, and theocean and everywhere. Durvasa sought refuge with Brahma, who said, How can we protect you, who have offended adevote of the Lord, at whose knitting of eye-brows, the whole universeincluding my realm of Satyaloka passes into dissolution at the end of the yuga. All of us, viz. me, Bhava, Daksha, Bhrigu,the Prajapatis, the Lord of the Bhutas and Devas, implement His commandments. We are helpless before the might of his discus. Sri Rudra, towhom Durvasa went next, said, We are helpless to defy the Supreme Lord's discus. So, you seek shelter at the feet of Sri Hari. Scorched by the flame of SudarsanaChakra, Durvasa rushed to Sri Vaikunta and pleaded, I did wrong to yourdevotee. Deign to order the atonement Ihave to make. Even those consigned to Hell, by uttering your name, getredemption. The Supreme Lord said, I am under the sway of my devotees. I shall not abandon my devotees who aredearer to me than my own soul or even Sri Lakshmi, who ever abides in Me. How will I forsake those who have, afterabandoning their wives, home, son, kith. Pranas, this world and the next, have taken refuge in Me The holy men who have deep-rooted love for Me andrespect my presence in all alike, winme over, just as a faithful wife does her dutiful husband. Having attained tofulfilment through service to Me, my devotees do not aspire even for the four kinds of Mukti,viz. Salokya - attaining to His realm; Samipya - being near to Him Sarupya - having His form; and Sayujiya - being with Him. which are their due by virtue of their service to Me. How little would they then cherish the perishable attainmentsof the world. All they want is My grace and in return I havesworn that I would not abandon them. They have conquered Me by their devotion and I am powerlessagainst their love. Any insult offeredto My bhakta is an insult directed at me. Theonly course to save yourself from the danger from Chakra is for you to seek refuge in Ambharisha.The evil projected against a devoteerebounds on the perpetrator himself. Thefaculty (talent) and wealth could bestowon Brahmin s comfort. The same giftsmight prove contrary in the hands of an immodest person. So Brahmana, good betide you. You resort to the son of Naabhaga and pacify him. And from that course will ensue peace for you. The harassed Dhurvasareturned to Ambharisha and sought his feet. The embarrased and compassionate Ambharishaworshipped Sudarsana Chakra, saying, Thouart Agni, Surya, Moon, Waters, Earth, The skies, Wind and the senses which seekout the objects. Infused by Thyprowess, Agni and others act. O Sudarsana! The thousand-spoked, Beloved of the Lord! All other weapons are futile before yourglory. Salutation to Thee! May Thou be propitious to the sage. I prostrate to you and pray for forgiveness to this Brahmana. Please spare this holy man and thus bringgood fortune to our fold. If I havedone any charityf I have discharged the meritoious duties prescribed in theVeda, if I have done my ordained dutiesproperly, if my family had respected Brahamanas as gods, may this Brahamana be rendered free ofharassment. The worshipful Lord, the repository of all auspiciousattributes, ifpleased with our devotion, may this Brahmana be rescued. This prayer calmed the Sudarsana Chakra and Durvasa was freedfrom the blaze and became free andpeaceful. He blessed and praised Arnbharisha: O King! For the reason that you have returned good for evil, I see the glory ofHis devotees. For those who havecaptivated the Lord by their devotion,there is nothing impossible of attainment or abandonment. What unfulfilled longing can dangle before the devotee of the Lord,whose very name purifies and in whose feet reside the holy waters like Ganga Setting aside my aberration and rescuing mylife, you have favoured me 388 AMBHARISHA 'S PIET Ambharisha had longed for the return of Durvasa and hence wasfasting. He bowed to Durvasaand offered him food. The sage was pleased with the earnestness and dedication of Ambharishaand partook of the delicious feastheartily served and with a glowing mind asked the king to eat. Durvasa said, Adevotee who you are, by your sight, speech, touch and hospitality, in thefervour of divine service, I am highly pleased. With your intellect dwelling on the Atma, you have benefited me,too. The celestialdamsels will ever sing the praise of your pure glory. Mother Earth too is going topraise your sacred glory. Durvasa tookleave of Ambharisha and coursedskyward to regions, which cannot be attained to by Karma. After Durvasa departed, Ambharisha partook of the remnant,rendered all the more holy because Dhurvasa had eaten of it. The harassment tothe sage, its subsequent release, hisown endurance of the occurrence, all these, Ambharisha treated as the glory of theLord. Endowed with several attributeslike this, Ambharisha’s devotion to the Supreme Lord Vasudeva, becameentrenched. Due to such devotion, hedeemed all the other shining realms as unworthy pursuits. Entrusting the kingdom to his sons, totally dedicating the mind to theLord and devoid of attachment, Ambharisha proceeded to the forests. Reposted by R. Gopalakrishnan,78 on 10-10-2021 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1228078755.792416.1633834556797%40mail.yahoo.com.
