Lord
Krishna was invited by the King of Mithila called as Bahulāśva. The King was a great
devotee of Lord Krishna. Despite being a monarch the king was humble and
treated everyone equally as he saw the Lord residing in the hearts of all.
At Mithila there also lived a Brahmin who was learned. He lived
by seeking alms. He never accumulated any wealth and followed all the Vedic
procedures properly. He was also a great devotee of the Lord. One day the
Brahman heard announcements about the Lord’s visit to Mithila. He wished to
invite the Lord to his Yagna Sala.
The Lord left Dwaraka on His chariot driven by
Daruka. He was accompanied by the following sages. Nārada, Vāmadeva, Atri, Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, Paraśurāma, Asita, Aruṇi, Sukar, Bṛhaspati, Kaṇva, Maitreya and Cyavana.
The streets of
Mithila thronged with crowd. The streets were washed and women drew beautiful
rangoli on the streets. On either side many banana trees were tied as a symbol
of auspiciousness. People gathered on either side of the streets waiting eagerly
for the Lord. Soldiers tried to maintain peace and quiet by patrolling the
streets. Many merchants made use of the opportunity and set up stalls to sell
their goods. For even during the time of Krishna avataram there were many
people who concentrated not on the Lord but, on accumulating material wealth.
The Brahmin Śrutadeva managed to edge
closer to the front line along the street. He waited anxiously for the Lord.
‘Would I get a chance to speak with the Lord? What would He say? Will He
accept my invitation?’ He thought as he eagerly waited for the Lord's arrival.
The King was also
ready with offerings of argya for the Lord. The sun had just set and in the
evening twilight hour the men and women waited straining their necks to see if
the Lord had arrived.
To the joy of
everyone they heard the drum beat announcing the Lord’s arrival and yonder they
saw men on horses with torches lighting the way. Behind them on the beautiful
golden chariot driven by Daruka the Lord was seated. In that hour of the day, He
looked so radiant that the people thought that the Sun had risen again! Behind
the chariot walked the company of sages chanting verses from the Vedas.
The king walked
forward with joy to receive the Lord. The king stopped near the place where Śrutadeva was waiting.
They both thought that the Lord had come to bless them out of compassion.
As the Lord stepped
down from the chariot to accept the king’s reception, grabbing hold of the opportunity, Śrutadeva
said in a very feeble and trembling voice, ‘My Lord, would you bless me by
visiting my Yagna Sala?’
Śrutadeva hoped that the
Lord would ask him to make an appointment with the Lord’s assistant for the visit.
The Lord heard the
invitation of both the king and the poor Brahmin. Both were His dear devotees.
If He accepted only the king’s invitation the Brahmin would think that the Lord
would only bless the wealthy. If He accepted the Brahmin’s invitation the king
would feel that the Lord only favours Brahmins.
The sages following
the Lord heard both the invitations. To
their wonder, He accepted both invitations and taking up two forms went
with both the king and the Brahmin. The Brahmin did not see the Lord leave with
the king and the king did not see Him leave with the Brahmin!
Turning towards the
Brahmin the Lord said, ‘come, take me to your Yagna Sala now.’
Overcome by joy,
Srutadeva rushed ahead to make arrangements for the Lord’s visit. He never
expected the Lord to visit him on that very day. He ran to his home to ask his
wife to wash the floors, draw rangoli, make arrangements to offer fruits
and flower to the Lord. The Lord
followed Śrutadeva
with the other sages.
In the meantime,
the Lord reached the palace of Bahulāśva. The king welcomed the Lord and
offered the best of everything to the Lord. The king personally washed the
Lord’s feet and sprinkled the water from the Lord’s feet on his head with
devotion.
The king offered
excellent sandal wood paste, water steeped with fragrant herbs, tulasi leaves
and saffron. He offered a garland made of the most exotic flowers and a meal
cooked with love and devotion especially for the Lord. Every single arrangement
had been personally made by the king paying attention to detail with love and at most care. After dinner, the king placed the Lord’s feet on his lap and
massaged the Lord’s feet.
The king asked Lord
Krishna to instruct him on karma Yoga and the proper way by which to govern his
kingdom.
The Lord arrived at
Śrutadeva’s home. Śrutadeva danced in joy
not knowing what to do next. He ran inside to call his wife and then ran back
outside to welcome the Lord. As the Lord stood inside his humble abode which
lacked furniture, the Brahmin ran here and there looking for some kind of seat
to offer to his guests. Not finding anything, he brought forth the kusa grass
and scattered it on the floor. He then washed the Lord’s feet along with his
wife and sprinkled the water from the Lord’s feet on his head.
‘This is a rare
treat! We are overjoyed to receive you here,’ said the Brahmin with tears in
his eyes.
‘It is very easy to
have me visit your home but you are truly blessed today because all these sages
have also come to your home. A person can even see me but, it is very difficult
to have darshan of these sages and that too together at one place. Hence,
worship all the sages with the same devotion you have shown me and seek their
blessing,’ instructed Lord Krishna.
Śrutadeva worshiped the
sages with love and devotion. After attending to everyone, he requested the
Lord to instruct him on the way to attain Mukthi. Thus, Lord Krishna taught Śrutadeva one of the Brahma
Vidhya required to reach the Lord.
To Be Continued
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