Hello and welcome to episode 148 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today is part three of curses and whether or not they come true.
I highly recommend you read episodes 146 and 147 before this one. I want you to get the full benefit from this episode and the last two episodes have some really great information that I don’t want you to miss out on.
We spoke about how curses only come true if they come from the mouth of a truthful person but in the end the curse will usually benefit the person. We spoke about Brigu and how he visited the homes of the three gods and determined Vishnu to be the strongest.
We spoke about queen Lakshmi and how she was angered by his behaviour and cursed all men who mistreat women, saying they would never achieve success and fame.
Yesterday we spoke about how Lakshmi then left Vishnu because she was so angry and how they went on to form the wealthiest temple in India.
A lot of people emailed me asking for more stories that talk about curses from different angles. So today I will talk about 2 more wonderful stories. The first is about Arjuna during his exile.
Arjuna’s exile
“During his period of exile Arjuna had developed strange powers through meditation. He could easily leave his body, travel to heaven, meet the angels and seek their blessings. On one occasion where he travelled to heaven. Indra, the chief god of heaven on seeing Arjuna’s sad countenance thought it appropriate to change his mind by entertaining him. The celestial dancers Urvasi, Rambha and many others were instructed to dance before him in the court. Urvasi was the most beautiful woman in heaven. Her very looks could unruffle the purest of men. As she danced Arjuna couldn’t take his eyes away from her. Seeing this Indra requested Urvasi to give Arjuna her body in the night.
Respect
Urvasi, who was already smarting with infatuation for Arjuna, was only too glad to carry out her mission. She approached Arjuna and declared her love for him, recalling the interest with which he gazed at her in Indra’s court while she was dancing. Arjuna, quite surprised, explained that his admiration for her was like the respect for Kunti, his mother. “I saw my mother in you and wondered what she was doing here in heaven. I have the highest respect for you, Urvasi”
Urvasi, however, had other intentions. She explained to Arjuna that celestial dancers were free spirits and not bound by conventional morality. Arjuna, however, was unmoved and showed no interest in heaven’s most beautiful woman.
“Arjuna,” Urvasi said, “it’s at the request of Indra that I’ve come to please you. When I needed your love you refused me. I curse you for this unreciprocated act. You shall be deprived of your manhood and yet pass time in female company.”
However, Indra was pleased with Arjuna’s respect and self-control towards women when he learned of this encounter.
“You’ve done your mother Kunti proud. Don’t worry. This curse of Urvasi will help you in the thirteenth year of exile which you and your brothers have to spend in disguise. You’ll be a eunuch and this identity will give you a cover.”
The curse of women is very powerful. You should be very careful while dealing with women. Even though Arjuna’s intentions were good his attitude and personality gave the feeling that he was open for love. This prompted Urvasi to seek him. Because of his strong connection to Krishna Arjuna was indirectly benefitted by the curse. However, most humans won’t be. A whole life time of success, hard work and effort won’t bear fruit on time when curses of women prevail.
Pick your battles
Before I share the next story I would like to share a personal incident with you. A few years ago I was invited by Amazon to speak at their event in New Delhi. They offered a five star hotel which I stayed in with my wife and child. After my morning prayer I went down to have breakfast. I sat down and a little later two girls came and sat at the table directly facing me.
I looked at the girls a couple of times. I thought they were the ones who were going to speak with me at the conference but I wasn’t so sure so I kept glancing thinking maybe she would ask if I was a speaker too.
A couple of minutes later the girl approached me and whispered in my ear. She told me she didn’t appreciate me looking at her like that. I was shocked because I had never been in trouble with a woman in my life. A little later my wife asked me who she was and what she had said to me. I told my wife what she had said, that she thought that looking at her was an insult to my wife.
I went to the manager and explained the situation and he went to the girls but they would not accept that my intentions were innocent. At that point I got angry and demanded an apology because I felt like I was not the one at fault. I didn’t ask her to sit right in front of me. I was only wondering if she was there to speak too but there was more support for her.
I then asked to speak to the head of the hotel. They were siding with her even though I had done nothing wrong and this was ruining the trip for all of us. I was angry and my wife was upset. Then it clicked with me that I was playing into this bad karma and looking like a fool. I remembered Krishna’s words about choosing your battles. I was there to speak about my books and that was all I needed to think about.
So we checked out of the hotel immediately and stayed somewhere else. Then about ten minutes before I went into the talk something happened. I think Krishna must have helped me because I gave a brilliant talk. Everyone loved it.
I learned that although I did nothing wrong, you still have to be careful about dealing with women in public and you have to know when to retreat. You need to choose your battles wisely!
Now I’ll move onto the next story. This curse was the one that brought Krishna to his end.
Krishna’s end
After the great Mahabharat war had ended Krishna along with the victorious Pandavas visited Gandhari, the mother of the slain Kauravas. Gandhari, out of love and respect for her blind husband, Dridharashtra, had bandaged her eyes ever since she had married her blind husband. Her eyes as a result of the sacrifice carried great power. She was fuming with anger against Pandavas for having killed so many Kauravas. When the Pandavas arrived Gandhari’s eyes were hooded but through the lower portion of her blindfold her glance fell on Yudhistar’s toe as he bowed to her.
The toe nail of the eldest prince Yudhistar was instantly burnt. Such was her anger and power of her eyes. Krishna witnessing the scene advised Gandhari to be detached to the past and to receive the Pandavas with love. Gandhari had high respect for the words of Krishna and realised her mistake of venting her anger towards Yudhistar and the other Pandavas. However, her anger towards Krishna persisted.
“Krishna I can forgive the Pandavas but you knew the outcome of the war in advance. Why didn’t you stop the war? What did you get by killing my hundred sons and hurting the heart of a mother? I can’t forgive you for that. Just as you set up the killing of my sons your entire race will be wiped out in thirty six years and you’ll meet with an inglorious end in the wilderness. This is my curse on you, Krishna.”
Krishna, calm as ever, replied “Your curse shall come true as you are possessed of high virtues.”
Seeking her blessings Krishna and the Pandavas left.
In due course Krishna’s race became extinct as a result of infighting and he retired to the forest where he expected the rest of the curse to come true. The body of Krishna was invincible except for his feet. Krishna quietly laid himself down in the forest and covered his body with leaves leaving his toes open.
A hunter, Jara by name, mistook his toes to be the eye of a deer in the dark and shot at him. The arrow pierced Krishna’s foot and made its way through the body. Krishna departed from earth. The Dwarpa yuga had ended and the Kali yuga had begun. Truth now stood on one leg.
I hope you enjoyed these stories and now have another perspective on curses. Just remember that in the end they will benefit you. All you need to to is fix your mind on God and surrender to him.
Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
