Submitted by: Melrose B.

Seco

BSED-English

Submitted to: Joseph Michael T. Bentoy

MAEd
Literature

in

BABYLON
 The Epic of Gilgamesh – The Full Story
The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the great works of literature, and one of the
oldest. It was first composed in ancient Mesopotamia during the early second
millennium BC, in the Akkadian language, and an excellent translation is given
by Andrew George (Penguin Classics 1999). The narrative is divided into eleven
books comprising about 3,000 lines in total.

It is a story of love and comradeship, arrogance and uncertainty, wisdom and

folly, impetuosity and determination, immortality and the inevitability of death. In
Book I, Gilgamesh is introduced as, “He who saw the deep, the foundations of
the land”—a king who has travelled far and learned wisdom and knowledge of
all things. It then describes the great city of Uruk and the walls built by
Gilgamesh (Uruk—Biblical Erech—was once the world’s greatest ancient city,
located on the old course of the Euphrates in southern Iraq). Gilgamesh
dominates the city and its people, leaving no young man free to go to his
father, and no young wife free to go to her bridegroom. The citizens plead with
the sky god Anu for help, and their prayers are answered. The gods create a
primeval man, Enkidu to be a counterbalance to Gilgamesh. He is formed from
the clay of the ground, somewhere in the outback (the term for the outback is
the Sumerian word Edin—compare with the second creation story of humans in
Genesis 2).

A trapper is the first person to come across Enkidu, seeing him as he drinks with
the wild animals at their watering holes. The trapper reports him to Gilgamesh
who sends Shamhat the courtesan to tame him. She lies with Enkidu for a week,
after which the animals run from him and he finds he no longer belongs to
the Edin; compare again with Genesis 2 where Adam and Eve can no longer
stay in Eden.

When Enkidu hears, from a passing wedding guest, that Gilgamesh takes the
young brides for himself on their wedding night, he goes to Uruk to challenge
him. They wrestle one another to a standstill, after which they become bosom
friends, and Gilgamesh introduces Enkidu to his mother Ninsun. When she points
out that he has no kith and kin, Enkidu bursts into tears, and Gilgamesh proposes
a great distraction for them both—they will undertake an epic journey to the
great cedar forest where they will challenge Humbaba, the guardian placed
there by the god Enlil. Enkidu advises against this venture, knowing as he does
the terrifying nature of Humbaba (compare with the guardian of Eden in
Genesis 3:24), but Gilgamesh is determined on it. Ninsun prays to the sun god
Shamash to protect her son, and takes Enkidu as an adopted son who will
protect his new brother.

Giant weapons are cast for the two of them before setting out. They march in
three days a distance that would take normal men a month and a half, and
each day they pitch a tent to the dream god. Gilgamesh dreams fearful
dreams, but Enkidu always interprets them as good omens. When they reach
the forest they marvel at the tall cedars, but Shamash the sun-god quickly
persuades them to challenge Humbaba while he is still unprepared, protected
by only one of his seven auras. With help from the thirteen winds, they pin him
down, and then have a dilemma. Gilgamesh does not wish to kill Humbaba, but
Enkidu is adamant that they kill or be killed. Humbaba pleads for his life, and
Gilgamesh hesitates. But Enkidu persists, and Humbaba curses him, a curse, like
that of the Cyclops in the Odyssey, having ominous consequences.

After slaying Humbaba, Gilgamesh and Enkidu take down the tallest cedar in
the forest to build a great door to the god Enlil. They return to Uruk where Ishtar
the goddess of love hears of the heroic deed and comes to ask Gilgamesh to
be her husband. He replies by describing the sorry end of her previous lovers,
and rejects her in no uncertain terms. Ishtar is furious and goes to her father Anu
demanding the Bull of Heaven to wreak vengeance against Gilgamesh. She
threatens to open the gates of the Netherworld if he will not agree to her
demand, so Anu gives in and she takes the bull to Uruk to destroy the city. Every
time it snorts a huge pit opens up and scores of men fall in, but Gilgamesh and
Enkidu battle the bull. They kill it, and Enkidu throws a part of its body at Ishtar.
This brings us half way through the story, to the end of book VI.

In book VII, Enkidu dreams that the gods have decided to punish the two of
them by killing him. In an extraordinary passage he talks to the door that they
made for Enlil, and curses Shamhat the harlot who has brought him into
civilization. He tells her how the highways will be her home, everyone will insult
her and the drunkard will vomit over her. But Shamash the sun god, the god of
justice, who in Enkidu’s dream spoke up for him in the assembly of the gods, calls
from the sky, and Enkidu changes the fate he has uttered against Shamhat;
princes will honour her, every type of man will desire her, and she will receive
precious gifts and jewellery. Then Enkidu returns to his dream where he is
dragged to the Netherworld, and after many days of sickness he dies.

