70. Deed of Sage Durvasa | Way of Living


Deed-of-sage-Durvasa

There was a worshipper of Kaal Brahm named Durvasa. He was walking on a path. On the way, he met an Apsara (a woman from heaven) who was wearing a beautiful pearl necklace. Sage Durvasa said, “Give me this necklace.” The Apsara (angel) knew that these sages are like snakes; if they are denied anything, they curse you. Immediately that Apsara took the necklace off her neck and handed it over to the sage with due respect. Sage Durvasa put that necklace around the hair bun on his head, and continued on his path. The King of Heaven, Indra, was coming from the opposite direction mounted on his elephant Airavat. Apsaras and Gandharvs were singing and dancing while walking ahead of him. Millions of other gods-goddesses were walking along as a mark of respect. Sage Durvasa took the necklace off his head and threw it towards Indra. Indra put that necklace on the neck of the elephant. The elephant picked that necklace with its trunk and threw it on the ground. Like, if a devotee or a god used to gift a garland to Indra, Indra while sitting on the elephant used to later put it on the elephant’s neck. The elephant used to throw it on the ground. In that very routine, the elephant had thrown that necklace on the ground.

            Sage Durvasa became furious on this, and said, “O Indra! You have arrogance of the kingdom. You have disrespected the necklace gifted by me. I curse you that – ‘May your entire kingdom be destroyed!’ Devraj Indra started trembling, and said, “O Brahmin! I had respectfully accepted your necklace and put it on the elephant. The elephant due to its routine put it on the ground. Please forgive me. Indra even dismounted the elephant, prostrated before the sage and repeatedly asked for forgiveness with folded hands, but Sage Durvasa did not listen, and said, “Whatever I have said cannot be undone.” In a few moments, Indra got completely destroyed; heaven got ruined.

Once Sage Durvasa halted for some time in a jungle near Dwarka City. The people of Dwarka came to know that Durvasa ji has come near our city. He is a Trikaldarshi Mahatma and is a sage equipped with siddhis (supernatural powers). The people of Dwarka did not use to consider anyone mightier than Shri Krishna. Many Yadavs along with Shri Krishna’s son Shri Pradhyuman planned that – ‘We have heard that Durvasa ji is Trikaldarshi (who knows about past, present and future); he can even read one’s mind. He is omniscient. Let us test him.’ On thinking this, disguising Pradhyuman as a pregnant woman, ten-twelve persons went along with her. One person was made her husband. Going to Durvasa ji, they said, “O Sage! God has showered His grace on this woman after a long time. She has become pregnant. This is her husband. They are excited to know whether there is a boy or a girl in the womb. You are omniscient. Please tell us?” They had tied a small wok over Pradhyuman’s stomach. They had simulated a pregnancy by tying raw cotton and old clothes over it. Over that, they had made him wear woman’s clothes. Sage Durvasa saw with his divine vision and realised that they have come to play a prank on me. Durvasa ji said, “Yadav clan would be annihilated by this foetus.” On saying this, he became infuriated. All the people slipped away from there.

            This thing spread like fire in the city that Sage Durvasa has cursed that the Yadavs will be annihilated. They were extremely confident that – ‘We have the most powerful, the lord of the entire Brahmand, God Shri Krishna, with us. Durvasa’s curse will not be able to affect us.’ Nevertheless, some wise Yadavs collectively went to Shri Krishna ji and narrated the account of the prank played by the kids on Sage Durvasa and the curse given by Sage Durvasa. On hearing the entire account, Shri Krishna ji contemplated for some time and said, “Take those kids to Sage Durvasa and ask for forgiveness.” They went to Durvasa and asked for forgiveness, but Durvasa said, “Whatever I have said cannot be undone.”

            Everybody again went to Shri Krishna ji and told everything. Even food was not cooked in Dwarka. The entire city got submerged in worry. Shri Krishna ji said, “What are you worrying about? Our annihilation has been said to occur from the objects that were used to form the fake pregnancy. Do one thing. Burn the cotton and the clothes and grinding the iron wok on a stone and put them all in the Prabhas region (name of a place near river Yamuna) in the river Yamuna. Grind it there itself and put its powder into the river and also put the ashes into the river. Neither will there be any bamboo, nor will any flute be played (End the root cause of the trouble). When the contents of the fake pregnancy will not remain, then how will our annihilation occur?” This idea appealed to the people of Dwarika and they considered themselves to be free from the crisis. Everything was done as per the order of Shri Krishna ji. One handle of the wok could not be ground fully. It was as it is thrown in the river Yamuna. A fish engulfed it considering it to be a shiny edible substance. A Bheel named Baliya caught that fish. When he chopped the fish, he found the metal. After examining the metal, he made the head of his arrow with it and covered it with poison. He kept it somewhere safe. The powder of the iron from the wok that was put in the river grew in the form of long reed stalks on the bank of river Yamuna.

