Thus Spake the Divine - Story of a King and Queen

Thus Spake the Divine

Story of a King and Queen

In this chapter, Pujyashri Maha Periyava brings before our eyes the significance of two vital Veda Maha- Vakyas, viz. Tat-Tvam-Asi (You are the Supreme Brahmam” And “Ayam Atma Brahma” (This Atman is Brahmam). To elucidate these two Maha-Vakyas, Periyava quotes a story in his own passionate style. He thrusts upon the Absolute Truth into the minds of his devotees by travelling extensively on different subjects such as Guru Parampara, Gurukulavasa, Guru- Bhakti and other allied subjects. He connects all the dots beautifully leaving no scope for ambiguity and arrives at the destination of Advaita. Go through the chapter and engross in absolute bliss.

I am going to tell you a short story. There was a king. And, as usual, there was an enemy king too. Our king is in a battle with the enemy king and is, unfortunately, losing the battle.

“Win the battle; else choose an honourable death”, is the general dictum of some kings. And, some losing kings voluntarily choose to die in the battlefield for upholding their gallantry and honour. This does not mean that losing kings escaping from the battlefield are any less in gallantry or honour. A slouching tiger always aims to attack its victim. Great warriors and even Rajput Kings known for their valour have receded from battlefields only to regroup, acquire the required army, fight back and resurrect their kingdoms.

Our king also did the same thing. Once he realized he was losing, he chose to escape. He took his queen along with him on his horse and sped away. At that time, the queen was in her advanced stage of pregnancy. Seeing them riding away, one of his ministers also followed suit.

Alas! The enemy king sent his army in search of our king. The search party was hot on pursuit when our king came across the hut of a hunter. He quickly reined in his horse and got down there with his queen. He told the queen, “The enemies will not spare me. My end is certain. However, I will not let you die along with me. You have to give birth to our son and successor.

Through him, you must get the kingdom back. You don’t need to prove yourself a “Pativrata” (devoted to husband) by dying along with me. You can still prove it by accomplishing my vision after I die. Get into this hut and take care of yourself ”.

Saying this, the king rode away. The queen consoled herself and hid inside the hut. The enemy party caught up with the king and after a fierce fight slew him. The search party was unaware of the queen also escaping with the king. Thus, thinking that they had accomplished their mission, they rode back to their king with the corpse of our king.

Meanwhile, as days went by, the old mother of the hunter took care of the queen as if she was her own daughter. You must appreciate the helping tendency of the poor and illiterates, who are more generous than we, the seemingly most civilized and literate! The queen gave birth to a male child and died soon after. Twelve years have passed. Our king’s kingdom is now being ruled by the enemy king. People are not happy with his tyrannical rule. They are reminiscing of their erstwhile king’s just rule and how they were a happy and comfortable lot. However, they are not aware of their king’s escape along with his queen and the birth of their male child.

As I told you, the minister of our king knew of the escape and the queen being pregnant. A thought ran into his mind. “What if the queen has given birth to a male child? In that case, he will be around 12 years old now. It is the right age for running a kingdom. If that is the case, I should try and search him out, train him in archery and other warfare skills, so that he dethrones the enemy king”. With this thought, the minister goes about his mission of searching for the heir of our king. In the process, he reaches the hunter’s hut. There he sees the prince playing with his hunter friends. He is wearing the attire of a hunter, but still has the radiance and resemblance of the erstwhile king. This enables the minister to identify him as the prince.

The minister approaches the hunter’s mother. Generally, tribal people living in forests are innocent, devoid of cunningness and outspoken. She informs the minister of what really happened. She says, “Long ago, a pregnant woman sought refuge here. I took care of her as my daughter. However, she did not disclose anything about her and died after delivering this male child. I have been taking care of him as my own child. Though we presume this boy must be of royal lineage because of his behaviour and traits, we do not know the reality. He has been groomed as one of our hunter clan.”

The minister was smart enough to connect the dots. He realized that this was the prince he was searching for. He provided the old woman various details and said he would like to take the prince along with him. The entire hunter clan was upset that they would get separated from the young prince, but they decided to send the prince along with the minister as they had no choice! The irony here is that the prince too did not want to leave the hunter clan. He had come to like his association with hunters and had never heard of his royal lineage till then. He refused to go along with the minister.

The minister patiently explained the whole story to him and said, “You are a prince! Your father was a king who lost his battle and escaped with your mother. He left your mother in this hut, so that you could be born in a safe atmosphere. Your father fought his enemies but died because he was outnumbered. You are meant to win back and rule the kingdom on his behalf now. More so, you have to come to the rescue of your kingdom’s people, who are suffering under the tyrannical rule of the enemy king. We want you to win back the kingdom, rule us justly and bring back our happiness. But you are refusing to accompany us. How can you ever do so?” Thus, the minister reminded the prince of his responsibility, love towards his parents, and the relevant course of action to win back his kingdom and come to the rescue of his people.

The moment the boy-prince realized his past, his responsibilities and duties, the traits of royal lineage ignited within his blood and he agreed to go with the minister. The minister then taught him various warfare skills and helped him organised an army. People of the kingdom, who were waiting for such an opportunity, joined hands with the prince in utmost gratitude. (In those days, gratitude to the royal family had strong roots, unlike today, when everything is superficial. Similarly, kings too were virtuous, disciplined, and helping to earn the gratitude of their citizens. They ran their kingdom with utmost honesty, unlike today’s governing authorities, who abuse their power and authority).

Post a fiercely fought war, the prince won and came to power and authority. He restored the just rule and happiness of his people. (History also provides us instances of kings ruined after they had deviated from the path of Dharma. As the old adage goes, “As is the king, so are the citizens”. For good governance, both the governing and governed must have strong conviction in the rules of Dharma that they are ordained to follow).

Are persons who frame rules good enough to follow their own rules? This is the basic question that governing heads must ask themselves. When it comes to this universe, this question is different. Are people who govern and people being governed adhering to the rules of Dharma ordained by Parameshvara, who is the Emperor of all the three worlds? If the answer is “Yes”, then the universe functions effectively. Why I am saying this is that since people strictly followed the rules of Dharma in olden days, being virtuous was a natural trait for them. They treated their king with utmost reverence and dignity. The king, in turn, treated his citizens with utmost compassion. That is why people joined hands with the boy-prince of this story, battled against the enemy king, and conquered their kingdom back. The boy was then crowned the king.

The boy, who grew up as a hunter, shed all his erstwhile traits and transformed into a king in the fullest sense. This story is not mine. I came to know of it from a great Advaita Acharya during one of his discourses. He had narrated this story to highlight the philosophy of Guru and the significance of having a Guru. I have just added some flavour to the story. But the story has not ended yet!

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.