The Two Snakes
Not only was Sri Ananthazhwan a faithful disciple but, he
was also a great vedantin. One morning, Sri Ananthazhwan was gathering flowers
from the garden. He was followed by his disciples who also helped him. Sri
Ananthazhwan lectured them on the commentaries of the 4000 Divya Prabandham and
on the divine qualities of the Lord. Sri Ananthazhwan would pluck the flowers
while the disciples carried them in bamboo baskets. As Ananthazhwan reached out to
pluck a cluster of ylang-ylang, he was bitten by a black cobra. His disciples
were terrified when they found out that their acharyan had been bitten by a
deadly snake. They started to panic.
‘You are the only one who can run very fast. Hurry! See if
you can find a doctor. If you are near the temple, make inquiries to see if
anyone knows of someone who belongs to the tribes who live in the forest as,
they know some herbs which can break the venom,' instructed a disciple to his
colleague.
'What is the reason for the panic?' asked Sri Ananthazhwan.
The disciples were astonished by Sri Ananthazhwan’s calm
demeanor.
'You have been bitten by the deadliest snake. Isn't this
enough to cause panic even in the three worlds?'
'Did you forget so soon everything I just taught you? Didn't
I just teach everyone that, the most deadly snake is our body? So what if my
body has been bitten by a snake? Can the venom harm me, the atma which cannot
be destroyed?'
The disciples gathered around Sri Ananthazhwan with tears in
their eyes.
'We agree with the philosophy but,...'
‘There is no room for but, what you see here is a struggle
taking place between two snakes. If the cobra wins, I will take a dip in the
Viraja and serve Paramapada Nathan. If my body wins, I will continue to serve
Lord Srinivasa here at Tirumala. It doesn't matter to me which snake wins as the result is the
same. Come on, help me gather flowers.'
The disciples watched Sri Ananthazhwan with apprehension,
but, to their relief, he continued to serve Lord Srinivasa. Perumal was
overjoyed with Sri Ananthazhwan. He found in Sri Ananthazhwan, one who lived per
the instructions provided in the Bagawad Gita. 'How I wish that, I could call
Sri Ananthazhwan as my acharyan!’ sighed Perumal.
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