To the Heart's Content
Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Puri in Kalinga, there lived a Brahman. He had a very strange kind of fate. He could never eat to his heart's content at any feast on any function or social affair. Something or the other would always take place to disrupt his meal. He bewailed his bad fate, but no matter he took his food fast or slowly, he noticed that he was unable to change his luck. God had written that fate for him, and that is exactly what materialized every time he tried to test his luck.
At one time, he was called for to take part in a special occasion at the grand palace of the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri and stay put for the feast. As one could very well guess, he was really delighted. He told his wife, "This time I think I will be able to eat to my heart's content. Please get my apparels laundered so that I will appear nice and upstanding at the Gajapati's palace."
Therefore, wearing cleanly washed, crisply starched and sparkling white dhoti-kurta, the Brahman started off for the Gajapati's palace. He went by the thick green rice fields, the rolling grass lands and the roaring sea, looking up to the towering coconut trees drooping their heads in the gentle wind.
When he arrived at the grand palace, he was received warmly by the Gajapati's men. He was seated for his meal and the attendants placed a golden plate for him and served him with all the honor and cordial reception. The Brahman glanced at the bright golden plate in front of him and his eyeballs bulged out. There were fifty-six different items. There was fine rice, several delicious curries, condiments, twenty different assortments of simply divine sweet dishes and what not. And there were many refreshing drinks too.
Everything was running pretty well and the Brahman was genuinely savoring his meal when all of a sudden, a rope hoop hung up from the roof in which an earthen pot filled with curd was kept, broke down. The pot crashed all the way down on the floor and fell near the Brahman's golden plate. Sherds from the pot fell onto his food, and the Brahman had no way but to get up, with his meal incomplete yet once more. He could not eat to his heart's content this time too!
As he started to depart, the Gajapati asked him with great concern "I hope my attendants served you in good order and everything went on as per your liking, Brahman Dev. Did you eat to your heart's content?"
The Brahman said, "Alas! That I could not do, but none of your attendants are to be cursed with for what took place, except my own bad luck." And he told him everything about his fate and how he has never eaten to his heart's content in any of the feasts he had attended so far.
The Gajapati was very stressed to hear this. He said, "Brahman Dev, kindly halt the night here at my grand residence. Tomorrow morning I will serve food to you with my own hands so that you can eat to your heart's content."
The Brahman was happy to hear this and agreed without any question. The next morning, a new feast was organized. The Gajapati, who was an expert cook, prepared some of the dishes himself. When all things were done, the Brahman was seated down to take his meal and as promised, the Gajapati himself placed a golden plate in front him and served him with great respect and hospitality.
There was absolutely nothing in that room that could break, fall down, or by any means disrupt the Brahman's feast whatsoever. Now Jagannath, the almighty was really puzzled. He was simply unable to think of any way to keep the Brahman from running through his meal to his heart's content.
So, he took the shape of a young little golden toad and jumped onto the Brahman's plate. The Brahman however, was so engrossed in relishing his meal that he did not mark the small toad and swallowed it down along with a handful of rice. In the end, the Brahman got up having eaten to his heart's content and happily topped it off with the sweetest, most scented and rich meetha paan he had ever tried out in his entire life. He was sent back to his home with lots of presents from the Gajapati who was really delighted to have served the Brahman to his heart's content.
As he was walking his way to his place through the Gajapati's fields, he heard a voice saying to him, "Oh Brahman Dev, please help me, please let me out." He looked all around the place to find out who was calling him out in such a distressful voice but was not able to mark anyone, so he moved on. Again he heard that voice, "Brahman Dev, let me go."
"Kie tume bhai? Who are you brother?" he asked. "I am Jagannath," the response followed in a chaotic voice. "But I can't see you. Please let me know where you are. Where are you my Lord?" asked the Brahman. "I am within your stomach. I jumped onto your plate in the shape of a small golden toad, and unnoticed by you, I got swallowed along with the rice that you had," said Jagannath.
"Ah," said the Brahman. "I was not able to understand how I managed to finish a meal without something disturbing me. Now I know the reason. The mighty Jagannath is inside my stomach. It is actually good that I have swallowed you down. Now you cannot trouble me any more. I have sent you where I want you my Lord. Now I can eat to my heart's content every day. I will never let you out now. I would rather close my throat and shut my mouth now. I have done the right thing!" Then the Brahman moved on with his mouth shut and quite strong-willed not to allow Jagannath out, no matter how loud he shouted and cried out.
