When we think of the Mahabharata, we often think of great wars, divine weapons, and cosmic debates. But before the clashing of armies, the story of the Mahabhadata opens in a quiet moral storm, a curse born not from kings or gods, but from the tears of a dog, tears of a mother dog. It begins with Janimajaya, who is actually the great grandson of Arjuna. He's performing a grand sacrifice at Gurukshetra, the same field that once drank the
blood of his ancestors. The ritual is perfect, the offerings are precise, and then enters a puppy, a cute little puppy, a male puppy, a small creature of Sarama, the divine hound who guards cosmic truth. And just like that, the sacred is interrupted by the innocent. Notice that's actually what is happening in the Mahabadada. Here, the sacred is interrupted by the innocent. When the brothers strike the puppy, something subtle shatters. The story forces us to ask how sacred
can a ritual be if it hurts the harmless. Sadama's arrival is astonishing. A goddess does not thunder with power, she asks a question, why was my son struck? When there is silence, she curses, misfortune shall befall you unexpectedly. Right, the curse is introduced right at the beginning of the episode that I am published earlier this week for Part three of the Mahabadata. So this moment is the see the curse is the seed of the serpent sacrifice that
is to come Janamajaiya's later obsession with revenge with Dakshaka. Right, Dakshaka begins not from his father's death, but from this exact moment of moral blindness. That's something that a lot of readers of the Mahabadata do not realize. Sadama's curse is not merely divine retribution. It's the voice of Karma correcting arrogance. It's the reminder that purity and ritual means nothing if the heart has not learned compassion and other lessons that it needs to. If the human heart has
not learned the lessons that it needs to. You know, all the rituals that you can do for God mean nothing spiritually. The scene here teaches us that the universe watches not your fire, but your tenderness in our postmodern world. This really does echo how you know and how many religious people, including those who run religious organizations, pursue success or spirituality while neglecting empathy. Right, they don't. There's something incorrect about, you know, some of the things that religious
organizations engage in. So every unjust act, every unjust act, no matter how small it is, ripples into destiny because it will have an impact on some other conscious being, just like you know, her puppy being struck caused Sadama to be irritated, and she put out a curse. She put out this hope, this wish, this curse unto Jhanamagaya
and his brothers, his bloodline. Why does this happen? Ultimately, it's because the divine, this divine realm, as I explain it, which is actually intelligence, as I explain it in my book Who God Really Is, which I encourage all of you to pick up on Amazon today, the divine realm observes through the eyes of the voiceless. That's the test,
right through the eyes of the voiceless. It reminds me of that very popular quote of Mahatma Gandhi as well, something along the lines of You can tell a lot about a nation by the way it takes care or does not take care of its animals. Janamajaya and his brothers are conducting a grand sacrificial ritual at Kurukshetra, a place steeped in spiritual significance. When that puppy belonging to Sarama, the divine she dog, is struck right by Janamajaya's brothers.
The puppy is innocent. Here it flees to its mother right, who confronts these princes with fury. Now Here is where her fury is righteous. There is sometimes a place for anger, you know, in various circumstances, and it's okay. Sadama isn't just a dog. She's not a dog. She's a divine entity, a guardian of cosmic justice. In Vadic mythology, Sdama is linked to the dawn, a symbol of truth and illumination.
