‘GEMS FROM MAHABHARATA Dharmaraja had made it a routine to visit Bheeshma who was lying on a bed of arrows, waiting for the arrival of Urtarayana to leave his physi- cal body. Everyday, he would discuss matters of spiritual importance, among other things One day, the discussion took a turn towards the great- ness of the Vedas. “Grandfather! The Brah- mins are ever engaged in the study of the Ve really think that there is power in the Veda mantras? If yes, Do you can we benefit from the power of the Veda mantras? We that the erudite Vedic Brah- ee mins are revered even by kkings. It is said that even the gods bow their heads before such Brahmins indrO AGA pamOngi A dharnO A tathaiva cha “We begin important tasks by first performing an appro- priate worship by chanting ‘Veda mantras, Sometimes the tasks are completed success fully; sometimes they are not, ‘When thereis success, people say that it was beeause of the ‘Veda mantras If the endeav- our does not yield the ex- pected result, people blame it oon the past karma of the per- son concerned, When we see all this, a question arises in our mind quite naturally —‘do the Veda mantras really possess power as we believe?” “— said Dhatmaraja Bhceshma remaining silent for a moment, said — “Dharmarjal The Vedas are the repositories of all Dharmas. Therefore we must respect Vedic scholars. Your question reminds me of the episode of Kubera and Muchukunda, 1 will natrate it fo you. IT hope it will dispel your doubt”. So saying, Bheeshma narrated the story. Long ago, there lived a king by the name Muchukunda, He had defeated each and every king on earth and had made them his feadatory kings. He looked after every citizen of his extended empire very well and thereby had earned a lot of merit (punya). Once, a thought crossed his mind. ‘How about enhancing my merit even more by indulging in even more charitable activi- tics?” With this, he decided to wage a war against Kubera, the lord of wealth, so that he could amass the necessary riches to undertake large scale charitable activities. Muchukunda was very confi- dent about the capabilities of Tis armed forces. One Fine day, he declared war on Kubera, the lord of wealth, However, Kubera had an in- Kling of Muchukunda’s plan and thus, he preempted his efforts by blocking the king's army with his army compris- ing of demons 4at0 waishravaNo rAVA rARShasAn asrijat tad A JE. bab Arpanicerichanta muchakamdaga nerratA Muchukunda’s army was ‘no match to Kubera’s With this defeat, Muchukunda felt immensely insulted. Sensing Muchukunda’s present vulner- able state, some of his rival kings used the situation rega their lost kingdom fallen, he concluded that it was of the lack of divine power on his side that he had lost the battle He also thought that the chief priest in his coutthad failed to fix the tight ‘moment to launch the attack. He summoned the priest and Crest- be chided him for his incompe-Vasishtha, the chief priest felt extremely hurt. Immedi- ately he took to intense Tapas, He undertook uninterrupted chanting of the Veda mantras and performed several tough Poojas and vows. He con- ducted different kinds of fire sacrifices and appeased the gods by making suitable offer- ings. By the power of his Vedic chants, Vasishtha brought about great commit- ‘ment and bubbling energy amongst the soldiers fata vgrum tpastap A sasiShthO dharma vttamah rabShaangpaavadheettasya prasth Anam chApyavindata Muchukunda’s armed forces, now enenpized by the power of Vasisheha’s Veda mantras, attacked Kuber army. This time, Kubera’s army was no match to Muchukunda’s army which had been energized. The sol- diets of Kubera started fh ing the battle field. No amount of encouragement and even threatening by Kubera helped. Kubera took stock of the mental status of his soldiers, He also realized thatitwasbe- cause of the power of the Veda mantras. that Muchukunda was able to sub- due his army comprising of mighty Rakshasas. He knew that it was futile to stand against the power of the Vedas. Immediately, be called for ceasefire and tried to on- cet into a teeaty with Muchukunda. ‘I will give my kingdom in charity to you, Please accept’ — he proposed to Muchukunda, Kubera’s proposal could notappease Muchukunda, He said that he was not interested in something that was handed to him as a charity. ‘Lam not used to accept alms from somebody. As long as the power of the Veda mantras is with me, no one can harmme” he said, Aham rAjyam Dbavaddattane Okun ichit Ami eubyaka Ala vlryagitam rApyam aubnlyAmiti KAmgE When Kubera heard Concluding the story Muchukunda utter those — Bheeshma said, “Dharmaraja! words, it really pleased him, Intellectual power is superior He blessed him wholeheart- 0 physical power. Veda man- edly. With Kubera’s blessings, eras yield to Brahmins; and| he reeaptured all the king- Brahmins yield to Veda mane doms on earth and ruled the eras. Therefore, we must al- entire world as an unchal- ways revere Vedic scholars. lenged emperor. Peace and 1 be contoned | prosperity prevailed every~ where, pratyaham pratyavekShEta nataH charitam AtmanaH kim nu mE pashubhiHi calyam ‘kim nu satpucuShaisiti We must introspect for ourselves on a daily basis about our conduct. We should ask ourselves ‘am I behaving like an animal? or is my behaviour like that of a virtuous person? [Bhartrbari]