Gilgamesh is distraught. He calls for the animals of the wild to mourn Enkidu, for
the river Euphrates to weep for Enkidu, for the elders of the city to mourn, for the
young men to mourn, for the ploughman at his plough to mourn, and finally
Gilgamesh himself mourns. He lays Enkidu out on a great bed, and has expert
craftsmen build a magnificent statue to him. He mourns for days, and only when
a maggot falls from Enkidu’s nostril, will he have him buried. Then Gilgamesh
leaves to roam the wild.

Gilgamesh now understands his own mortality, and decides to seek out the
immortal, Uta-napishti from whom he might learn the secret of life without
death. After fighting with lions he reaches the twin mountains where the sun rises
and sets. The scorpion men who guard the mountains ask his business, and warn
that his journey is impossible. They tell him he will not get through the darkness
inside the mountains, but they let him pass, and he travels a mysterious path in
which he races the sun itself, coming out just ahead before dawn. Gilgamesh
now finds himself in a land where the trees and bushes blossom with gemstones.

At the beginning of book X, Gilgamesh arrives at a tavern at the edges of the

world, kept by Shiduri. She is wrapped in wraps and enshawled in shawls—a
mysterious woman who is at first fearful of this wild looking man. He tells his tale,
explaining why he looks so haggard, and asks her the way to Uta-napishti. She
says it is impossible to reach there, that only the sun god Shamash can cross the
waters to Uta-napishti, and in the midst of the journey are the waters of death.
When Gilgamesh insists, she tells him to find Ur-shanabi the ferryman for Uta-
napishti. This man is in the woods with “those of stone”, and Gilgamesh falls in a
fury on these mysterious stone ones, destroying them. When Ur-shanabi asks him
why he is so wild he explains, as he did to Shiduri, about the death of his friend
Enkidu. He is now seeking Uta-napishti to learn the secret of how to avoid death,
and Ur-shanabi tells him he just destroyed the method of getting there when he
smashed the stone ones. He commands Gilgamesh to cut down three hundred
saplings to use as punting poles, and when all is ready they depart.

They sail, and in three days cover the journey of a month and a half, just as
Gilgamesh and Enkidu did in taking the path to Humbaba’s cedar forest. At the
waters of death, they use the punting poles, and finally, with Gilgamesh using his
shirt as a sail, they reach the land of Uta-napishti. Gilgamesh tells Uta-napishti of
his exploits, but receives the response that he is being foolish. As a king he should
be taking care of his people, yet he seeks the impossible. Death is unavoidable;
no-one sees the face of death or hears the voice of death, but it cuts each one
down. The gods have assigned mortality to mankind, and it cannot be
changed. Thus ends book X.
As book XI starts, Uta-napishti reveals a secret to Gilgamesh. He tells him the
story of the flood. The gods sent a flood to destroy the human race, but one
god, Ea spoke to a reed fence giving instructions on how to build a suitable
boat. Uta-napishti heard the words of Ea, and saved himself, his family and all
living things. The flood was upon the earth for six days and seven nights. On the
seventh day the boat came to rest on a mountain, and he sent forth three birds
in succession: a dove, a swallow, and a raven (compare with the flood story in
Genesis 8 where the three birds were raven, dove and dove, in that order). The
first two came back, and finally the raven flew off.

When Uta-napishti disembarked he made an offering to the gods, and when

the mother goddess arrived she regretted the loss of human life, saying her
necklace of flies would always remind her of this terrible event where humans
lay on the surface of the water like flies (compare the rainbow in Genesis 9).
However, the god Enlil, who originally sent the flood, was furious that anyone
had survived, and it took the wise god Ea to persuade him that the ever-
increasing multitude of people could be kept in check in various other ways. This
suggests that the reason for sending the flood was the noise and clamour of
human beings (compare with the Biblical story in which it was the iniquity of
mankind that caused God to destroy everyone but Noah and his family). The
noise of mankind is precisely the reason given in another ancient Mesopotamian
story called Atrahasis (The Supersage), telling of the creation of humans and the
great flood (in the Gilgamesh Epic, the Supersage is named Uta-napishti). Enlil
accepts Ea’s idea and blesses Uta-napishti and his wife, conferring immortality
on them so that they should be like gods and dwell far off.

When Uta-napishti has related this story, he tells Gilgamesh that if he seeks
immortality he must first conquer sleep by staying awake for six days and seven
nights. Gilgamesh immediately falls asleep, and as he sleeps, Uta-napishti has his
wife bake bread every day and set it in front of Gilgamesh. When Gilgamesh
finally awakes, saying he barely fell asleep, Uta-napishti is able to show him how
each loaf of bread has gone stale, one worse than the next, proving that he has
slept for six days and seven nights. If he cannot beat sleep he cannot beat
death, and Gilgamesh now accepts the inevitable.