Her puppy represents innocence, and the brother's violence against it disrupts dharma, harmony, the cosmic order, the way everything should be, the way everything should flow, is disrupted. The curse that Saddama pronounces isn't petty vengeance. It's a recalibration of balance spiritually. This suggests again that no act, however small it is,
escapes the universes ledger. There is some sort of ledger here, right, So we humans are building this blockchain ledger on Earth, but there's a spiritual ledger in existence as well, that's been with us for you know, since the since the beginning of all beginnings. As I indicate, and as I explain in my book, who God really is? The ge sacred clarified butter, symbolizes purity and offering to the divine. By striking the puppy, the brothers symbolically taint their ritual,
inviting misfortune. The puppy did not even look toward the gee. It did not even pounce on the ge or try to aim for it, try to gain it. At least that's what the puppy tells her his mother, Sadama. And yet the puppy was struck. You know, in many spiritual traditions, harm to the innocent, even if it's something minor as a you know, as a puff, as a tiny puppy, it ripples. It has an effect on the moral fabric of the world. Now, imagine Sarama as the embodiment of
the Earth's sentience a Gaya like figure. The puppy could symbolize vulnerable ecosystems they care about, endangered species or fragile habitats. The you know, Janamagaya's brothers thoughtless act mirrors humanity's often reckless treatment of its most valuable surroundings, natural surroundings. Just think about all the chemistry and medicine that we are able to produce because of what's been offered to us
by God. What has been allowed to come into creation by God in the plant kingdom, right, So, Sarama's curse becomes the planet's warning harm the innocent and consequences will eventually find you, not through magic, but through the natural fallout of imbalance, through the natural imbalance that is put into effect resource depletion. This perspective invites us to see the Mahabha data also as an ecological parable, where divine
justice mirrors the self regulating systems of our world. The scene that I introduced to you from the Mahabharata in yesterday excuse me earlier this week right in the episode from earlier this week about the story featuring the story that's early scene screams a leadership accountability. Jhanamajaya and his brothers are royalty, wielding power in a sacred context. Striking the puppy reflects a lapse in emotional intelligence and ethical responsibility.
Leaders today, whether they are CEOs, politicians, or community figures, can learn from this story. A single thoughtless action, like dismissing a quote unquote small complaint or ignoring a marginalized voice can escalate tarnishing reputations or sparking backlash. Sadama's confrontation is like a whistle blow or calling out injustice. Now, Johana Majaya, he gets it because notice you know, earlier in the episode, Yes, from the earlier this week, mahabadat
the number three episode, he searches for stages for priests. Right, he starts searching for anyone who can remove the curse. He understands something wrong has been done. Janamajaya gets it. It's kind of like, you know, in our modern world, you know some leader scrambling to mitigate a pr disaster. But the lesson is always clear. You have to try
to prevent harm before it's spirals. Right, you want to try to not bring stress into your life that is that you don't need to that could have been prevented. Life is stressful enough anyways, Otherwise we would have no reason to even participate in spiritual rituals, worship rituals, the kind of you know, sacrificial rituals that even Janamejaya and his brothers are participating in, at least in his time. For his time, Jana Majaya, terrified of the curse, seeks absolution.
This begins his long search for priests, spiritual authority figures who can undo his karma. Here enters Somashrava, the priest born of a serpent mother, a hybrid who is actually a hybrid of ascetic wisdom and serpentine instinct. Okay, ascetic wisdom and serpentine instinct. Those are actually two very valuable characteracteristics to have or to be marked by, even in our postmodern world, which is, let's be honest, not paradise, right,
We're not living with only goodness surrounding us. So Mashava's father warns he can absolve you of all sins except those against Shiva, Lord Shiva. Now why Lord Shiva, Because Shiva is the witness of cosmic justice, the one who transforms poison into power, and sin against him means sin against transformation or change itself. It means the refusal to change, and that is against the fundamental framework or design of
all of existence, including the universe. As I state in my book and as I explain in detail very clearly and easy to understand terms in my book Who God Really Is, which I encourage you all to pick up on Amazon today. Change cannot be breached, meaning that you cannot refuse. You can refuse to change, but it does not mean that you will be able to overcome the phenomenon of change. So Maashava's condition that he will grant any request made by a brummin is a spiritual metaphor.
It tells us even divine wisdom, when bound by unthinkable obedience, becomes dangerous. The test of spirituality is discernment, not rule following. Okay, it's a discernment, not rule following. Too many people pray to God, worship God, go to the temples and all different house kinds of houses of worship to obey, you know, to follow the rules, to obey, to tell God, I'm going to be obedient. But Hinduism is powerful in that it teaches us we have to become one with who
we seek to follow or be obedient too. We have to be like him or her right in the case of Dudgad Davy, but essentially God, we have to be like God. We have to be more like God, meaning our own being must reflect God. And God is of course a wise judge. Discernment is part of his name. Let's put it like that. Discernment defines one of his characteristics.
