A Pandit Corrects Himself
King Vikramaditya went to the ancient tree where the Vetal was hanging with the corpse, once again. He brought down the corpse, flung it over his shoulder, and set off toward the cremation ground.
Then the Vetal, who possessed the corpse, spoke to him. “O king”, he said, “you are very persistent and patient. What makes you go on and on? Be careful about being determined about your goals. If something happens to change your attitude and your principles, you will then feel that all this hard work has gone waste. To illustrate my point, I’ll now tell you a story.” And the Vetal began a new story.
The village of Uttarakhand was blessed by Nature with fertile fields which yielded bountiful harvests. Shrubbery, fruit trees and flowers abounded in all directions. But such beauty did not touch Pandit Jagannath’s heart that day. The words he had overheard at the marketplace made him too angry to appreciate nature. Two farmers, who had known that he was standing behind them, were talking about his sermons.
“I never understand what Jagannath says”, said the first one. “It’s all in too lyrical a language! But Sridhar, his son, is so much better”.
“Yes, how different the son is from his father!” agreed the second farmer. “He takes great care to explain the nuances of fine poetry. His poetry is simple and understandable to the common villager”.
The pandit was unhappy at this verdict given by his own villagers. Dejected, he walked back home. His son, Sridhar was talking to a group of farmers, who were listening to him in rapt attention.
Jagannath felt irritated. “This will not do, Sridhar”, said Jagannath in a firm voice. The young man did not pause in his recital. Only his audience seemed distracted. The farmers listening to him were now uneasy. They glanced at Jagannath unsurely.
“I asked you a question. Are you so busy to answer your father?” said the pandit in a loud voice.
The farmers quietly stood up and left the verandah. The young man looked at their departure with sadness.
“Father, you may be a great poet, but you certainly are not a great man”, said Sridhar calmly.
The older man flushed in anger. “Show me some respect, young man!” he thundered.
“Father, I have immense respect for you. But I am distressed to see you show contempt for these poor labourers”, said Sridhar. “They toil all day and come to me in the evening, to feed their minds and hearts with spiritual ideas. Yet, you don’t feel any compassion for them!”
“Why should I?” countered Jagannath. “I fail to understand the direction of your intellectual activity. To recite verse and poetry to unread and uncultured people as you do is to insult the Goddess Saraswati herself. It would be best for you to switch audience, as you will not progress and advance, otherwise”.
“What is progress?” asked Sridhar heatedly. “Your wisdom and verses are fodder for only the rich and the learned. Is that called progress? What about the uneducated, the ignorant, the innocent? Isn’t it our duty to spread true knowledge among people, without prejudice, without partiality?”
Jagannath was too incensed to argue further. He left the place in a rage and started walking, feeling too restless and unhappy. Eventually, his legs led him to the neighbouring village, Krishnapuri. Narayan Bhatt, a dear friend of his, lived there. “When the family lets you down, only friends can offer solace. Let me talk about my problems with Narayan”, thought Jagannath and set out for his friend’s house.
When he reached his friend’s house, the pandit saw a pretty young woman teaching rhymes to children. Her smiling face and patient voice impressed him and he stopped. She looked at him and exclaimed: “Uncle Jagannath! You are visiting us after a long time. Please come in”, she said and went inside the house.
“Oh, is this Sharada, Narayan’s daughter? She has grown so tall!” thought Jagannath. “What a pleasant young woman!”
Indeed, Sharada was a sweet woman, who took great pleasure in welcoming guests. Narayan was happy to see his longtime friend and they immediately started talking about their lives. Jagannath revealed his unhappiness to his friend.
I “I have raised him and educated him, but he takes pleasure in talking back”, he fretted. “Is it wrong to say that one must associate with learned people only? What good is it to spend time with good-for-nothing illiterates?”
“Arre, he’s a smart boy! I’m sure he will be alright”, said Narayan. “He must be quite a handsome young man now. Perhaps it is time to find a bride for Sridhar. If you get him married soon, he will be less inclined to spend time with peasants”.
While they were talking, Sharada prepared sweetmeats for them. “Just one minute, Uncle, I will get fresh milk for you”, she said and went to the backyard.
Soon, a very melodious voice was heard. It was Sharada, reciting a sloka from Krishnatharangini . Mesmerized by her voice, Jagannath went to the backyard. Sharada was singing a sloka in her melodious voice and Rattan, her manservant, was milking the cow though completely engrossed in Sharada’s song. At the end of the sloka, Sharada began to explain its meaning to Rattan.
“Rattan”, she said, “One day, Krishna ‘s mother Yashoda was milking cows in Gokul. Krishna came from behind her, hugged her arms and said, “Mother, when you will give me milk?’
