Karma

“Karma” is a word that is frequently heard of, in Hinduism. “Karma” is a Sanskrit word which literally means “deeds”. The concept of Karma plays a major role in the lives of people. So what really is this “Karma”? Below is a story that illustrates the working of this concept of Karma.

Once upon a time, there lived a noble and kind hearted King, who was known for donating generously towards charity. He had the practice of feeding the poor daily, especially to those from the Brahmin community. He took immense joy and satisfaction in performing this noble deed. One day, a poor Brahmin is said to have visited the King, seeking grants. The generous King arranged to offer food to the Brahmin, which was a customary practice followed by the King. At that moment, an eagle carrying a dead snake is said to have flown over that place. A drop of the deadly poison from the dead snake’s mouth is said to have fallen over the food kept for serving the poor Brahmin. The king and his guards were unaware of the poison getting mixed with the food and hence served it to the Brahmin. The Brahmin instantly died on consuming the poisoned food. The king and his subjects were shocked on witnessing this incident.

The soul of the departed Brahmin was brought to the “Yamalokha” and was produced before Yama’s assistant, the Chithraguptha. Upon hearing his case, Chithragupta was quite confused, as he was not sure of whom to blame for the unfortunate death of the Brahmin. The dead snake cannot be blamed for spilling the poison on the food, since it was already dead, nor the eagle, which was only flying high carrying its prey. The noble king also cannot be implicated for this misdeed, since he was unaware of the food getting poisoned. Hence Chiraguptha decided to take up this case to the Yamadharma, to clear his doubts on whom to punish. Yamadharma gracefully replied Chitraguptha that he need not worry about this issue at the moment and that in the due course of time, Chitraguptha himself would find the right person to bear the effects of Karma, which resulted from the death of the Brahmin.

Back at the Kingdom, four Brahmins were in search of the King’s palace, when they met a woman selling pots. They sought her help in providing them with the right direction to the palace, to which the woman obliged. The woman did not stop with just giving the direction, but also added that the king was known to kill Brahmins and warned them from visiting the King.

On witnessing this incident from the Yamalokha, Chitraguptha was cleared of all his doubts. He decided to tax the woman with the effects of Karma resulting from the Brahmin’s death, since she was the one to have spread unnecessary rumours about the king, without even analysing the truth.

Morale: From the above story, it can be inferred that a person should refrain from commenting about things which doesn’t concern them in any way. This includes avoiding rumours and gossips about a person, without even analysing the actual facts.