So the test of spirituality is not it is not following the rules and saying I'm going to be obedient to this rule and be obedient to this ritual and this timing and the timing of the moon and the timing of this ritual, and what the Hindu scripture state it's about, you know, it's really about the discernment, or at least having that quality of wisdom discernment as part of your own being natural to you, like second nature
to you. Almost right, Janamajaya accepts, he accepts Somashreva's condition, and with this choice, he invites both salvation and danger into his kingdom. For every bargain with power carries a shadow. Okay, every bargain with power carries a shadow. Somashreva's origin story is actually quite wild. He was born of a serpent woman. He embodies a bridge between human and divine realms. In Hindu spirituality, nagas or serpent symbolize primal energy, the Kundalini,
and the mysteries of creation. His birth via ascetic potency suggests that spiritual power transcends conventional morality or biology. His flaw unquestioning obedience to the Brummins reflects the tension between blind devotion and discernment spiritually, again, how do we balance we're being called or we're being asked here, how do we balance surrender to higher authority, to a higher intelligence, as I explain in my book, who God really is
with critical thinking. Of course, I explain it all in my book, So it's a very easy question to answer if you read my book. But here, just from the Mahabadata, this very ancient spiritual text, we understand that Somashava's role as a purifier points to the limits of even divine intervention. Some transgressions, like those if they are against Lord Shiva, are beyond absolution. Okay, even he is limited because he
is not God himself. He is not God himself. As one to one, he is like God, we can say by not God himself. And I explain the importance of acquiring a greater and greater resemblance to the nature of God in my book Who God Really Is, Which, when accomplished, actually does not cause us to become God. Therefore we are always limited. Now picture Somashrava. Just picture him as an AI program with immense knowledge but a hard coded
directive to obey certain users like the Brummins Janamajaya. Hiring him is like a CEO deploying a powerful algorithm to solve a crisis, knowing that it has a glitch that could be exploited. This raises questions about trust in systems, be it priests or tech, be it you know, spiritual systems or tech modern tech. If Somashreva's flaw is his blind obedience, what happens when AI blindly follows flawed human
commands or reasoning? This ancient Mahabadata tale feels eerily relevant to debates about AI ethics, where when they are unchecked, you know, like unchecked power or code, can amplify human biases and really lead to tragic consequences. Jonamajaya's choice of Somashreva is a calculated risk. He's hiring a specialist with a known quirk, much like when a company might hire
a brilliant but eccentric consultant. The condition is, of course, Somashreva's obedience to bruhm Min's that mirrors, and it really does mirror real world scenarios where talent becomes baggage, right, like a star employee with a tendency to overpromise. Later on in the story, we see that Jonimajaya's success in conquering Takshashila suggests that embracing imperfect allies can yield results,
but only if you manage their quirks. Right. Somashreva was highly obedient to Brummin's but he had that limitation as well, with he cannot breach sin committed against Lord Shiva and absolve it, you know, with the with the with some magic wand or something like that. Right, he cannot do that. But he's also he's overly giving by being so obedient
to anything that Brummins want. Now, john Imajaya was successful later on in conquering tak Shashila, suggesting that well, you know, his his decision to use Somashrava ends up down the road producing good results for him. But John Imajaia had to be very careful, right especially he did not want to who did not want to commit any sin against Lord Shiva. He wouldn't want to do that because that's
not something that Somashreva can clear. So this king John Imijaya's, you know, a whole part in these early scenes of the Mahabarata is very it's it's quite fascinating. Really does reflect to us the way we see CEO's modern you know, postmodern world CEOs, tech CEOs managing the complexities, the conditions, the complexities of the modern corporate world. You've got to know your people's strengths and flaws and set clear boundaries
to harness their potential. Now, the Mahabarata features this sort of school of life that is run by Sage Ayoda Domya and his three disciples Aruni, Upamanyu, and Veda. These stories are miniature panishads in the Mahabarata, teaching through lived obedience, suffering, and moral awakening. Aruni is asked to repair a water channel. Unable to fix it, he lies down in the ditch to block the flow with his body. He becomes the bridge, literally merging with the element he serves. When called by
his master, he rises, reborn as Udalaka. This moment whispers a profound truth. True service dissolves the ego until nature itself flows through you. In our real world, Aruni's act resembles those moments when one sacrifices comfort or pride for integrity, like a teacher working late, or a parent holding the line of truth, or a healer staying up through the
