Translation
In this
verse, Shri Krishna describes twenty-six virtues that befit a saintly
person – fearlessness (abhayam), purity of mind (sattva), steadfastness in
spiritual knowledge (jnana yoga), charity (dana), control of the senses (damah),
sacrifice (yajna), study of the sacred books (svadhyaya) , austerity (tapah) ,
and straightforwardness (arjavam); non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness (satyam),
absence of anger (akrodah), renunciation (tyagah), peacefulness (shantih),
restraint from fault-finding (apaishunam), compassion toward all living beings
(daya), absence of covetousness (aloloptvam), gentleness (mardavam), modesty
(hrih), and lack of fickleness (achapalam); vigour (tejah), forgiveness (kshama),
fortitude (dhritih), cleanliness (shaucham), bearing enmity toward none (adroham),
and absence of vanity (atimanita).
Story of
Daksh Prajapati, Sati and Lord Shiva
Once upon
a time, all the prajapatis or leaders performed a great sacrifice. It was well
attended by all the great sages, philosophers, demigods and fire-gods and their
followers.
Dakṣha was the leader of the Prajapatis. When he
entered that assembly, all the fire-gods and other participants in that great
assembly, with the exceptions of Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva, stood up in
respect for Dakṣha. Since
Lord Brahma was his father, Daksha offered respects to him and sat down. Daksha
was quite offended to see Lord Shiva sitting and not showing him any respect.
Daksha’s
virtues get overshadowed.
Daksha
felt insulted. His pride told him that he was leader of all leaders, the son of
Lord Brahma, and deserved to be respected. His ego told him that since Lord
Shiva was married to his daughter Sati, he was expected to bow to Daksha, since
the father-in-law is equal to a guru.
But he
had forgotten that despite being his son-in-law, Lord Shiva was much higher in
position. Full of ego and pride, Daksha insulted Lord Shiva, using vile words.
He forbade Shiva from receiving any share in the oblations of sacrifice.
Lord Shiva,
embodying the Gita’s teaching of absence of anger (akrodha) and inner calm (shanti),
did not react. He simply withdrew.
Sati faces humiliation.
Sometime
later, Sati came to know of a ‘vajapeya yagna’ being held at her father’s
house. Not knowing about her husband’s insult by her father, she insisted on
going though they had not been invited. When Shiva did not accompany her, she
marched off alone.
Once at
her father’s palace, she not only felt unwelcome by him but also realised that
he had not kept a share of the oblations of sacrifice for her husband.
This insult was too much for her to bear. She was too embarrassed to go back to
her husband, and after cursing her father, jumped into the sacrificial fire
giving up her life.
While the
divine virtues lead to harmony, forsaking them lead to chaos. Pride led to humiliation,
which in turn led to suffering and lastly to destruction.
Lord
Shiva unleashes Veerabhadra.
Lord
Shiva did not mind his own humiliation, but when he came to know that his dear
wife, Sati had also not been spared, he could bear it no more. He unleashed his
own fearful form – Veerabhadra, on Daksha. Daksha finally paid for his mistake,
when Veerabhadra severed off his head and threw it into the sacrificial fire.
Later, at the prayers of all gods, Lord Shiva showing forgiveness (kshama) and compassion
(daya) gave Dakska the head of a goat.
Finding balance.
Daksha failed
to show purity of mind, control of his senses, absence of anger, vanity, restraint
in finding fault, and bearing hostility towards Lord Shiva – the one who should
have been worshipped. Lord Shiva on the other hand, did not get angry when
humiliated, stayed calm and also forgave Daksha out of compassion.
Virtues bring
about inner discipline.
This
verse serves as a measure of our own spiritual growth. It is not easy to be
perfect from the first moment itself, but with conscious practice and making
Krishna our guide, it is not impossible either. These are the virtues that help
us achieve inner peace and harmony. Turning away from them can bring conflict
and discord.
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At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Deep gratitude to those who have lit that flame within me! Your comments are appreciated.