Sage Dhaumya and his disciples - Part 2

 

Sage Dhaumya and his disciples Part 2

We saw how Sage Dhaumya had (https://bharatiyastories.blogspot.com/2025/01/sage-dhaumya-and-his-disciples-part-1.html) tested one of his disciples Aruni by tasking him to arrest the flow of water from the broken dyke.

Now it was the turn of the other two disciples – Upamanyu and Ved. Let us see what happened. One day Dhaumya called Upamanyu and said, “Upamanyu, you have grown up and your education is now almost complete. Hereafter during the day, I want you to take the cows and calves into the forest and graze them so that they can eat well.” Upamanyu bowed to the Guru and said “So be it, Guruji.”

From then on Upamanyu sincerely took the cows and calves everyday into the forest and grazed them. He went after his morning classes and returned for the evening session. One day Dhaumya observed that Upamanyu had become rather plump. He called him and asked him “Upamanyu, you leave in the morning before the meals. You come back only for the evening meals. How come you have become rather plump? What are you eating in the forest?”

Upamanyu replied “Guruji, on the way to the forest I beg for alms from the villagers and eat it during the day. That helps me manage my hunger.” Dhaumya said “That is not correct Upamanyu. Whatever alms the villagers give belongs to the Gurukulam (school) and all the students and not just for you. You cannot eat everything yourself without asking.”

Upamanyu begged for forgiveness and said “I will give the alms to the school hereafter Guruji.” And he did. After a few weeks, Dhaumya observed that Upamanyu did not look he was weak or tired. He again asked Upamanyu “So how are you managing Upamanyu? “ Upamanyu replied “Guruji, I bring the first set of alms to the school. I again go and ask for food for myself and the villagers are kind to give me.”

Dhaumya said “Upamanyu, the villagers are giving the school food as we are providing free education. We cannot burden them by asking food twice. The students from the other schools will be deprived of biksha (food). The villagers themselves are not too rich. So we should not trouble them.”

Upamanyu asked for forgiveness and promised not to go for alms again. A few days passed. Dhaumya called Upamanyu one day and said “ How are you managing your food Upamanyu?” Upamanyu replied “After you told me Guruji, I do not ask the villagers for food. The alms I get I give it to our school. When I feel hungry, I drink the milk from the cows.”

Dhaumya looked at him and said “Upamanyu, the calves are young and hungry. They need their mother’s milk for nourishment. Do not drink the milk.” Upamanyu obediently agreed. Few weeks passed. Same old question. Dhaumya asked Upamanyu how he managed his food. The student replied “I do not drink the cow’s milk Guruji. I wait for the calves to finish. They have foam around their mouth after they drink the milk. I eat the foam and survive.”

Dhaumya told Upamanyu “My dear son, the calves are very kind hearted. They may not be drinking the foam to give you the food. Have you thought about their hunger as they may not get enough food?” Upamanyu felt guilty and promised not to do that. A few days later, Upamanyu had not returned to the Gurukul (school) even at dusk.

Dhaumya got worried and went into the forest looking for him. After searching everywhere, they found he had fallen into a dry well. When his friends got him out, they realised he had lost his eyesight. Dhaumya enquired what had happened. Upamanyu replied that he did not have anything to eat and felt very hungry. He started eating the leaves and shrubs in the forest. He said “Guruji, some of the leaves must have been poisonous. I lost my sight because of that.”

Dhaumya said “Do not worry. Pray to the Ashwini Gods. They are the doctors to the Devas themselves. They will cure you.” Saying so Dhaumya and the other students left. Upamanyu did as he was told and kept praying to the Ashwini twins with complete faith. The Ashwinis appeared in front of him and said “Here Upamanyu, we are very pleased with your dedication to your Guru. Eat this cake. You will get your eyesight back.”

Upamanyu said “Thank you. I am afraid I can only eat this after offering it to my Guru.” The Ashwinis wanted to test him. They said “Why do you want to give him this divine cake? He has been cruel to you. If he was in your position, he would have just eaten it without telling his Guru.”

Upamanyu was adamant. He requested the Gods. “I request you to take me to my Guru so that I can get his permission to eat this medicinal cake. Or you can please check with him and come.” After repeatedly trying to convince him, the Ashwinis realised it was futile to make him eat the medicinal cake without taking Dhaumya’s permission.

Pleased with his devotion, they gave him his eyesight back and asked him to go back to the Gurukul. Upamanyu thanked them and went back to Sage Dhaumya. Sage Dhaumya was pleased to see him. Dhaumya hugged Upamanyu and said with tears in his eyes “Upamanyu, you have proven to be a worthy disciple. Even when I was unkind and harsh, you did not get angry or disobey my orders. The Ashwinis themselves have blessed you with health and prosperity. Go and live a long and happy life.”

Upamanyu thanked his Guru for his blessings and left the Gurukul with a happy and contented heart.

Do you feel Dhaumya was harsh on his disciple? Perhaps. But he ensured that he got the blessings from divine doctors that ensured his well being for a long time. Gurus in those days gave their disciples harsh and difficult tasks to test them and make them stronger. We must admire Upamanyu who unquestioningly followed his Guru’s orders.

So how did Dhaumya test his third disciple Ved? We will see in the next edition.