Once Krishna went to meet Arjuna as the duo hadn’t met since long. They both sat down for a game of dice and while playing, both of them started discussing the politics of the state of Hastinapur.
During the discussion, Krishna started talking about Karna. Arjuna always envied Krishna’s great admiration for Karna for his immense generosity despite knowing that he wasn’t an ally. He felt uneasy. He had already been hearing a lot about Karna’s impressive archery skills from his friend and thus when Krishna seemed to be in too much awe of this arch-rival, Arjuna began to argue-
“Friend, I know Karna is a great archer and I know he is generous as well but to term him as the most generous being seems unacceptable to me. Even I have been indulged in such noble causes and have donated much more than probably Karna even possess then why is he revered so much among the masses?”
Krishna smiled but didn’t answer for he knew that mere words won’t be able to satiate his friend’s inquisitiveness. He quietly got up and said- “I’ll surely answer your question my friend but before that can you do a job for me?”
“Sure, Krishna! To serve you has always been an honour for me.” Krishna laughed merrily.
“It’s an easy job, my friend, a righteous one as well.” He then pointed towards the mountain that was visible through the corridor.
After chanting some shlokas and using his majestic abilities, he turned the massive mountain into a huge heap of gold coins within seconds.
Arjuna couldn’t believe what had just happened, hesitantly he asked-
“How shall I be of your help Krishna?”
“Arjuna, the residents of an adjoining village have suffered many travesties. They have been a victim to the might of mother earth. Kindly, distribute all this wealth among them to help them meet their needs.”
Arjuna readily accepted to help and ordered his courtesans to gather all the residents of the adjoining village near the mountain with a message- “Oh, beloved villagers! All your sufferings shall come to an end as the mighty Arjuna is here to help.”
The subordinates followed the order and as Arjuna began the process of donating the gold coins, he thought to himself-
“Possibly, this is just one of Krishna’s way of testing my generosity. I will donate each penny of this heap myself and walk away empty-handed and let Krishna know about my generosity.”
He began distributing the gold coins and refused any help from his courtesans. He was assured that the task was a test to prove his generosity.
Every time, a villager would approach him, Arjuna would smartly evaluate the person based on his appearance and offer coins accordingly. Thus, some who didn’t seem much affected as per his evaluation were sent back empty-handed despite their repeated request for help.
Krishna watched all of it silently, knowing what Arjuna was trying to prove. After hours of carrying out the task, Arjuna became exhausted but he was astonished to see that the heap of gold coins seemed unaffected despite such grandeur of donation.
He looked at Krishna and requested him for some rest with a promise to carry out the donation the next day. When the courtesans stepped forward suggesting that they could carry out the task in the meanwhile, Arjuna refused to take any such help believing that the righteous job bestowed upon him by Krishna should be carried by no one else.
Krishna smiled waiting for Arjuna to arrive and as Arjuna stepped to embrace Krishna. Krishna remarked-“Now you know Arjuna!”
“Know what Krishna?” “Why Karna is the most generous being among us…” “But….” Arjuna was perplexed by what he heard.
“You still seem unconvinced friend! Let me help you here.”
And with a snap, Arjuna found himself disguised as a Brahmin standing in Karna’s palace while Krishna stood beside him in all his glory. Upon seeing the two standing in the corridors of his Palace, Karna offered them his reverence (unknown to the fact that the Brahmin standing beside Krishna was his arch-rival Arjuna).
Krishna repeated the same story about a village in the vicinity being affected by natural calamities and the residents being in need in front of Karna and again as he raised his finger pointing towards the mountain within their sight, the mountain turned into a heap of gold coins.
Karna folded his hands in reverence and admiration for such a noble thought.
He called his courtesans and ordered them to ensure that the villagers assemble in the courtyard within an hour so that he could have a word with them.
As the villagers assembled in the grand courtyard of his palace, he inquired about the losses suffered and assured them to help. Meanwhile, he ordered his troops to position themselves around the mountain of gold to avoid any form of chaos. He then informed the villagers about the grand donations made by Lord Krishna for assistance. Villagers hailed Krishna for his deeds and then praised their king for such generosity. He ordered his courtesans to allow the villagers to carry as much gold as they can and assist them with troops to allow secured passageway. He ordered his chief that the remaining wealth (if left), shall be used to build dams and to carry out the welfare schemes for the state.
Arjuna who still stood disguised as a Brahmin stepped forward to argue- “Oh son, why did you let even the rich ones have your coins?”
“My coins? When were these coins mine, Oh sage? Moreover, who am I to stop them just because they don’t seem to be in need? Maybe they have suffered losses irreparable, who am I to judge them? Such wealth surpasses their appetite, it even surpasses appetite of the wealthiest being on this planet, then who am I to constrain them? If Krishna wants them to have it, let them have it in abundance.”
In this way, without even donating the wealth by his own hands or without taking the credit, he assured that the treasure is put to the right use. Arjuna stood beside Krishna in awe of Karna’s generosity and Krishna’s way of teaching important lessons. Without even uttering a word in favour of Karna, Krishna had made his point clear.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Aditya Agrawal’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."