As for Ur-shanabi, the quayside will now reject him, the ferry will reject him, and
his days of immortality are over. Uta-napishti sends him to bath Gilgamesh, give
him new clothes, and then together the two of them will go to Uruk. Before they
leave, however, Uta-napishti’s wife intervenes to plead that Gilgamesh not be
sent away empty-handed, so Uta-napishti tells Gilgamesh a second secret. He
tells him of a plant that will rejuvenate life. It grows beneath the sweet waters
under the earth, so Gilgamesh ties stones to his feet and dives down to bring up
the plant, and then leaves with Ur-shanabi.

They move at great speed, as did Gilgamesh and Enkidu on the way to the
cedar forest. On the way, Gilgamesh bathes and a snake steals the plant,
swallows it and rejuvenates itself by sloughing its skin. Gilgamesh has lost his one
chance of eternal youthfulness, and returns to Uruk with nothing but his
experience, and his companion Ur-shanabi to whom he proudly shows the great
city walls that he once built. As king of the greatest city in the world, Gilgamesh
has seen the deep and learned the wisdom to accept his lot.
 Tower of Babel
MYTHOLOGICAL TOWER, BABYLONIA

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people
moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to
each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used
brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build
ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may
make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the
whole earth.” 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the
people were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same
language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be
impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they
will not understand each other.” So the LORD scattered them from there over
all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel
—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From
there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people
moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to
each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used
brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build
ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may
make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the
whole earth.” 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the
people were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same
language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be
impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so
they will not understand each other.” So the LORD scattered them from there
over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called
Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world.
From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. This is
the account of Shem’s family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100
years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. And after he became the father
of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. When
Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he
became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and
daughters. When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of
Eber. And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had
other sons and daughters. When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father
of Peleg. And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and
had other sons and daughters. When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the
father of Reu. And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years
and had other sons and daughters. When Reu had lived 32 years, he became
the father of Serug. And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207
years and had other sons and daughters. When Serug had lived 30 years, he
became the father of Nahor. And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug
lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. When Nahor had lived 29
years, he became the father of Terah. And after he became the father of
Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. After Terah
had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. This is
the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor
and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still
alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and
Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of
Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both
Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to
conceive. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his
daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from
Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they
settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.
 The Writing upon the Wall
The Fall of Babylon Bible Story

Daniel v: 1 to 31

The great kingdom or empire of Nebuchadnezzar was made up of many smaller

kingdoms which he had conquered. As long as he lived his kingdom was strong;
but as soon as he died it began to fall in pieces. His son became king in his
place, but was soon slain; and one king followed another quickly for some years.
The last king was named Nabonidus. He made his son Belshazzar king with
himself, and left Belshazzar to rule in the city of Babylon, while he was caring for
the more distant parts of the kingdom.

But a new nation was rising to power. Far to the east were the kingdoms of
Media and Persia. These two peoples had become one, and were at war with
Babylon, under their great leader, Cyrus. While Belshazzar was ruling in the city of
Babylon, Cyrus and his Persian soldiers were on the outside, around the walls,
trying to take the city. These walls were so great and high that the Persian
soldiers could not break through them.

But inside the city were many who were enemies of Belshazzar and were friendly
to Cyrus. These people opened the gates of Babylon to Cyrus. At night he
brought his army quietly into the city and surrounded the palace of King
Belshazzar.

On that night King Belshazzar was holding in the palace a great feast in honor of
his god. On the tables were the golden cups and vessels that Nebuchadnezzar
had taken from the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem; and around the table were
the king, his many wives, and a thousand of his princes and nobles. They did not
know that their city was taken, and that their enemies were at the very doors of
the palace.

While they were all drinking wine together suddenly a strange thing was seen.
On the wall appeared a great hand writing letters and words that no one could
read. Every eye was drawn to the spot, and all saw the fingers moving on the
wall, and the letters written. The king was filled with fear. His face became pale
and his knees shook. He called for the wise men of Babylon, who were with him
in the palace, to tell what the writing meant. He said, "Whoever can read the
words on the wall shall be dressed in a purple robe, and shall have a chain of
gold around his neck, and shall rank next to King Belshazzar as the third ruler in
the kingdom."

But not one of the wise men could read it, for God had not given to them the
power. At last the queen of Babylon said to Belshazzar, "O king, may you live
forever! There is one man who can read this writing, a man in whom is the spirit
of the holy gods, a man whom Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made master of
all the wise men. His name is Daniel. Send for him, and he will tell you what these
words are and what they mean."

Daniel was now an old man; and since the time when Nebuchadnezzar died he
had been no longer in his high place as ruler and chief adviser of the king. They
sent for Daniel, and he came. The king said to him, "Are you that Daniel who was
brought many years ago by my father to this city? I have heard of you, that the
spirit of the holy gods is upon you, and that you have wisdom and knowledge. If
you can read this writing upon the wall, and tell me what it means, I will give you
a purple robe, and a gold chain, and a place next to myself as the third ruler in
the kingdom."

And Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your rewards yourself, and may
give your gifts to whom you please, for I do not want them; but I will read to you
the writing. O king, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar this kingdom,
and great power, and glory. But when Nebuchadnezzar became proud, and
boasted of his greatness, then the Lord took from him his crown and his throne,
and let him live among the beasts of the field, until he knew that the most High
God rules over the kingdoms of men. O Belshazzar, you knew all this, yet you
have not been humble in heart. You have risen up against the Lord, and have
taken the vessels of his house, and have drunk wine in them in honor of your
own gods of wood and stone; but you have not praised the Lord God who has
given to you your kingdom and your power. For this reason God has sent this
hand to write these words upon the wall. This is the writing, MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
UPHARSIN. And this is the meaning, Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, Divided.

"MENE: God has counted the years of your kingdom, and has brought it to an
end.

"TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and have been found
wanting.

"UPHARSIN: Your kingdom is divided, and taken from you, and given to the
Medes and the Persians."

King Belshazzar could scarcely believe what he heard; but he commanded that
the promised reward be given to Daniel. And almost while he was speaking his
end came. The Persians and the Medes burst into his palace; they seized
Belshazzar and killed him in the midst of his feast.
On that night the empire or great kingdom set up by Nebuchadnezzar came to
an end. A new empire arose, greater than that of Babylon, called the Persian
Empire. And in the place of Belshazzar, Cyrus, the commander of the Persians,
made an old man named Darius king until the time when he was ready to take
the kingdom for himself.

This empire of Persia was the third of the world-kingdoms of which we read in the
Bible. The first was the Assyrian kingdom, having Nineveh for its capital. This was
the kingdom that carried the Ten Tribes of Israel into captivity. The second was
the Babylonian or Chaldean kingdom, which carried the Jews into captivity.
And the third was the Persian kingdom, which lasted two hundred years, ruling
all the lands named in the Bible.
Literature

in

INDIA
 The tale of Mandodari, the patient and
pious wife of Ravana

The story of Mandodari, the chief wife of Ravana has been scarcely told in the
Ramayana, save for a few mentions in the Uttara Khanda. There are more
mentions of her in the other versions of the Ramayana like the Adbhuta
Ramayana and Krittivasi Ramayana and in the Puranas like the Devi Bhagavata
Purana.
Valmiki’s Ramayana describes Mandodari as a very beautiful, pious and noble
woman whose appearance once led Hanumana to mistake her for Sita. She
was known to be extremely patient with Ravana’s attitude towards women, but
always questioning his actions and rebuking his choices.

Mandodari’s purpose in the epic is to show how even though she stood behind
Ravana because of duty, she did not condone his actions or go along with
them. Here are a few anecdotes that reveal an interesting personality.

Born in Mandore (near present day Jodhpur, Rajasthan) to the king of asuras,
Mayasura and his wife Hema, Mandodari was the only daughter among three
children.

As a child, her brothers– Mayavi and Dundubhi– were always at each other’s
throats. Once, over a trivial incident, the two were engaged in a violent
argument. Mandodari, peace-loving as ever, calmly separated the brothers by
physically stepping in-between them, and clutching both of them by the hair,
she said, “You both are a disgrace to the family. Nobody in the world will come
to help, save your family, when you really need it. Too many people in the world
are evil and out to get you, the one person you can rely on is your brother and
you chose to fight with him. Stop fighting and go to your rooms!”

Even as a child of 10, Mandodari spoke eloquently with maturity. So much so,
that this happened to be the last time Mayavi and Dundhubi fought.

Of her marriage to Ravana, it so happened, that one day, Ravana visited the
kingdom of Mayasura. He saw Mandodari and fell immediately enamoured, as
he did with most women.

He approached Mayasura and said, “I am a man of great family riches. My

lineage can be traced back for generations, and you will never find a greater
devotee of Shiva than I. Would you give me your daughter, Mandodari’s hand
in marriage?”

Mayasura, taken in by the many accomplishments listed by Ravana agreed,

and Mandodari and Ravana were married under complete Vedic rituals. It was
only after their marriage, that Mandodari found out about Ravana’s penchant
for women and the size his ego.

When Ravana kidnapped Sita, Mandodari was the first one to tell him that must
repent and take Sita back to Rama, or face dire consequences.

When Hanuman was sent to Lanka to find Sita, he accidentally entered

Mandodari’s bedchambers. For a moment, looking at Mandodari praying
ardently to Parvati, he mistook her for the virtuous Sita. However, realising his
mistake he scurried out quickly.

When he did locate Sita, he observed, from behind the bushes, how Ravana
was trying to coerce Sita into marrying him, “You must know how I have fallen in
love with you, Sita. You must agree to marry me.”