night to serve as a client. When the self forgets itself, the divine current moves again, because it's always in the in, within the scope of service, within the scope of helping others, within the scope of some form of sacrifice. Upamanyu's test is more subtle. It's hunger. Ayoda Damia strips away every form of sustenance from him, alms milk, even the froth from the calve's mouth, of the milk that the calves have drunk from the mother cow. Right starving, Upamanyu eats
poisonous arga leaves, and he's blinded, falling into a well. Right, both literally and symbolically, he's kind of spiraling down into a well. Both literally and symbolically. His blindness is the blindness of the seeker, the loss of worldly sight before inner sight awakens. The Ashwin Twins appear offering divine nourishment, but Upa Manyu refuses until his master permits him to engage to accept that nourishment. Obedience here is not submission,
it is alignment. That's actually what is trying to come, you know. Through to the scene in the Mahabarata, Upa Manyu is saying, I will not taste heaven if my guru is left behind. The Ashwan twins are impressed. That's why they are impressed. So they restore his site and grant him golden teeth, which are all symbolisms excuse me, which are all symbols of illumination through discipline. Through Upa Manyu's story, we see Bukti meeting Tapasia, devotion fused with endurance,
with strength. Upa Manyu's story is about integrity and isolation, staying true even when unseen, unacknowledged, or deprived. You've got to stay true, even when you feel unseen, unacknowledged, or deprived. You've got to stay true to integrity. Don't take you know, criminal or quick easy shortcuts to try to escape that scarcity state or condition of scarcity. The spiritual path does not first open the eyes, It first takes away what you know you crave to see now. Ayoda Damia's third
Disciples story is interesting. Vida Vida endorres silent service. He doesn't complain through hardship. He becomes a gentle teacher, one who does not test his own students harshly. In Vida, we see the alchemy of suffering. Pain when digested becomes compassion when digested. Every master is shaped not by what they've learned learned, but by how they've been broken and mended. This section of the episode of Naked Hindu Tales from earlier this week. It's a masterclass in Guru Shishia teacher
student dynamics, which are a cornerstone. They really are a cornerstone of Hindu spirituality. The Disciples trials here aren't just tasks, their alchemical processes burning away ego to reveal inner wisdom. They're very dynamic. Runi's act of lying in the ditch symbolizes surrender to duty, merging with the earth, to serve a greater purpose. Upamanu's blindness and restoration by the Ashwins
divine healers reflects the spiritual journey. Suffering leads to insight when guided by faith, or when you stay true, when you just stay true and you don't take a shortcut, or you don't engage in a criminal act. Despite hardship and scarcity, always you will arrive at something good. Always you will be blessed. Later on he was blessed. Upamanyu was blessed with gold, gold teeth, gold and vidas. Endurance
without complaint embodies karma yoga selfless action. The vidas and Dharma shastras shining in them signify enlightenment, signify that they have become beacons of light. They are walking, talking beacons of light, of divine light which actually has no relation to visible light or the visible light rainbow spectrum. As I explain in my book Who God Really Is, which I encourage you all to read on Amazon. Grab your copy from Amazon and start reading today. It's an excellent
book to understand reality as it is and yourself. The disciples are like the hero archetype of Jungian or Carl Jung you know philosophy facing the shadow. They face their limitations in the wilderness of trials. Ioda Doomia is the wise old man, guiding them through tests that forge their individuation, the process of becoming whole. Upamanyu's blindness is again a literal and metaphorical descent into depression, into darkness. It's a
classic dark knight of the soul. The Ashwins, as divine physicians, are like the self archetype, restoring balance. This perspective frames the story right the Carl jung perspective. The Jungian archetypes frame the story in the Mahabarata in this early chapter as a early section, I should say as a universal quest for self discuss or external obedience to a guru mirrors the inner work of aligning with one's higher self. So here is where it is sometimes necessary for us
to understand when obedience is valuable. In the scene of King John Imajaya's sacrificial ritual, no fruits come about for obedience to a ritual. When an innocent is harmed. You know his obedience in his brother's obedience to the ritual. Sure it's great, but if it involves hurting the innocent it is, there's nothing great to be gained from it, because that kind of obedience reflects still a blind spot in intelligence, something lacking in intelligence, a lack of wisdom.
There whereas the obedience in the stories of Ayoda Domia and his Three Disciples involves wisdom very much, so wisdom is integrated with the obedient acts. And through this ancient you know Mahabadata scene, we can see these trials of the Three Disciples resemble the grind of mentorship and personal growth.