Courtesy: Times of India, Speaking Tree, 22nd October, 2019
Once Krishna went to meet Arjuna as the duo hadn’t met since long. They both sat down for a game of dice and while playing, both of them started discussing the politics of the state of Hastinapur.
During the discussion, Krishna started talking about Karna. Arjuna always envied Krishna’s great admiration for Karna for his immense generosity despite knowing that he wasn’t an ally. He felt uneasy. He had already been hearing a lot about Karna’s impressive archery skills from his friend and thus when Krishna seemed to be in too much awe of this arch-rival, Arjuna began to argue-
“Friend, I know Karna is a great archer and I know he is generous as well but to term him as the most generous being seems unacceptable to me. Even I have been indulged in such noble causes and have donated much more than probably Karna even possess then why is he revered so much among the masses?”
Krishna smiled but didn’t answer for he knew that mere words won’t be able to satiate his friend’s inquisitiveness. He quietly got up and said- “I’ll surely answer your question my friend but before that can you do a job for me?”
“Sure, Krishna! To serve you has always been an honour for me.” Krishna laughed merrily.
“It’s an easy job, my friend, a righteous one as well.” He then pointed towards the mountain that was visible through the corridor.
After chanting some shlokas and using his majestic abilities, he turned the massive mountain into a huge heap of gold coins within seconds.
Arjuna couldn’t believe what had just happened, hesitantly he asked-
“How shall I be of your help Krishna?”
“Arjuna, the residents of an adjoining village have suffered many travesties. They have been a victim to the might of mother earth. Kindly, distribute all this wealth among them to help them meet their needs.”
Arjuna readily accepted to help and ordered his courtesans to gather all the residents of the adjoining village near the mountain with a message- “Oh, beloved villagers! All your sufferings shall come to an end as the mighty Arjuna is here to help.”
The subordinates followed the order and as Arjuna began the process of donating the gold coins, he thought to himself-
“Possibly, this is just one of Krishna’s way of testing my generosity. I will donate each penny of this heap myself and walk away empty-handed and let Krishna know about my generosity.”
He began distributing the gold coins and refused any help from his courtesans. He was assured that the task was a test to prove his generosity.
Every time, a villager would approach him, Arjuna would smartly evaluate the person based on his appearance and offer coins accordingly. Thus, some who didn’t seem much affected as per his evaluation were sent back empty-handed despite their repeated request for help.
Krishna watched all of it silently, knowing what Arjuna was trying to prove. After hours of carrying out the task, Arjuna became exhausted but he was astonished to see that the heap of gold coins seemed unaffected despite such grandeur of donation.
He looked at Krishna and requested him for some rest with a promise to carry out the donation the next day. When the courtesans stepped forward suggesting that they could carry out the task in the meanwhile, Arjuna refused to take any such help believing that the righteous job bestowed upon him by Krishna should be carried by no one else.
Krishna smiled waiting for Arjuna to arrive and as Arjuna stepped to embrace Krishna. Krishna remarked-“Now you know Arjuna!”
“Know what Krishna?” “Why Karna is the most generous being among us…” “But….” Arjuna was perplexed by what he heard.
“You still seem unconvinced friend! Let me help you here.”
And with a snap, Arjuna found himself disguised as a Brahmin standing in Karna’s palace while Krishna stood beside him in all his glory. Upon seeing the two standing in the corridors of his Palace, Karna offered them his reverence (unknown to the fact that the Brahmin standing beside Krishna was his arch-rival Arjuna).
Krishna repeated the same story about a village in the vicinity being affected by natural calamities and the residents being in need in front of Karna and again as he raised his finger pointing towards the mountain within their sight, the mountain turned into a heap of gold coins.
Karna folded his hands in reverence and admiration for such a noble thought.
He called his courtesans and ordered them to ensure that the villagers assemble in the courtyard within an hour so that he could have a word with them.
As the villagers assembled in the grand courtyard of his palace, he inquired about the losses suffered and assured them to help. Meanwhile, he ordered his troops to position themselves around the mountain of gold to avoid any form of chaos. He then informed the villagers about the grand donations made by Lord Krishna for assistance. Villagers hailed Krishna for his deeds and then praised their king for such generosity. He ordered his courtesans to allow the villagers to carry as much gold as they can and assist them with troops to allow secured passageway. He ordered his chief that the remaining wealth (if left), shall be used to build dams and to carry out the welfare schemes for the state.
Arjuna who still stood disguised as a Brahmin stepped forward to argue- “Oh son, why did you let even the rich ones have your coins?”
“My coins? When were these coins mine, Oh sage? Moreover, who am I to stop them just because they don’t seem to be in need? Maybe they have suffered losses irreparable, who am I to judge them? Such wealth surpasses their appetite, it even surpasses appetite of the wealthiest being on this planet, then who am I to constrain them? If Krishna wants them to have it, let them have it in abundance.”
In this way, without even donating the wealth by his own hands or without taking the credit, he assured that the treasure is put to the right use. Arjuna stood beside Krishna in awe of Karna’s generosity and Krishna’s way of teaching important lessons. Without even uttering a word in favour of Karna, Krishna had made his point clear.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Aditya Agrawal’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."
Courtesy: Times of India, Speaking Tree, 22nd October, 2019