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© 2012 - 2024, Swetha Sundaram The articles on this blog are a collection of the author's studies and/or inferences made by the author from such studies. The posts on the vedic civilizations and symbolisms in vedic texts is the result of intense study undertaken by the author and the inferences made by the author from these studies. Please ensure to cite this blog if using material from this blog.

Monday, 1 July 2013

Srimadh Bagawatham - Ajamila Charitram Part1




In the city of Kanya Kumbjam lived a young Brahmin with his parents and wife. He had completed his Vedic training. He led a simple life as per the shastras. One day his father asked him to collect some samhit for a shradham. He went to the forest. On his way back, the sky darkened and it started to rain heavily. He saw a hut nearby and took shelter in the hut. The hut was home to a lady of the evening. Ajamilan was seduced by the lady and even though his mind told him to move away from the woman, he gave into his desires. He soon started to frequent the hut. His parents came to know about this and tried to caution him. Annoyed that they were standing between him and his desires, he asked them to leave his home. Once his parents left, he asked the lady to move in with him. His wife was upset with his behaviour and she tried to reason with him. Blinded by blind passion, he asked his wife to leave him. Thus abandoned by Ajamilan, his wife moved out. Ajamilan committed a grave sin by abandoning his wife. Wife is the friend bestowed upon a man by the Gods. The word “saka” is used to refer to a friend who shares in our happiness as well as sorrow equally. Hence a wife is called as a “saka” as she stays by her husband during good as well as bad times. “Saka” is masculine gender; the feminine gender “saki” is not used to refer to a wife. The word “saka” is used to represent a wife to show that she is equal in everyway to her husband as only equals could be best friends.
By chanting the Vedic wedding manthram during saptha pathi the husband requests his wife to be his best friend.
“saka saptha patha bava
Sakayam saptha patha babuva”
The husband says that by taking the seven steps around the sacred fire they have become friends. He promises never to abandon their friendship and requests his wife to abide by their friendship as well. This is why it is a grave sin to cheat one’s wife or to insult her as the sin obtined by back stabbing one’s friend is unforgivable.
Ajamilan started committing sins because of his association with the woman of bad character. He abandoned his aged parents and his legal wife in order to stay with the other woman.
Soon he had many children with the woman. He was unable to practice the vedas or teach the Vedas as no one would send their sons to him to learn. He was also never requested by anyone to perform Yagams or Shradhams. Thus he stopped receiving dakshina. Slowly he stopped performing the duties assigned to a Brahmin and thus accumulated further sins by abandoning the profession assigned for his varna.
The property he had inherited from his parents started to dwindle. He was worried that the woman would leave him if he did not keep providing more money. Thus he started to chase wealth by gambling. The result of keeing bad company soon taught him other vices like drinking. He found out that gambling does not provide steady income and turned to committing robbery and eventually started killing people for money.
The woman he was with never reproached him or tried to reform him. She was happy as long as he kept providing more money.
He soon grew old and turned 88. He fell sick and was unable to move away from his bed. The woman stopped attending on him and he soon lost her respect. His children too never cared for him for they found him to be a burden. The woman was happy to see that he was on his death bed as they would soon be relived of him. She went to take an inventory of their property and to protect their wealth lest some distant relative should come up with a claim.
He lay all alone on his death bed and it was then did he see the fearsome form of the three men standing around his bed towering over him.

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