Aruni's ditch lying is like an in turn pulling an all nighter to fix a crisis, proving loyalty under pressure, upaman used missteps, begging twice, sipping milk, all of that taking what he shouldn't be taking from others mirror a young professional learning workforce ethics, through through trial and error, and through you know his boss teaching him what is right and what is wrong. Vidas endurance reflects the quiet resilience needed in toxic work environments or rigorous training programs.
Ru's blessings are like a mentor's endorsement, opening doors to even greater success. But of course here it's about personal success right in the Mahabarata itself. These scenes with these three disciples of Ayoda Ayoda Damya. They teach us that growth often comes through discomfort, but only only if we learn from that discomfort and stay committed to the right path. Veda's disciple, Utanka, inherits the torch and his story shifts the tone of the Mahabharata section from ashram humility to
mythic adventure. He is asked to bring earrings from Queen Poshia for Veda's wife, a seemingly simple errand that spirals into cosmic revelation. On his path, Utanka meets a mysterious man on a bull who tells him to drink dung and urine. It's really a shocking image. Believe me. When I read it for the first time, I was pretty shocked. But he obeys. Utanka obeys, later discovering that it was
divine nector Amrita. And you often have this happening in Hindu mythology, where these you know, characters pop out of nowhere and they are disguised. You know, they're often like divine beings disguised as abnormal, kind of weird or wandering creatures or wandering humans. It's fascinating. Now the lesson here does pierce through logic. What seems impure in the world may hide the essence of goodness or immortality. Even Utanka's reaction is not to display like a nasty disgust. Right,
he doesn't display any mean faces or disgusted faces. He doesn't put judgment upon this mysterious man who asks him or tells him to drink the the you know, the waste right of a cow. I believe the waste of a cow. So Utanka doesn't do that. Now we humans would. I mean, even I reading it for the first time was like, oh ew so, but Utanka doesn't do that.
And that's where, you know, God, That's what God wants us to realize from this scene, this bizarre scene, kind of bizarre scene, is that Utanka's response is not to place all these like judgments immediately upon this mysterious man that we would do in our world. Right today, the sacred often wears the mask of the profane, because in even the profane, there is a test for us, a test of our spirituality, a test of how much we
resemble God. Spiritual maturity is learning to recognize divinity and it's learning to recognize how we must respond with more divine nature rather than well, let's put it a lower human nature. At Poshia's palace, Utanka's inner purity is tested through external cleanliness, ablution's direction precision. The story reaffirms the body mirrors the mind. Purification is a discipline of both. It's a discipline of the mind and the body. Please remember to leave a rating or review on Spotify or
Apple Podcasts. I really appreciate your rating or review for this podcast. Naked hind details. Then this scene in the Mahabada that ignites into full on myth. Takshaka, the serpent King, steals the earrings Queen Possia's earrings. Utanka chases him into the underworld, aided by demigod Indra and ugny cosmic forces, ultimately of courage and purification. There, Utanka sees the wheel of twelve months, the weaving of time, and the horse of fire. It's almost like he's seeing these secrets right.
It's not a spectacle. This is not like a circus spectacle or something he's viewing. It's metaphysical secrets. He sees the machinery of existence, time as fabric, elements as tools, divinity as rhythm. It reminds me a lot of what I write about in my book Who God Really Is, when I explain the fabric of consciousness and that of intelligence, and that time itself is just a human construct. Time is, in fact, a affixation onto the continuous presence. Do read
my book Who God Really Is? Now? Utanka, despite seeing all these you know, metaphysical secrets, so to speak, he's driven to get the earrings back from Takshaka. He stays focused on his mission. But Utanka's victory is incomplete. The story ends not with peace, but with revenge. Revenge reborn. Utanka returns to King John Imajaya, urging the serpent's sacrifice, the very fire of destruction that will later draw Viasa's attention. What began with a curse on a puppy now circles
back as a fire for snakes. The wheel turns. Compassion is lost. See Utanka. He's remaining devoted to what his human master commanded him to do, which is get those earrings, bring them for my wife. Right. He continues to be devoted to the human voice, the human command, even when he sees these great spiritual mysteries around him, almost like the fabric of the fundamental framework of the universe, as I describe it in my book Who God really Is.