“That will never happen as long as I and my husband are alive, Ravana. Why
don’t you let me leave, and go back to your devoted wife?” declared Sita.

Ravana’s having had enough niceties, finally got annoyed and unsheathed his
sword to kill Sita, however as soon as he raised his sword, Mandodari arrived and
held him by the wrist.

“Let me go, Mandodari. I will end Rama’s precious wife’s life right here and
now,” snarled Ravana.

“Killing of a woman is a heinous sin upon dharma, husband,” replied Mandodari

without a trace of fear, “Listen to Sita and let her go.”

Ravana dropped his sword, “Fine. I won’t kill her, but she will be mine,” he said
striding out.

Almost toward the end of the war between Rama and Ravana, when all of
Ravana’s sons, brothers and warriors had been vanquished by Rama’s army, the
Lankan king organised a yajna to assure victory.

Rama sent a troop of vanaras, headed by Hanuman and Angada, to make sure
that Ravana’s yajna would fail. The vanaras created complete chaos in
Ravana’s palace, but the latter refused to stop and carried on with the fire
sacrifice.

Angada had dragged Mandodari by her hair to the court, much like Dushasana
had dragged Draupadi in the Mahabharata. Mandodari, begged her husband,
“Look at how they’re treating your wife, Ravana. Won’t you set aside your
grudge and your ego to even save me?”

Enraged, Ravana had abandoned his yajna and struck Angada with his sword.
However, Rama’s purpose of disrupting the yajna had been successful and he
immediately left Mandodari and escaped.

Mandodari, having been ill-treated by Sita’s representatives, looked at Ravana

with tears in her eyes, “Is it worth it? The fight to claim Sita? I beg you, dear
husband. Abandon this madness. Let Sita return. No good can come of this.”

Ravana had disregarded all her requests, and it is said that because Ravana
could not complete his yajna to win, it ensured the opposite– Rama’s victory.

The story of Prahlada

Hiranyakashipu was the king of the Daityas. The Daityas, though born of the
same parentage as the Devas or gods, were always, at war with the latter. The
Daityas had no part in the oblations and offerings of mankind, or in the
government of the world and its guidance. But sometimes they waxed strong
and drove all the Devas from the heaven, and seized the throne of the gods
and ruled for a time. Then the Devas prayed to Vishnu, the Omnipresent Lord of
the universe, and He helped them out of their difficulty. The Daityas were driven
out, and once more the gods reigned. Hiranyakashipu, king of the Daityas, in his
turn, succeeded in conquering his cousins, the Devas, and seated himself on the
throne of the heavens and ruled the three worlds — the middle world, inhabited
by men and animals; the heavens, inhabited by gods and godlike beings; and
the nether world, inhabited by the Daityas. Now, Hiranyakashipu declared
himself to be the God of the whole universe and proclaimed that there was no
other God but himself, and strictly enjoined that the Omnipotent Vishnu should
have no worship offered to Him anywhere; and that all the worship should
henceforth be given to himself only.

Hiranyakashipu had a son called Prahlâda. Now, it so happened, that this

Prahlada from his infancy was devoted to God. He showed indications of this as
a child; and the king of the Daityas, fearing that the evil he wanted to drive
away from the world would crop up in his own family, made over his son to two
teachers called Shanda and Amarka, who were very stern disciplinarians, with
strict injunctions that Prahlada was never to hear even the name of Vishnu
mentioned. The teachers took the prince to their home, and there he was put to
study with the other children of his age. But the little Prahlada, instead of
learning from his books, devoted all the time in teaching the other boys how to
worship Vishnu. When the teachers found it out, they were frightened, for the
fear of the mighty king Hiranyakashipu was upon them, and they tried their best
to dissuade the child from such teachings. But Prahlada could no more stop his
teaching and worshipping Vishnu than he could stop breathing. To clear
themselves, the teachers told the terrible fact to the king, that his son was not
only worshipping Vishnu himself, but also spoiling all the other children by
teaching them to worship Vishnu.

The monarch became very much enraged when he heard this and called the
boy to his presence. He tried by gentle persuasions to dissuade Prahlada from
the worship of Vishnu and taught him that he, the king, was the only God to
worship. But it was to no purpose. The child declared, again and again, that the
Omnipresent Vishnu, Lord of the universe, was the only Being to be worshipped
— for even he, the king, held his throne only so long as it pleased Vishnu. The
rage of the king knew no bounds, and he ordered the boy to be immediately
killed. So the Daityas struck him with pointed weapons; but Prahlad's mind was
so intent upon Vishnu that he felt no pain from them.

