Pundalika and Pandarinatha

 

Pundalika and Pandarinatha

 

Temples are often built by kings and the wealthy as a thank you for blessings. Have you seen a God who is patiently awaiting for the devotee to find the time to attend to him. Surprised!!! Who is this God and which is the temple? This is none other than our dear Vittala of Pandarpur. So how did he come there?

In the thick forest called Dandirvan there lived a young man called Pundalik, the son of Janudeva and Satyavati. He was a spend thrift and was irresponsible. He abused local people and extorted money to take care of himself. Even his own parents were not outside of his ill deeds. Pundalik harassed them and periodically took money from them for his activities.

Frustrated and ashamed with the behaviour of their son, Pundalik’s parents left on a pilgrimage to Varanasi. Even this Pundalik did not allow. He decided to accompany them with his wife. Even in the route, he made his parents tend to the horses and other chores. The parents were sad and tired but could not do much.

Enroute, the party they reached the ashram of the great sage Kukkutswami. While staying there, every night, Pundalik saw a few beautiful looking women wearing dirty clothes and going into the ashram. The ladies did some seva there like cleaning the place. When they left ashram before dawn they looked beautiful but were clad in clean clothes this time.

The same occurrence happened night after night. Pundalik became curious. One day when the women were going out of the ashram, he stopped them. “Lady, I see that every night when you come in, your clothes are dirty. But when you go out your clothes look good. Who are you? Why do you come here every night? Why is this change?”

The ladies stopped. They said “We are Ganga, Yamuna and the other sacred rivers of Bharat. We become dirty as everyone who bathes in us washes their sins. We come here to recharge. When we do seva here at the ashram, we are able to get back our divine energy.”

One lady said to Pundalik “We are aware of everyone’s sins. We try our best to help by taking their sins, but we cannot take all of them. For instance, we know that you are a bully and ill treat even your own parents. The sins you are committing will come back to you some time.” Saying so, the women left.

Pundalik was shocked. He had never thought about the consequences of his actions. While a bully and a harasser, Pundalik was also intelligent. He realised that unless he changed his ways, he may have to pay for his bad deeds. Pundalik thought about his actions and life till then. By dawn, he had come to a conclusion. He decided that he needed to make an effort to change his ways.

Pundalik thought about how to start this journey of becoming a better person. He decided the easiest place to start was his parents. Pundalik started treating his parents with respect and kindness. He promised them that he would be a changed man. Pundalik convinced them to return home with him rather than going to Varanasi. His parents were not fully convinced but decided to go with him. Pundalik was their son after all.

Pundalik and his parents returned to their house. Pundalik kept his word and took care of them. He got work and with that money took care of his parents. Pundalik also stopped bullying other people in the village. Initially everyone thought he was pretending but slowly came to respect and like him. Earlier Pundalik used to be feared and hated. Just a change in behaviour led to a positive change in the way he was being looked at. Pundalik also became a devotee of Lord Krishna and prayed every day.

One day, Lord Krishna and Ma Rukmini wanted to test his resolve. They visited his house and called out to him. Pundalik was serving lunch to his parents. He knew that the divine Lord and Ma themselves were there to visit him. But Pundalik did not want to be distracted. He said “Krishna, I know it is you. I am sorry. I cannot receive you just now. I am serving food to my parents. I will join you once they are done. It is hot outside. Just use this as a stool.” Saying this, he threw a brick at the divine couple.

Lord Krishna smiling caught the brick and stood on the brick. After his service to his parents, Pundalik came and paid his respects to the divine couple. They blessed him. Pundalik requested them to stand on the brick and bless all the people who come here. The divine couple gladly agreed.

Krishna continues to stand on the brick and bless the millions of devotees who come every day. All thanks to Pundalika we got a Pandarinatha.

Jai Pandarinath!!!