The story behind 'Anant Chaturdashi'
Sushila
and Kaundinya
There
was a Brahmin named Sumant . From his wife Diksha I had a daughter named
Sushila . After the death of Diksha Sumant married Karkash , who Began to give
a lot of trouble to Sushila . Sushila married Kaundinya , and Both Decided to leave
the house to avoid the harassment of the step -mother . On The Way They stopped
near a river . Kaundinya went to take bath , and Sushila joined a group of
women who were performing worship . They Told That They Were Sushila worshiping
" Anant " . "What kind of worship is this? " Sushila asked."
Anant 's Vow " .
That
They Told her it was Anant 's vow . Then They Explained to her The Importance
of That vow . Some fried " Gharga " (made of flour ) and "
anarase " (special food) are prepared. Half of Them Have To Be Given to
the Brahmins . A hooded snake ( cobra) made of " darbha " ( sacred
grass) is put in a bamboo basket . Then the snake ( " shesh " ) is
worshiped with scented flowers , oil lamp and incense sticks . Food is offered
Preferred to the snake and a silk string is kept before the god , and tied to
the wrist . This string is called " anant " , it has 14 knots , and
is colored with " Kumkum " . Women tie the " anant " on
Their left hand and men on Their right . The purpose of this vow is to Obtain
divinity and wealth , and is kept for 14 years . After listening to this
explanation Sushila Decided to take the Anant vow . From That Day she and her
husband Kaundinya Began To prosper and Became very rich . One day Kaundinya ,
noticed the Anant string on Sushila 's left hand . When I heard the story of
the Anant vow , he was displeased and maintained That they experienced Become
rich , not Because of any power of Anant , but Because of the wisdom I had
acquired by his own efforts. A heated argument Followed , and at the end
Kaundinya took the Anant string from Sushila 's hand and Threw it into the
fire.
After
this all sorts of calamities happened in Their life , and finally They were
reduced to extreme poverty . Kaundinya Understood That It was the punishment
for having dishonored " Anant ", and DECIDED That He would undergo
Rigorous penance until God Himself Appeared to him .
In
Search of Anant ,Kaundinya went into the forest . There he saw a tree full of
mangoes , but no one was eating the mangoes . The entire tree was Attacked by
worms . I asked the tree if I had seen Anant , but got a negative reply. Then
Kaundinya saw a cow with her calf , then a bull standing on a field of grass
without eating the grass . Then I saw two big lakes joined to each other With
Their waters mixing With One another . Further I saw a donkey and an elephant. To
every one Kaundinya Asked acerca Anant , but no one had even heard this name .
Then I Became desperate and prepared a rope to hang himself .
Then
suddenly an old venerable Brahmin Appeared before him . I removed the rope from
Kaundinya 's neck and led him into a cave . At first it was very dark . But
then a bright light Appeared And They reached a big palace . A great assembly
of men and women had recogida . The old brahmin went straight towards the
throne .
Then
Kaundinya Could no longer see the brahmin , but only Vishnu instead. Kaundinya
Realized That Vishnu himself had eaten to save him , and That Vishnu was Anant
, the Eternal One I confessed his not in failing to Recognize the Eternal in
the string on Sushila 's hand . Anant promised Kaundinya That if I made the
14 -year- vow , I would be free from all his sins , and would Obtain wealth ,
children and happiness . Then Anant Disclosed the meaning of what Kaundinya had
seen During the search . Anant Explained That the mango tree was a brahmin ,
who in a previous life had acquired plenty of knowledge , but had not
communicated it to anyone .
 |
| Ganesh Visarjan, Mumbai Chowpati |
Also
Jains follow this festival in some parts of India .
The
cow was the earth , que at the beginning had eaten all the seeds of plants .
The bull was religion itself. Now I was standing on a field of green grass .
The two Lakes were two sisters who loved each other very much, but all Their
alms were spent on each other only. The donkey was cruelty and anger . Finally
the elephant Kaundinya 's pride
MUMBAI - Reporter
17th Sept. 2013 Magazine World of UGI
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