|
7.VIDURA
THE sage Mandavya who had acquired
strength of mind and knowledge of the
scriptures, spent his days in penance and
the practice of truth.
He lived in a hermitage in the forests on
the outskirts of the city. One day while he
was immersed in silent contemplation
under the shade of a tree outside his hut of
leaves, a band of robbers fled through the
woods with officers of the king in hot
pursuit.
The fugitives entered the ashrama
thinking that it would be a convenient
place to hide themselves in. They placed
their booty in a corner and hid themselves.
The soldiers of the king came to the
ashrama tracking their footsteps.
The commander of the soldiers asked
Mandavya, who was rapt in deep
meditation in a tone of peremptory
command: "Did you see the robbers pass
by? Where did they go? Reply at once so
that we may give chase and capture
them."
The sage, who was absorbed in yoga,
remained silent. The commander repeated
the question insolently. But the sage did
not hear anything. In the meantime some
of the attendants entered the ashrama and
discovered the stolen goods lying there.
They reported this to their commander.
All of them went in and found the stolen
goods and the robbers who were in hiding.
The commander thought: "Now I know
the reason why the brahmana pretended to
be a silent sage. He is indeed the chief of
these robbers. He has inspired this
robbery." Then he ordered his soldiers to
guard the place, went to the king and told
him that the sage Mandavya had been
caught with the stolen goods.
The king was very angry at the audacity
of the chief of the robbers who had put on
the garb of a brahmana sage, the better to
deceive the world. Without pausing to
verify the facts, he ordered the wicked
criminal, as he thought him, to be
impaled.
The commander returned to the
hermitage, impaled Mandavya on a spear
and handed over the stolen things to the
king.
The virtuous sage, though impaled on the
spear, did not die. Since he was in yoga
when he was impaled he remained alive
by the power of yoga.
|
|