            After some time, violence started occurring in Dwarika city. People started killing each other on trivial matters. Mutual animosity escalated. On seeing this state of the people of the city, distinguished men went to God Shri Krishna ji and informed him about whatever was happening in the city and expressed their desire to know the cause and solution of it, because Shri Krishna ji was the spiritual guru of the Yadavs and the Pandavs. A solution of a crisis is sought from the Gurudev only. Shri Krishna ji told the reason that the curse of Sage Durvasa is flourishing. The solution is that – ‘All males even if a baby boy has taken birth today, all of you may go to the Prabhas region where the powder of the wok was thrown and take bath in Yamuna. You will become free from the curse.’ All the residents of Dwarika obeyed the order of Shri Krishna ji. All male Yadavs went to the Prabhas region to take bath with the aim of getting free from the curse. Because of the curse of Sage Durvasa, all the Yadavs gathered in a group. First they took bath thinking that because of becoming free from the curse our mutual animosity might get dispelled, but nothing like this happened. First everybody took bath and then started vituperating each other. Then pulling those reed stalks, they started hitting each other. The reed stalks that had grown from the powder of the iron wok started working like swords. As soon as one was hit with the stalk, one was decapitated. In this way, all the Yadavs got killed by fighting amongst each other. Approximately two to four hundred were left. At that very moment, Shri Krishna ji also arrived there. He also plucked that reed stalk and it turned into an iron flail. Shri Krishna ji himself assassinated the remaining people of his clan.

            After this, Shri Krishna ji sat down to take rest under a tree. Just then as destined by God that Bheel named Baliya who had made the poisonous head of his arrow with the handle of that iron wok, in the search of a prey came to that place with that arrow where Shri Krishna ji was resting. Shri Krishna ji had a ‘Padam’ in the sole of his right foot. It had the brightness like that of a hundred watt bulb. The dense branches of the tree were touching the ground. The radiance of the Padam was not very clearly visible through them. Baliya Bheel thought, “This seems to be an eye of a dear.” Therefore, he shot the arrow with the motive of killing the dear. When the arrow hit Shri Krishna ji’s foot, Shri Krishna ji yelled, “Oh, I am hurt; I am hurt.” Baliya Bheel realised that the arrow has hit a man. He ran towards him and saw that the King of Dwarika is suffering in pain. Baliya said, “O Maharaj! I shot the arrow by mistake. I shot the arrow thinking the radiance of your foot to be an eye of a deer. I have committed a blunder. Forgive me, Maharaj.” Shri Krishna ji said, “You have not committed any blunder. This is a debt between you and me from the previous life. I have now paid it off. In Tretayug, you were Sugreev’s brother Bali. I was Dashrath’s son Ramchandra. I had also deceitfully killed you from behind a tree. You have completed that tit for tat.  

            In this way, the entire Yadav clan got annihilated by the curse of Sage Durvasa. The Yadavs of the present time are descendants of those who were in the wombs of their mothers and were born later on.    

            It is written in the Sukshm Ved: -

Garib, Durvasa kopey tahan, samajh na aayi neech |
Chhappan crore Yadav katey, machi rudhir ki keech ||

            Translation: - Durvasa took the prank of the kids so seriously that cursed them with the annihilation of their clan. That vile Durvasa did not even think what disaster might befall them. It was such a trivial matter. The wicked Sage Durvasa wreaked such havoc that fifty-six crore Yadavs got killed and a sludge of blood was formed.

            Similarly, Sage Chunak had unnecessarily messed up with the Mandhata King, and destroyed his army of 72 crore soldiers.

There was a Sage named Kapil. He is also considered to be one of the 24 incarnations of God Vishnu. He was meditating.

            There was a King Sagad. He had 60 thousand sons. Some Sage told them that if one builds a pond, a well and a garden, then one gets a reward equivalent to an Ashwamegh Yagya. King Sagad’s sons started this work. Sensible men said to them, “If you will make ponds, wells and gardens everywhere in this way, there would be no space left on earth to produce food grains.” If some king revolted, they fought with him. Those sons of King Sagad took a horse with them. They tied a letter around his neck that – ‘If someone causes hindrance in our work, then he/she may capture this horse and get ready to fight with us.’ Who would dare to fight with those crazy men? Goddess Earth went to God Vishnu. Acquiring the form of a cow, she said to God Vishnu, “O Lord! There is a Sagad King on earth. He has 60 thousand sons. They have developed such an obsession that they have dug me up all over. Even foodgrains cannot be grown there for the consumption of the human beings. God Vishnu said, “You may go. Now they will not do anything.” God Vishnu called Devraj Indra and explained to him that – “King Sagad’s 60 thousand sons are performing yagyas. If their 100 yagyas would get completed, you would have to give your throne of Indra to them. If you can do something about it, then do it before it is too late.” Indra sent his attendants and explained everything to them. At night, King Sagad’s sons were sleeping. The horse was tied to a tree. Those attendants of Devraj Indra untied the horse from the tree and tied it to the thigh of Ascetic Kapil. Sage Kapil had been in deep meditation for years. Due to which, his body had emaciated. He was sitting in the lotus pose. His legs were very thin. For example, when the mud around the roots of a tree gets eroded due to rain, a gap of 6-7 inches appears between the rootlets. Sage Kapil’s legs were like this. Passing a rope around the thigh of the Sage, the attendants of Indra tied the horse to it.