Yashoda was surprised because it was not yet evening. She said, “Not now, Kanhaiya (Lord Krishna), you must drink milk only after it becomes dark”.
“What is darkness?” asked baby Krishna .
Yashoda answered, “We will be unable to see anything when it becomes dark.”
“Rattan, do you know what this little Krishna did? He closed his eyes with both hands and said, “It is now dark. I can see nothing. Won’t you give me milk now?” He asked this in such a sweet voice that Yashoda was so enthused that she immediately gave him a big glass of milk”. Sharada thus discoursed on Krishna Lila.
Jagannath was spellbound, not only by the tale, but by the expression on Rattan’s face. The cowherd looked at Sharada as if she herself were Yashoda. His face was tranquil and his eyes were peaceful, as if he had just had a deep spiritual and fulfilling experience.
Pandit Jagannath went back to the hall and faced his friend. “Narayan, Sridhar does need a good wife to aid him in his life. Would you be willing to offer your daughter to be his wife?” he asked.
Narayan was too surprised to react. “I did not expect this!” he cried. “It would be a great honour for our family to unite with yours. Sharada will be your daughter-in-law, Jagannath!” The two friends embraced and Jagannath left.
The next day, both Sridhar and the villagers were much surprised to see Jagannath reciting slokas to farmers and explaining the meaning to them in simple words. From then on, Jagannath spent all his free time describing the greatness of God to simple folks.
The Vetal concluded his story and addressed King Vikram. “Jagannath maintained that poets should recite their poetry only to educated and cultured listeners. The father and son had many arguments over this issue. The pandit had tried to change his son’s attitude in every way that he could, even using threats. Then, why did he suddenly change his views on hearing Sharada’s words? Was he jealous of his son’s popularity? Explain to me the reason for the Pandit’s change. If you refuse to speak, your head will explode into tiny pieces!”
So King Vikramaditya had to once again answer the Vetal. He said: ” Jagannath did not like to associate with illiterate or uneducated people because he was prejudiced against them. However, when he saw the effect of Sharada’s song and her explanation on Rattan, he realised the error of his ways for the first time. He understood that anyone who wants to can appreciate and enjoy poetry. By turning away from ordinary folks, he had actually done them and poetry, an injustice. That is why he changed his attitude and principles”.
As soon as Vikram spoke, the Vetal zoomed off to the tree with the corpse once more. And the king drew his sword and went after the Vetal.
King Vikramaditya went to the ancient tree where the Vetal was hanging with the corpse, once again. He brought down the corpse, flung it over his shoulder, and set off toward the cremation ground.
Then the Vetal, who possessed the corpse, spoke to him. “O king”, he said, “you are very persistent and patient. What makes you go on and on? Be careful about being determined about your goals. If something happens to change your attitude and your principles, you will then feel that all this hard work has gone waste. To illustrate my point, I’ll now tell you a story.” And the Vetal began a new story.
The village of Uttarakhand was blessed by Nature with fertile fields which yielded bountiful harvests. Shrubbery, fruit trees and flowers abounded in all directions. But such beauty did not touch Pandit Jagannath’s heart that day. The words he had overheard at the marketplace made him too angry to appreciate nature. Two farmers, who had known that he was standing behind them, were talking about his sermons.
“I never understand what Jagannath says”, said the first one. “It’s all in too lyrical a language! But Sridhar, his son, is so much better”.
“Yes, how different the son is from his father!” agreed the second farmer. “He takes great care to explain the nuances of fine poetry. His poetry is simple and understandable to the common villager”.
The pandit was unhappy at this verdict given by his own villagers. Dejected, he walked back home. His son, Sridhar was talking to a group of farmers, who were listening to him in rapt attention.
Jagannath felt irritated. “This will not do, Sridhar”, said Jagannath in a firm voice. The young man did not pause in his recital. Only his audience seemed distracted. The farmers listening to him were now uneasy. They glanced at Jagannath unsurely.
“I asked you a question. Are you so busy to answer your father?” said the pandit in a loud voice.
The farmers quietly stood up and left the verandah. The young man looked at their departure with sadness.
“Father, you may be a great poet, but you certainly are not a great man”, said Sridhar calmly.
The older man flushed in anger. “Show me some respect, young man!” he thundered.
“Father, I have immense respect for you. But I am distressed to see you show contempt for these poor labourers”, said Sridhar. “They toil all day and come to me in the evening, to feed their minds and hearts with spiritual ideas. Yet, you don’t feel any compassion for them!”
“Why should I?” countered Jagannath. “I fail to understand the direction of your intellectual activity. To recite verse and poetry to unread and uncultured people as you do is to insult the Goddess Saraswati herself. It would be best for you to switch audience, as you will not progress and advance, otherwise”.
