Stories From The Bhagawatham - King Ambarisha And Rishi Durvasa

 

(Image credited to the respective owner)

There was a king named Ambarisha who was a just and pious man. He had already attained the ultimate knowledge that everything on earth is fleeting and temporary and one should not lose their purpose or wisdom by hankering after trivial things. Even though he was a king, he was not materialistic or worldly-minded. He focused his devotion on Lord Narayana and lived his life in detachment. Maha Vishnu was immensely pleased with his devotion and gifted him His Sudarshan Chakra as a protective shield.

Once Ambarisha and his wife followed the rituals of Dwadashi Vrat for a whole year and were about to break their fast on a particular Dwadashi when Sage Durvasa visited them. The king and his wife received and worshipped the sage appropriately and invited him to have food at their home. Durvasa was pleased with their humility and said that he would come to their home after taking a bath.

A lot of time passed and still Durvasa Rishi hadn’t come to the king’s home. In the meanwhile, the auspicious time to end the Vrat was nearing. The king was in a dilemma. He couldn’t eat before serving the Rishi but he had to break his fast at the auspicious time. He consulted the wise sages of his kingdom and they all advised him to have some water infused with Tulsi and break his fast. Accordingly the king drank the water.

When Durvasa Rishi returned, he realized that the king had broken his year-long fast without the presence of the Rishi and got enraged.

“Arrogant king! You are drunk with power and do not know how to value your guests! You will be punished for this!” The Rishi said this and pulling out a lock of hair from his head, he created a terrible being called Kritya. This being, with a sword in his hand, rushed towards Ambarisha who stood still and watched it in silence.

Before the Kritya could reach the king, Maha Vishnu’s Sudarshan Chakra arrived there with great speed and destroyed Kritya. It did not stop there. It moved swiftly in the direction of the Rishi who in great fear started running.

The Rishi ran and ran and still could not get rid of the Chakra. Forests, valleys, caves – wherever Durvasa ran, the Chakra followed him. The sage in great desperation ran to Brahma and asked for his help. “Help me! Protect me from this weapon of Narayana!”

“I will not intervene between Lord Narayana’s weapon and yourself. I am helpless.” Brahma replied.

Durvasa then ran to Mahadeva and asked for His help. Mahadeva advised him to seek the shelter of Lord Narayana.

Ultimately Durvasa ran to Vaikuntha, the abode of Maha Vishnu and His consort Maha Lakshmi. “Please protect me from your Chakra.” The sage pleaded to the Lord. “I cannot escape it. Its glow burns me!”

“Why is my Chakra pursuing you like this?” Maha Vishnu asked the sage.

With great humility, Durvasa narrated the events as they had happened. “There is nothing you cannot do. I have insulted your Bhakta and your Chakra wants to punish me for this. I regret my actions. Please help me!”

Maha Vishnu smiled. “Probably you do not know me well. I am bound by my Bhakta’s devotion and do not have a free will where my devotees are concerned. They surrender their lives to me, leaving behind all comforts and desires, and in return, I never abandon them. I belong to my devotees as much as they belong to me. Their grief is my grief. When you insult them, you insult me. I am not even fond of myself or my Maha Lakshmi, as much as I am fond of my Bhaktas. How then can I call back the Chakra guarding one of my beloved devotees!? The only thing you can do is ask for forgiveness from Ambarisha whom you have offended. Only he can call back the Chakra.”

Durvasa Rishi ran back to Ambarisha, the Chakra still in pursuit of him. He fell at the feet of the king who, with great humility, made the sage stand up. Then the king prayed to Sudarshana with folded hands. “You are the Lord’s favorite weapon. All the other weapons are powerless against you. I humbly fall at your feet and ask for forgiveness for Rishi Durvasa. You destroy evil people. Please do not be angry against a helpless Rishi.”

Sudarshana finally cooled down and retreated.

The humbled Rishi said to the king, “You are a noble man, treating me with respect even though I insulted you. I have understood the greatness of the Bhaktas of Narayana. For them, nothing is impossible. You have saved my life inspite of my behavior towards you.”

The king treated the Rishi with due respect. It doesn’t happen always that a learned Rishi is humbled before a king.

The Bhagawatham mentions that it took one year for Durvasa to run across the world to escape from the Chakra and return to the king, who, in the meanwhile, had not eaten a morsel of food. This humbled the Rishi even more. After accepting the king’s hospitality, the Rishi saw to it that the king also ate. He left the kingdom wiser and cooler, with the words, “The world will never forget this incident, King Ambarisha!”

Thus, another devotee of Lord Narayana taught the power of Bhakti to the world through his selflessness and humility!

Om Namo Bhagawathe Vasudevaaya!