            The King’s sons got up in the morning and looked for the horse. With the preparation for a battle, the squad of 60 thousand set forth in search of the horse. Following the footprints of the horse, they reached the ashram of Sage Kapil. On seeing the horse tied there, King Sagad’s sons pricked spears into the sage’s armpits. Sage Kapil’s eyelids had grown so long that they were touching the ground. When the sage felt pain, he angrily lifted his eyelids with his hands. Fire arrows were released from his eyes. A pile of bodies of the army of 60 thousand sons of Sagad was laid down, that is, they all got killed.  

            It has been mentioned in Sukshm Ved that: -

60 hazaar Sagad ke hotey, Kapil munishwar khaay |
Jae Parmeshwar ki karein bhakti, to ajar-amar ho jaay ||

72 kshoni kha gaya, Chunak rishishwar ek |
Deh dhaarein jaura firaen, sabhi Kaal ke bhesh ||

Durvasa kopey tahan, samajh na aayi neech |
56 crore Yadav katey, machi rudhir ki keech ||

            Meaning: - Sage Kapil, Sage Chunak and Sage Durvasa are so renowned in the world. All these are worshippers of Kaal Brahm who were guising as Sages. They were angels of death walking around. They are ‘Ghaal’ walking around in human form. (Ghaal- An exorcist releases a small pot in the sky with his incantations to attack the enemy. It causes a lot of harm.) Innocent beings consider them to be great souls by mistake.

            All these were Gyani (knowledgeable) souls. They had a generous heart. They sacrificed their body, mind, and wealth for the attainment of God, for their salvation, but because of not finding a Tatvdarshi Saint, they committed a mistake by considering Kaal Brahm to be the Almighty God, and worshipped him alone with ‘Om’ mantra and through forceful meditation. By which one does not attain God, rather incurs harm because this way of worship is contrary to the scriptures.

            In Gita Chapter 16 Verses 23-23, it has been stated that abandoning the injunctions of the scriptures, those who perform arbitrary practices, their religious practices are futile. Due to this very reason, those noble souls remained situated in the Anuttam (bad) salvation of Kaal Brahm.

            In Gita Chapter 17 Verse 5, 6, it has been stated that: -

Those men who only practice arbitrary severe austerity which is not enjoined by the scriptures and are equipped with hypocrisy, arrogance and with attachment to desire and pride. (Gita Chapter 17 Verse 5)
Consider the ignorants, who torture the gods dwelling in all the lotus chakras in the body, the Complete God and even me, to be of demoniac nature. (Gita Chapter 17 Verse 6)
This very evidence is in Gita Chapter 16 Verses 17 to 20.
Those arrogant men, who consider themselves to be superior, intoxicated with wealth and prestige, ostentatiously perform way of worship opposite to the injunctions of the scriptures by performing nominal yagyas. (Gita Chapter 16 Verse 17)
Overpowered by conceit, power, arrogance, desire and anger etc, those who criticize others, hate me who is situated in their and everyone else’s body. (Gita Chapter 16 Verse 18)
I hurl those sinful persons, who hate others, who perform cruel deeds, “who kill millions of people by their word”, the degraded men, repeatedly in demoniac births in the world. (Gita Chapter 16 Verse 19) These have been said to be degraded in Sukshm Ved: -

Durvasa kope tahan, samajh na aayi neech |
56 crore Yadav katey, machi rudhir ki keech ||

O Arjun! Those fools, instead of attaining me, attain the demoniac lives in every birth, and then attain a further lower state than that i.e. they fall into deep hell. (Gita Chapter 16 Verse 20)

It has been proved from the above-mentioned pieces of evidence that this is the reason why in Gita Chapter 7 Verse 18, the Giver of the knowledge of Gita has described the salvation from his worship to be Anuttam i.e. bad. He has stated that: -