“What is progress?” asked Sridhar heatedly. “Your wisdom and verses are fodder for only the rich and the learned. Is that called progress? What about the uneducated, the ignorant, the innocent? Isn’t it our duty to spread true knowledge among people, without prejudice, without partiality?”
Jagannath was too incensed to argue further. He left the place in a rage and started walking, feeling too restless and unhappy. Eventually, his legs led him to the neighbouring village, Krishnapuri. Narayan Bhatt, a dear friend of his, lived there. “When the family lets you down, only friends can offer solace. Let me talk about my problems with Narayan”, thought Jagannath and set out for his friend’s house.
When he reached his friend’s house, the pandit saw a pretty young woman teaching rhymes to children. Her smiling face and patient voice impressed him and he stopped. She looked at him and exclaimed: “Uncle Jagannath! You are visiting us after a long time. Please come in”, she said and went inside the house.
“Oh, is this Sharada, Narayan’s daughter? She has grown so tall!” thought Jagannath. “What a pleasant young woman!”
Indeed, Sharada was a sweet woman, who took great pleasure in welcoming guests. Narayan was happy to see his longtime friend and they immediately started talking about their lives. Jagannath revealed his unhappiness to his friend.
I “I have raised him and educated him, but he takes pleasure in talking back”, he fretted. “Is it wrong to say that one must associate with learned people only? What good is it to spend time with good-for-nothing illiterates?”
“Arre, he’s a smart boy! I’m sure he will be alright”, said Narayan. “He must be quite a handsome young man now. Perhaps it is time to find a bride for Sridhar. If you get him married soon, he will be less inclined to spend time with peasants”.
While they were talking, Sharada prepared sweetmeats for them. “Just one minute, Uncle, I will get fresh milk for you”, she said and went to the backyard.
Soon, a very melodious voice was heard. It was Sharada, reciting a sloka from Krishnatharangini . Mesmerized by her voice, Jagannath went to the backyard. Sharada was singing a sloka in her melodious voice and Rattan, her manservant, was milking the cow though completely engrossed in Sharada’s song. At the end of the sloka, Sharada began to explain its meaning to Rattan.
“Rattan”, she said, “One day, Krishna ‘s mother Yashoda was milking cows in Gokul. Krishna came from behind her, hugged her arms and said, “Mother, when you will give me milk?’
Yashoda was surprised because it was not yet evening. She said, “Not now, Kanhaiya (Lord Krishna), you must drink milk only after it becomes dark”.
“What is darkness?” asked baby Krishna .
Yashoda answered, “We will be unable to see anything when it becomes dark.”
“Rattan, do you know what this little Krishna did? He closed his eyes with both hands and said, “It is now dark. I can see nothing. Won’t you give me milk now?” He asked this in such a sweet voice that Yashoda was so enthused that she immediately gave him a big glass of milk”. Sharada thus discoursed on Krishna Lila.
Jagannath was spellbound, not only by the tale, but by the expression on Rattan’s face. The cowherd looked at Sharada as if she herself were Yashoda. His face was tranquil and his eyes were peaceful, as if he had just had a deep spiritual and fulfilling experience.
Pandit Jagannath went back to the hall and faced his friend. “Narayan, Sridhar does need a good wife to aid him in his life. Would you be willing to offer your daughter to be his wife?” he asked.
Narayan was too surprised to react. “I did not expect this!” he cried. “It would be a great honour for our family to unite with yours. Sharada will be your daughter-in-law, Jagannath!” The two friends embraced and Jagannath left.
The next day, both Sridhar and the villagers were much surprised to see Jagannath reciting slokas to farmers and explaining the meaning to them in simple words. From then on, Jagannath spent all his free time describing the greatness of God to simple folks.
The Vetal concluded his story and addressed King Vikram. “Jagannath maintained that poets should recite their poetry only to educated and cultured listeners. The father and son had many arguments over this issue. The pandit had tried to change his son’s attitude in every way that he could, even using threats. Then, why did he suddenly change his views on hearing Sharada’s words? Was he jealous of his son’s popularity? Explain to me the reason for the Pandit’s change. If you refuse to speak, your head will explode into tiny pieces!”
So King Vikramaditya had to once again answer the Vetal. He said: ” Jagannath did not like to associate with illiterate or uneducated people because he was prejudiced against them. However, when he saw the effect of Sharada’s song and her explanation on Rattan, he realised the error of his ways for the first time. He understood that anyone who wants to can appreciate and enjoy poetry. By turning away from ordinary folks, he had actually done them and poetry, an injustice. That is why he changed his attitude and principles”.
As soon as Vikram spoke, the Vetal zoomed off to the tree with the corpse once more. And the king drew his sword and went after the Vetal.
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