When his father, the king, saw that it was so, he became frightened but, roused
to the worst passions of a Daitya, contrived various diabolical means to kill the
boy. He ordered him to be trampled under foot by an elephant. The enraged
elephant could not crush the body any more than he could have crushed a
block of iron. So this measure also was to no purpose. Then the king ordered the
boy to be thrown over a precipice, and this order too was duly carried out; but,
as Vishnu resided in the heart of Prahlada, he came down upon the earth as
gently as a flower drops upon the grass. Poison, fire, starvation, throwing into a
well, enchantments, and other measures were then tried on the child one after
another, but to no purpose. Nothing could hurt him in whose heart dwelt Vishnu.

At last, the king ordered the boy to be tied with mighty serpents called up from
the nether worlds, and then cast to the bottom of the ocean, where huge
mountains were to be piled high upon him, so that in course of time, if not
immediately, he might die; and he ordered him to be left in this plight. Even
though treated in this manner, the boy continued to pray to his beloved Vishnu:
"Salutation to Thee, Lord of the universe. Thou beautiful Vishnu!" Thus thinking
and meditating on Vishnu, he began to feel that Vishnu was near him, nay, that
He was in his own soul, until he began to feel that he was Vishnu, and that he
was everything and everywhere.

As soon as he realised this, all the snake bonds snapped asunder; the mountains
were pulverised, the ocean upheaved, and he was gently lifted up above the
waves, and safely carried to the shore. As Prahlada stood there, he forgot that
he was a Daitya and had a mortal body: he felt he was the universe and all the
powers of the universe emanated from him; there was nothing in nature that
could injure him; he himself was the ruler of nature. Time passed thus, in one
unbroken ecstasy of bliss, until gradually Prahlada began to remember that he
had a body and that he was Prahlada. As soon as he became once more
conscious of the body, he saw that God was within and without; and everything
appeared to him as Vishnu.

When the king Hiranyakashipu found to his horror that all mortal means of
getting rid of the boy who was perfectly devoted to his enemy, the God Vishnu,
were powerless, he was at a loss to know what to do. The king had the boy
again brought before him, and tried to persuade him once more to listen to his
advice, through gentle means. But Prahlada made the same reply. Thinking,
however, that these childish whims of the boy would be rectified with age and
further training, he put him again under the charge of the teachers, Shanda and
Amarka, asking them to teach him the duties of the king. But those teachings
did not appeal to Prahlada, and he spent his time in instructing his schoolmates
in the path of devotion to the Lord Vishnu.

When his father came to hear about it, he again became furious with rage, and
calling the boy to him, threatened to kill him, and abused Vishnu in the worst
language. But Prahlada still insisted that Vishnu was the Lord of the universe, the
Beginningless, the Endless, the Omnipotent and the Omnipresent, and as such,
he alone was to be worshipped. The king roared with anger and said: "Thou evil
one, if thy Vishnu is God omnipresent, why doth he not reside in that pillar
yonder?" Prahlada humbly submitted that He did do so. "If so," cried the king, "let
him defend thee; I will kill thee with this sword." Thus saying the king rushed at him
with sword in hand, and dealt a terrible blow at the pillar. Instantly thundering
voice was heard, and lo and behold, there issued forth from the pillar Vishnu in
His awful Nrisimha form — half-lion, half-man! Panic-stricken, the Daityas ran
away in all directions; but Hiranyakashipu fought with him long and desperately,
till he was finally overpowered and killed.
Then the gods descended from heaven and offered hymns to Vishnu, and
Prahlada also fell at His feet and broke forth into exquisite hymns of praise and
devotion. And he heard the Voice of God saying, "Ask, Prahlada ask for
anything thou desires"; thou art My favourite child; therefore ask for anything
thou mayest wish." And Prahlada choked with feelings replied, "Lord, I have seen
Thee. What else can I want? Do thou not tempt me with earthly or heavenly
boons." Again the Voice said: "Yet ask something, my son." And then Prahlada
replied, "That intense love, O Lord, which the ignorant bear to worldly things,
may I have the same love for Thee; may I have the same intensity of love for
Thee, but only for love's sake!"

Then the Lord said, "Prahlada, though My intense devotees never desire for
anything, here or hereafter, yet by My command, do thou enjoy the blessings of
this world to the end of the present cycle, and perform works of religious merit,
with thy heart fixed on Me. And thus in time, after the dissolution of thy body,
thou shalt attain Me." Thus blessing Prahlada, the Lord Vishnu disappeared. Then
the gods headed by Brahma installed Prahlada on the throne of the Daityas
and returned to their respective spheres.
 Eklavya’s Loyalty
– A story about dedication and respect

This is the story of a long-gone era. In the country of India, nearly five thousand
years back, lived a boy named Eklavya, the son of a tribal chief in the forests of
the kingdom- Hastinapura. Eklavya was a brave, handsome boy. He was loved
by all. But he was not happy.

