‘I will tell Hanuman to protect you. He never disobeys me’
BENGALURU: King Shakuntan was the ruler of a small kingdom.One day, as he was returning from a hunt, he saw the sages Vasishtha, Vishvamitra and Atri performing a yagna in an ashram. Since the king’s body was covered with sweat, dust and blood from the hunt, he did not want to desecrate the holy ceremony. From where he stood, he could only see Vasishtha clearly. So he bowed to him from a distance and carried on with his journey.
Narada, who had been observing the king, entered the ashram. Narada is known for instigating fights to humour himself, and that is just what he did.He said, ‘O Atri and Vishvamitra, didn’t you notice that Shakuntan did not greet you both? He has deliberately insulted you by only bowing to Vasishtha.’ Sage Atri smiled. ‘He did not do that to insult us, Narada. I was sitting opposite Vasishtha and he may not even have seen me,’ he said. ‘In any case, it doesn’t matter.’
Vishvamitra, however, was offended. ‘How dare the king insult me? He needs to be punished.’
Narada immediately agreed. ‘Yes, yes, he must. You are no less powerful than Vasishtha. You are also the great guru of the great warriors Rama and Lakshmana. Perhaps you should take a promise from Rama to punish Shakuntan as soon as possible.’Vishvamitra nodded and called Rama. ‘My dear student,’ he said, ‘Shakuntan has insulted me, and I want his head at my feet before the sun sets today.’Dutiful Rama promised his teacher that he would do so.
Meanwhile, Narada rushed to Shakuntan’s kingdom. He met the king and asked, ‘Do you know the sort of difficulty you have put yourself in? Rama, the great warrior and the son of Dasharatha, is going to behead you by the end of the day at the behest of Sage Su. Your death is certain at the hands of the lord.’Shakuntan was alarmed. ‘But what have I done to offend the great sage? I am only the ruler of a small kingdom.’
‘Don’t think of that now.’ Narada waved his hand in impatience. ‘Your focus must be on surviving the day. Rama always keeps his word.’ ‘O Narada,’ said the king, ‘please help me. I don’t know how I got myself into this, but you have brought this disastrous news to me, so you must also help formulate a solution to this problem.’
This was just what Narada wanted. He put on an appeasing and wise tone and said, ‘Go find Anjana, Hanuman’s mother, and ask her to shield you, without mentioning the name of the person you seek protection from. She will take care of the rest.’King Shakuntan ran to Kishkindha and found Anjana performing prayers to Lord Shiva in her home. The king went and touched her feet. ‘O Divine Mother!’ he exclaimed.
‘Please help me. A man has decided to take my head today for no fault of mine. You are the mother of the great Hanuman, and without your help I will not live to see the day end.’At first Anjana was disturbed. She did not know what to do. Then she thought over it. A small-time king had come in search of protection and it wasn’t such a big ask. She knew her son could perform this job with ease. So she promised Shakuntan, ‘I will tell Hanuman to protect you. He never disobeys me. Now you may leave your worries aside and feel assured of your safety.’
‘Give me your word,’ Shakuntan insisted.‘Fine. You have my word. I promise on Lord Rama’s name that Hanuman will protect you,’ said Anjana and continued her prayers.
The Power of a Name excerpted from The Upside Down King by Sudha Murty, published by Puffin Books
(Penguin Random House, India) : Rs 250