It's what has God's imp imprint or fingerprints on it, and he doesn't care for that as much as he should. Instead, he keeps chasing for those earrings. He chases the human command and does not embrace God's fundamental framework of the universe, these mysteries of God when they are literally staring at him as much as he should and from the human command. Humans being imperfect, we cannot expect peace to be born
and continue. Instead, we have revenge being reborn. Utanka's mission to fetch Potia's queen's ear rings is a mini epic, right. It's packed with cosmic encounters. It's like he hits literally the jackpot. He does hit the spiritual jackpot. He sees all the secrets of God, God's design, and yet he keeps chasing the earrings because he has to follow to him.
He chooses to follow the human master's command. Utanka journeys into Nagaloka, aided again right by Indra's thunderbolt, Demi God Indra's thunderbolt and it's like a shamanic descent into the underworld, confronting He's confronting chaos dakshaka to at least restore order to his life, to his environment that he's known, which is he wants order to remain between himself and his master,
Vida and Vida's wife. Utanka's quest is a case study and mission driven focus, but also a foolish one because he doesn't he doesn't buy into, he doesn't embrace, he doesn't immerse himself in the secrets of God, literally God when they are staring at him, you know, the these weaving of time and the seasons and the structure of the of the universe. Instead, he stays focused on getting those earrings to fulfill his human master's command, ultimately leading
to revenge being reborn. Every layer of this section of the Mahabadata mirrors the journey of the human soul Johnimajaya the ego seeking purification through power, Sarama's puppy innocence, wounded by righteousness, Somashrava intellect half human, half serpent, our reason tinged with instinct right. That's Somashrava for us Aruni, the self sacrificing heart, Upamanyu, faith tested through deprivation. Utanka, the seeker who learns that the world's impurities are the universe's disguise.
Each figure is a fragment of consciousness, and together they narrate the evolution of spiritual maturity, from ritualistic correctness to compassionate wisdom and also then ultimately from perfect obedience to imperfection being reborn. That's what we have with Utanka at the end of this section of the Mahabarata episode three. And in our postmodern world, these archetypes they appear daily. When someone justifies cruelty in the name of belief, that's
when Johanimajaya lives again. When someone holds back judgment to seek truth, that's when Sarama speaks again, or Utanka speaks again to us. When someone endures hardship with trust in higher order, that's Upamanu's hymns echoing through to us. And so the Posha Parva of the Mahabharata ends with the fire smoldering, the serpent sacrifice yet to begin. But beneath the myth, the Mahabharata whispers a timeless truth. Every curse begins with a wound left unanswered. Every blessing begins with
obedience to God to love the world. Like Utanka's vision is a wheel spun by invisible hands of justice, of mercy, and of time. Our task is not to stop it, but to see clearly through its motions. Utanka did not
spend enough time doing so. Therefore revenge was reborn. He became vengeful towards the end of disparva, and perhaps like Aruni rising from the water's breach, the divine still calls each of us by name, not to test us, but to lift us from the ditch, and to say to us, you have held the flood long enough, Rise now and flow escape your suffering. You are free from your suffering. The Posha Parva reminds us that every action ripples through
the cosmic order, demanding accountability. It's a map of growth through trials, showing how devotion and resilience forge character. Whether you see Sarama as a divine watchdog, Somashreva as a quirky ai, or Utanka as a cosmic astrnhaht of some sort who seeks more of science than he does. The cosmo, the spiritual cosmos This story invites us to reflect on our own actions, relationships, and quests. What we value within our quests? Are we judging value correctly or are we
misjudging how we spend our time correctly? Like Utanka did at the end, how do we respond to injustice? By the way we saw how Sarama, the mother dog responded to the injustice upon her puppy, we also see how Utanka responded to injustice at the end of the Boshia Parva. How do you respond to injustice? How do you balance obedience with discernment? And how do you harness divine or inner strength to overcome chaos? Learn from these stories from
the Mahabarata. Continue listening to the Naked Hindoo Tales podcast. So thanks for joining me on today's episode. Leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and ask me any spiritual or non spiritual question you have there. I'll be sure to answer your question in a future episode for the benefit of all. Thanks for listening and I'll speak with you in the next episode.