In the meantime, the three worlds turned completely topsy-turvy, for it was the mighty Jagannath who regulated the affairs of the whole of the universe. He was the master of the universe and without him, things could not go on in a smooth way. The situation was worse than the outbreak of a massive war. No one had any idea what to do, to whom to go for help, and what action should cause what result. The three worlds were in a complete mess. In order to find a solution to the problem, a meeting was held in the heaven where all the divinities were present. After a lot of discourse they called for Devi Lakshmi, Jagannath's wife and the goddess of wealth and good fortune, to go to the Brahman and convince him to free her husband.
Quite reluctantly, Lakshmi flew all the way to the earth boarding her white owl and went down to the Brahman's place. The Brahman was somewhat amazed to see her. In any case, he stood up, offered the goddess a seat, joined his hands together and did a pranam with due respect.
"What brings you here, Maa Lakshmi? What can I do for you?" he asked. "Oh Brahman, you have imprisoned my husband in your stomach. Please let him out immediately. The three worlds are in total chaos without him. Without him, the creation cannot go on. Without him there is no one to regulate the affairs of the universe," she explained.
On hearing this, the Brahman lost his temper and got very angry. "Where is my big stick?" he asked his wife. "I want to show this goddess what I can do. I want to teach her the lesson of her life. She must know what action causes what result. Inspite of all my prayers, she has turned her face away from me all my life. She never let me eat to my heart's content. Now that I have found a bit of luck, she wants me to let go of that old rascal Jagannath. Today I want to give her the sort of beating she has never had in her life before. Give me the stick Now!"
Lakshmi was really shocked. No one in the whole of the universe had ever uttered to her that way before. She summoned her white owl and fled from there right away. She went back to the heaven and told the gods what had taken place at the Brahman's house.
Without having any luck with Lakshmi, the gods now convinced Devi Saraswati, the goddess of learning and wisdom, to go to the Brahman's house and get Jagannath freed. Saraswati boarded her white swan and flew all the way to the earth to reach the Brahman's place. When the Brahman saw goddess Saraswati in his house, he stood up with even more respect and bowed before her. "What brings you here, Maa Saraswati? What can I do for you?" he asked.
But when she started to make her request to release Jagannath, the Brahman once again lost his temper. He shouted out again for his big stick. "I will show this goddess her way out," he yelled. "Since the very early days, when I was a child, she has cast me out. Since my school days she has not given me any wisdom or learning. Now that I am struck with an idea to change my fate, she wants me to give up Jagannath. I have him safe where he cannot harm me anymore. Give me that big stick of mine, and I will teach her the perfect lesson."
Saraswati being in an helpless situation, also fled the place in fear and dismay. She went back and told the gods how she was treated by the Brahman. All the gods now went to Lord Shiva for help and this time mighty Shiva himself came down to meet the Brahman. The Brahman was a devotee of Shiva and so he received him with a ceremonial welcome and worshipped him with all the love and respect. Then he asked, "What can I do to please you my Lord?"
Shiva requested him to release Jagannath. "Oh My Lord," said the Brahman. "You have asked me to do something, and hence I shall do as you said. But before I do that, please suggest a solution to the problem I have been facing all my life. I have always had such an unfortunate life and Jagannath is behind all of it." Lord Shiva smiled at him and said, "Not to worry about that dear Brahman. I will take you and your wife to the heaven along with me, and Jagannath will not trouble you any more." Accordingly, the Brahman opened his mouth and allowed Jagannath to come out. As promised, Shiva took the Brahman and his wife to the heaven along with him where the couple lived happily to their heart's content.
Moral of the story is that you get only what you deserve, not what you desire. When you face hardships in life, blaming the god is not the right thing to do, for you never know those hardships may be the means to guide you to your destiny. In this story, the Brahman was destined to go to the heaven and the troubles created by Jagannath were only the means to send him there. No man can change his destiny. Those who talk of writing their own destiny, write the destiny which has already been written by Jagannath.
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