Gita Chapter 7 Verse 18 – The Giver of the knowledge of Gita has stated that the fourth type of Gyani worshippers, they all are noble souls because they did not even care about their bodies getting destroyed for the attainment of God, and remained engrossed in worship for thousands of years without consuming food and water, but because of not finding a Tatvdarshi Saint, all of them remained situated in my Anuttam i.e. bad salvation, that is, the salvation that is achieved by the worship of Brahm which the sages mentioned above attained, that is, they remained in the cycle of birth-death and the births in eighty-four lakh types of life-forms. (Gita Chapter 7 Verse 18)
Conclusion: - Sage Chunak, Sage Durvasa and Sage Kapil chanted ‘Om’ mantra. As a result of its bhakti, they will go to Brahmlok for some time. After finishing the bhakti there, then they will become kings on earth because it is written in Sukshmved: -

Tap se raaj, raaj madh maanm, janm teesre shukar shwanam |

            Then they will become dog, donkey etc, and then they will go to hell. When they will become dogs, then they will be infested with worms in their heads. They will have to bear the sins of the death of those people who had died by their curse. The worms will prick their flesh and eat from various places. You have read above whatever has been mentioned about such worshippers in Gita. 


FAQs about "Deed of Sage Durvasa"

Q.1 Who was Sage Durvasa?

Sage Durvasa was a revered sage and worshipper of Kaal Brahm known for his quick temper. One significant incident involves his curse on Devraj Indra, which led to the destruction of heaven.

Q.2 What happened when Sage Durvasa encountered the Yadavs in Dwarka?

In Dwarka, disguising Pradhyuman as a pregnant woman, some Yadavs attempted to test Durvasa’s omniscience and spiritual power. As a result, Durvasa cursed that the Yadav clan would be annihilated. The curse led to the mutual annihilation of the Yadav clan, resulting in the death of most of its members, leaving only a few survivors.

Q. 3 How did Lord Krishna resolve the curse on the Yadavs placed by Sage Durvasa?

Lord Krishna advised the Yadavs to burn the materials used in the fake pregnancy and dispose off them in the river, effectively nullifying the curse.

Q.4 Did the advice of Krishna Ji help Yadavas to save their clan?

Despite attempting to avert the curse through Shri Krishna Ji's advice, the Yadavs ended up killing each other due to a mysterious manifestation of reed stalks resembling swords, which arose from the materials discarded in the river used for fake pregnancy.

Q.5 Why is the worship of Kaal Brahm considered bad (Anuttam) in Gita Ji?

The intense meditation and worship, focusing on Kaal Brahm and chanting the 'Om' mantra, led the worshippers astray from attaining the true Almighty and resulted in adverse effects contrary to scriptural injunctions like the sages' curses stemmed from wrath, often over seemingly trivial matters, leading to disastrous consequences. The Gita Ji cautions against deviating from scriptural practices, warning that arbitrary, non-prescribed forms of worship lead to futile religious practices and the attainment of an unfavorable form of salvation.

Q.6 What will happen to the devoted worshippers of Kaal Brahm who end up harming others?

Apart from sage Durvasa, Sage Kapil and Sage Chunak were also the worshippers of Kaal Brahm. Sage Kapil cursed King Sagad's 60,000 sons, leading to their demise due to their reckless actions. Similarly, Sage Chunak's unnecessary interference brought about the destruction of King Mandhata's army. According to Suksham Veda, after experiencing Brahmlok due to their worship, these sages are prophesied to endure rebirths, including lower life forms, facing punishment and atoning for their deeds in various ways.


 

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Sarita Yadav

I find it unbelievable that sages have such power that their words can have such a significant impact, even destroying people's lives. We also worship sincerely and sometimes express anger through curses or negative words, but it doesn't seem to have the same effect. Sages are human just like us, albeit with more extensive worship experience, so they cannot become gods capable of taking lives.

Satlok Ashram

 Dear reader, we appreciate your engagement with our article. Scripture-based worship and mantras have an incredible spiritual power that goes beyond human comprehension. Many ancient scriptures, like the Puranas, contain evidence of such spiritual power. However, it's unfortunate that some sages, lacking the guidance of a complete Guru, deviate from the path of salvation and misuse their powers. We recommend that you explore the spirituality and the power of mantras by listening to spiritual discourses by Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj and reading the book "Jeene Ki Rah."

Rajni Shukla

Durvasa was a very virtuous sage, and his decisions were usually correct. We shouldn't judge him because he holds respect in our Hindu religion.

Satlok Ashram

Dear reader, we value your opinion on our article. Being a virtuous sage doesn't necessarily mean that one cannot be involved in wrongful activities. If someone engages in wrongdoing, it is important to acknowledge and criticize those actions. While virtuous sages are indeed respectable, our article sheds light on the worship of Kaal Brahm and provides evidence from holy scriptures. It aims to raise awareness and guide people towards the true path of worship, which involves seeking the shelter of a complete saint. We also recommend that you read the book "Jeene Ki Rah" and listen to spiritual discourses by Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj for a deeper understanding.