His father saw that something troubled Eklavya. More than once he found his
son lost deep in thought when other boys enjoyed the pleasures of hunting
and playing. One day the father asked his son, Why are you so unhappy,
Eklavya? Why don t you join your friends? Why are you not interested in hunting?
Father, I want to be an archer replied Eklavya, I want to become a disciple
of the great Dronacharya, the great tutor of Archery in Hastinapura. His Gurukul
is a magical place where ordinary boys are turned into mighty warriors.

Eklavya saw his father was silent. He continued, Father, I know that we belong to
the hunting tribe, but I want to be a warrior, father, not a mere hunter. So please
allow me to leave home and become the disciple of Dronacharya. Eklavya?s
father was troubled, for he knew that his son?s ambition was not an easy one.
But the chief was a loving father and he did not want to refuse his only son?s
wish. So the kind man gave his blessings and sent his son on his way to Drona s
Gurukul. Eklavya set on his way. Soon he reached the part of the forest where
Drona taught the princes of Hastinapur.

In those days, there was no such system as a school, college, university or hostel.
The only place where one could get some education was a Gurukul . A Gurukul
(Guru refers to ?teacher? or ?master?, Kul refers to his domain, from the Sanskrit
word kula, meaning extended family.) is a type of ancient Hindu school in India
that is residential in nature with the shishyas or students and the guru or teacher
living in proximity, many a time within the same house. The Gurukul is the place
where the students resided together as equals, irrespective of their social
standing. The students learned from the guru and also helped the guru in his
day-to-day life, including the carrying out of mundane chores such as washing
clothes, cooking, etc. The education imparted thus, was a wholesome one.

Having said this much, let us now return to Eklavya. When the boy
reached Dronacharya s Gurukul, he saw that it consisted of a group of huts,
surrounded by trees and an archery yard. The disciples were practicing to shoot
arrows with their bows and arrows in the yard. It was an engaging sight. But
Eklavya s eyes searched Drona. Where was he? Will he be able to see the man?
Without Drona, all his purpose of coming here would be meaningless. But all his
worries soon subsided. He did not have to wait for long. There was the man
standing near a tree busy instructing a boy, who was none else than the third
Pandava prince Arjuna, as Eklavya came to know later. Though Eklavya had
never seen Drona before, he put his guess at work. He went near Drona and
bowed. The sage was surprised to see a strange boy addressing him. Who are
you? he asked.

?Dronacharya, I am Eklavya, son of the Tribal Chief in the western part of

the forests of Hastinapura.? Eklavya replied. ?Please accept me as your disciple
and teach me the wonderful art of Archery.?

Drona sighed. ?Eklavya? if you are a tribal hunter, you must be a Shudra,
the lowest social community according to the Vedic Caste System. I am a
Brahmin, the highest caste in the kingdom. I cannot teach a Shudra boy? he
said.

?And he?s also a Royal teacher,? interrupted Prince Arjuna. ?Our Guru has
been appointed by the King to train us, the princes and the highborn. How dare
you come inside the Gurukul and seek him? Leave! NOW!? he spat out, looking
enraged that Eklavya had disturbed his practice.

Eklavya was stunned at Arjuna?s behavior. He himself was the son of the chief
of his clan, but he never insulted anyone below him in such a way. He looked
at Drona for some kind of support, but the sage remained silent. The message
was loud and clear. Dronacharya also wanted him to leave. He refused to
teach him. The innocent tribal boy was deeply hurt by Drona?s refusal to teach
him. ?It?s not fair!? he thought miserably. ?God has given knowledge to all, but
man alone differentiates his kind.?

He left the place with a broken heart and a bitter taste in his mouth. But it could
not shatter his ambition to learn Archery. He was still as determined to learn
Archery. ?I may be a Shudra but does it make any difference?? thought he. ? I
am as strong and zealous as Drona?s princes and disciples. If I practice the
art every day, I can surely become an archer.?

Eklavya reached his own forests and took some mud from a nearby river. He
made a statue of Dronacharya and selected a secluded clearing in the forests
to place it. Eklavya did this because he faithfully believed that if he practiced
before his Guru, he would become an able archer. Thus, though his Guru
shunned him, he still held him in high esteem and thought of him as his Guru.

Day after day, he took his bow and arrow, worshiped the statue of Drona
and started practice. In time faith, courage and perseverance transformed
Eklavya the mere tribal hunter into Eklavya the extraordinary archer. Eklavya
became an archer of exceptional prowess, superior even to Drona?s best pupil,
Arjuna.

One day while Eklavya is practicing, he hears a dog barking. At first, the
boy ignored the dog, but the continuous disturbance in his practice angered
him. He stopped his practice and went towards the place where the dog was
barking. Before the dog could shut up or get out of the way, Eklavya fired seven
arrows in rapid succession to fill the dog?s mouth without injuring it. As a result,
it roamed the forests with its mouth opened.

