adatvA vishamaSnutE
(Eating unshared food is toxic.)
The Supreme dhaRma of annadAnam
Retold by D.K.M. Kartha
तुरग-शत-सहस्रं गोगणानां च लक्षं
कनक-रजत-पात्रं मेदिनीं सागरान्ताम् |
विमल-कुल-वघूनां कोटि-कन्याश्च दद्यात्
नहि नहि सममेतैरन्नदानं प्रधानम् ॥
turaga-śata-sahasraṁ gōgaṇānāṁ ca lakṣaṁ
kanaka-rajata-pātraṁ mēdinīṁ sāgarāntām ॥
vimala-kula-vaghūnāṁ kōṭi-kanyāśca dadyāt
nahi nahi samamētairannadānaṁ pradhānam ॥
Once upon a time MahaRshi agastya happened to reach a beautiful forest in His sacred wanderings. He strolled around enjoying the serenity and holiness of the wooded regions and feeling the healing powers of the trees, plants, and herbs and their shades, but, strangely, did not see any people, or any living beings there although the forest was full of fruits and edible roots and flowers and streams and hills and a beautiful lake in the middle.
Near the lake Sage agastya saw an ASRam. He walked towards it and entered it, but there also there were no sannyAsi-s whom one would expect to see in such tranquil settings.
Amazed by this sight, SRee agastya felt thirsty and walked towards the lake for a drink of water. Suddenly there he saw a dead body lying on the shore. All of a sudden a VimAnam from svaRggam landed there from which a divine being stepped down and started eating the flesh from the corpse with great zest.
After the meal, the VaimAnika washed his hands and drank some water from the pure lake. Then he walked back to the VimAnam and climbed in ready to leave. Then Sage agastya approached the divine being and asked him what had been happening and its meaning. "Why are you eating flesh from a corpse?"
The divine being spoke up: "O MaharshE, I am SvEta, the son of the late sudEva, the king of Vidarbha. After my father's demise, I became the king and began to rule the kingdom according to our dhaRma-SAstRa-s and rAjaneeti SAstRa-s. My reign was well-known as a time of great happiness and peace among my subjects, and at the proper time, I became a VAnapRasttha. At the end of my life I attained BrahmalOkam. But a strange thing happened: I was hungry and thirsty in Lord Brahma's region as I could not get any food there.
"I asked Lord Brahma about it and He said: "SvEta, you have accumulated great PuNyam as you were a very dhARmika ruler, but you did not perform any annadAnam although you did other types of giving -- gifts of land and gold and horses and cows, etc. But you did not offer any food to guests, dEva-s, manes, or any other deserving beings. That is why you are suffering hunger and thirst.
तुरग-शत-सहस्रं गोगणानां च लक्षं
कनक-रजत-पात्रं मेदिनीं सागरान्ताम् |
विमल-कुल-वघूनां कोटि-कन्याश्च दद्यात्
नहि नहि सममेतैरन्नदानं प्रधानम् ॥ "
"Giving as gift ten thousand horses, or hundred thousand cows; giving the gift of golden or silver vessels; donating all the land up till the sea shore; giving away in weddings to deserving men a crore of young marriageable women from noble clans -- none of these magnificent dAnam-s can equal in importance the feeding of the hungry."
"Then I queried the Lord: What can I eat now? I am famished!! Then Lord Brahma said, "Every day, you have to eat your own flesh. For that I have preserved your dead body and left it on the earth. Each day, you can go down and eat part of it, but your own corpse will be replenished for the next day's meal by my miracle. This will go on for a long time and then one day you will meet MahaRshi agastya and through that meeting, your destiny will come to an end and from then onwards you will live in perpetual bliss in my BrahmalOkam."
Ending his narrative, SvEta fell at the feet of Sage agastya who blessed him. Suddenly, the corpse was gone and the divine SvEta ascended and left the earth with the MahaRshi's permission.
Even now Brahma's chatushpadi is guiding us well --
तुरग-शत-सहस्रं गोगणानां च लक्षं
कनक-रजत-पात्रं मेदिनीं सागरान्ताम् |
विमल-कुल-वघूनां कोटि-कन्याश्च दद्यात्
नहि नहि सममेतैरन्नदानं प्रधानम् ॥
along with the immortal saying: अदत्वा विषमश्नुते = adatvA vishamaSnutE = If we eat anything without sharing, that food will into poison inside us.