But Eklavya was not alone in his practice. He was unaware of the fact that
just some distance away, the Pandava princes were also present in that area of
the forest. As fate would have it, that day, they had come with their teacher,
Drona, who was instructing them about some finer points of archery by making
them learn in the real-life condition of the open jungle.

As they were busy practicing, they suddenly chanced upon the ?stuffed? dog,
and wonder who could have pulled off such a feat of archery. Drona was
amazed too.? Such an excellent aim can only come from a mighty archer.? he
exclaimed. He told the Pandavas that if somebody was such a good archer
then he surely needed to be met. The practice was stopped and together they
began searching the forest for the one behind such amazing feat. They found a
dark-skinned man dressed all in black, his body besmeared with filth and his hair
in matted locks. It was Eklavya. Dronacharya went up to him.

?Your aim is truly remarkable!? Drona praised Eklavya, and asked, ?From whom
did you learn Archery?? Eklavya was thrilled to hear Drona?s praises. How
surprised he will be if he told Drona that he, in fact, was his Guru! ?From you my
Master. You are my Guru,? Eklavya replied humbly.

?Your Guru? How can I be your Guru? I have never seen you before!?
Drona exclaimed in surprise. But all of a sudden he remembered something.
He remembered about an eager boy who had visited his Gurukul several
months ago.? Now I remember,? said he. ?Are you not the same hunter boy
whom I refused admission in my Gurukul some months back??

?Yes, Dronacharya?, replied the boy. ?After I left your Gurukul, I came home
and made a statue like you and worshiped it every day. I practiced before
your image. You refused to teach me, but your statue did not. Thanks to it, I
have become a good archer.?

Hearing this, Arjuna became angry. ?But you promised me that you?d make me
the best archer in the world!? he accused Drona. ?Now how can that be? Now
a common hunter has become better than me!?

The other princes remembered their master frequently praising Arjuna that he
had immense talent and will be the greatest archer in the kingdom. They waited
with bated breath. What will their teacher do now?

Unable to answer Arjuna?s question, Drona remained silent. The sage too
was upset that his promise to Prince Arjuna was not going to be fulfilled. He
was also angry with Eklavya for disobeying him. So the sage planned to
punish Eklavya. ?Where is your guru dakhsina? You have to give me a gift for
your training,? the sage demanded. He had finally found a way to make
Eklavya suffer for his disobedience.

Eklavya was overjoyed. A guru dakshina was the voluntary fee or gift offered by
a disciple to his guru at the end of his training. The guru-shishya parampara, i.e.
the teacher-student tradition, was a hallowed tradition in Hinduism. At the end
of a shishya?s study, the guru asks for a ?guru dakshina,? since a guru does not
take fees. A guru dakshina is the final offering from a student to the guru before
leaving the ashram. The teacher may ask for something or nothing at all.

?Dronacharya, I?ll be the happiest person on earth to serve you. Ask

me anything and I will offer it to you as my guru dhakshina ?he said. ?I might
ask something you don?t like to give me. What if you refuse the dhakshina I
want?? Drona asked cunningly.

Eklavya was shocked. It was considered a grave insult and a great sin if a guru?s
dakshina was refused. ?No! How can I, teacher? I am not that ungrateful. I?ll
never refuse anything you ask, Dronacharya,? promised the unsuspecting boy.

Drona did not wait anymore. ?Eklavya, I seek to have your right-hand thumb
as my guru dhakshina? he declared. Silence befell on everyone. Everyone was
shocked, even Arjuna. He looked at his teacher in horror and disbelief.
How could their teacher make such a cruel demand? That too, from a mere
boy?

For a moment Eklavya stood silent. Without his thumb, he could never
shoot arrows again. But the teacher must be satisfied. ?Ok Gurudev as you
wish?, said he. Then, without the slightest hesitation, Eklavya drew out his knife
and cut his thumb! The prince gasped at Eklavya?s act of bravery. But the tribal
boy betrayed no signs of pain and held out his severed thumb to Dronacharya.

?Here is my guru Dakshina, Drona?, Ekalavya said. ?I am happy that you

have made me your disciple, even if I?m a mere Shudra hunter.?

The sage was humbled. He blessed the young archer for his courage.
?Eklavya, even without your thumb, you?ll be known as a great archer. I bless
you that you will be remembered forever for your loyalty to your guru,? Drona
declared and left the forests. He was moved and grieved at his own action. But
he was content that his promise to Arjuna was not broken. The Gods blessed
Eklavya from above.

But despite his handicap, Eklavya continued to practice archery. How could
he do so? When one is dedicated, one can make even mountains bow. With
practice, Eklavya could shoot arrows with his index and middle finger and he
became a greater archer than he was ever before. His renown spread far and
wide. When Drona came to know this, he blessed the boy silently and begged
for divine forgiveness.

And true to Drona?s blessing, Eklavya is still praised as the most loyal and brave
student in the epic of Mahabharata.