Śrī Saptaśatī Gurucaritra – Chapter - 16

 

श्री सप्तशती गुरुचरित्र - Śrī Saptaśatī Gurucaritra
अध्याय – Chapter - 16

 

In this section, Namadharaka asks where the Guru went after sending away his disciples. Siddha Muni narrates that they went to Vaidyanath, where the Guru teaches an anxious Brahmin about the extreme rigor of serving a Guru by quoting the ancient Vedic stories of Sage Dhaumya and his three disciples: Aruni, Baida, and Upamanyu.

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तो महात्मा लोटुनी शिष्यां । स्वयें कोठें राहोनियां ।
काय करी असे तया । विप्रें पुसतां सिद्ध सांगे ॥१॥

When the Brahmin Namadharaka asked, "Where did that Great Soul go after sending away his disciples, and what did He do there?", Siddha Muni began to explain.

सवें जितात्मा मी एक । वैजनाथीं गुरुनायक ।
असतां विप्र आला एक । सांगे दुःख गुरुनें दिल्हें ॥२॥

"Keeping only me [Siddha Muni], who had controlled his senses, by His side, the Supreme Guru went to Vaidyanath. While staying there, a Brahmin approached Him and lamented about the extreme hardships he experienced through the Guru's strictness."

गुरु तया धिक्कारुन । म्हणती तूं रे जा यथोन ।
येरु धरुनियां चरण । गुरुसेवन सांगा म्हणे ॥३॥

"The Guru initially rebuked him harshly, saying, 'Go away from here!' But the Brahmin firmly held onto the Guru's holy feet and pleaded, 'Please instruct me on how to truly serve a Guru.'"

गुरु संतोषें बोलती । ब्रह्माविष्णूशिवमूर्ति ।
गुरु ब्रह्म साक्षात्‌ म्हणती । भक्तां देती ते सर्वार्थ ज्ञ ॥४॥

"The Guru then spoke with great satisfaction: 'The Guru is the living embodiment of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The Guru is directly the Supreme Brahman. He is all-knowing and grants all four goals of life (Purusharthas) to his devotees.'"

सेवा गहन वाटे तरी । गुरु आपुल्या शिष्या तारी ।
कथा झाली हे द्वापारीं । अवधारी मी सांगतो ॥५॥

"Even though serving a Guru appears incredibly daunting and rigorous, the Guru ultimately delivers his disciples from the cycle of rebirth. A historical event regarding this occurred in the Dwapara Yuga; listen closely as I narrate it.'"

धौम्य दोषज्ञ गुरु भला । तिघे शिष्य होते त्याला ।
कठिण सेवा सांगे त्याला । न वेदांसी सांगे पूर्वी ॥६॥

"There was a highly capable Guru named Sage Dhaumya who understood the internal blockages of his students. He had three disciples. He demanded incredibly harsh physical service from them before imparting the knowledge of the Vedas."

विशेषार्थ न सांगती । हृच्छुघ्यर्थ सेवा घेती ।
वळखूनी प्रसन्न होती । रहाटी ऐसी गुरुची हे ॥७॥

"The Gurus do not immediately reveal the profound spiritual secrets. Instead, they demand rigorous service to completely purify the disciple's heart. Once they recognize the absolute purity of the student, they become pleased. Such is the traditional way of the Guru."

धौम्य अशा रीती शिष्या । अरुणा म्हणे शेतीं तोया ।
न्हेयी म्हणतां तो न्हे तोया । तें न जाय शेताकडे ॥८॥

"In this manner, Sage Dhaumya commanded his disciple Aruni, 'Go and guide the flowing water into the fields.' Aruni tried his best, but the breaking mud embankment would not hold the water, and it kept diverting away from the field."

मनीं ध्यायी गुरुपद । जलामध्यें पडे सानंद ।
जळ क्षेत्रीं ये स्वच्छंद । गुरु प्रसाद करी तेव्हां ॥९॥

"Meditating upon the holy feet of his Guru in his mind, Aruni joyfully lay down in the gap of the embankment himself to block the water. The water began flowing cleanly into the field, and witnessing this absolute surrender, the Guru showered his grace upon him."

अध्यात्म ज्ञानी तो झाला । तया गेहा पाठविला ।
धौम्य सांगे बैदाला । ह्या शेताला यत्‍नें राखीं ॥१०॥

"Aruni instantly attained the supreme knowledge of spirituality and was honourably sent back to his home. Sage Dhaumya then turned to his second disciple, Baida, and commanded, 'Guard and cultivate this field with great effort.'"

राखोनि तो मळी धान । गुरुला ते दे सांगून ।
गाडा रेडा एक देऊन । म्हणे आण धान्य घरीं॥११॥

"Baida guarded the crop and harvested the grain, reporting it to the Guru. The Guru then provided him with a cart and a male buffalo and ordered, 'Now, bring all this harvested grain back home.'"

गाडा त्या धान्ये भरुन । आणिता पंकी तो गढून ।
गेला तव गुरु येवून । त्या काढून प्रसन्न हो ॥१२॥

"While bringing the heavily loaded grain cart, it got deeply stuck in a mud pit. Baida exerted himself completely to pull it out. Seeing his devotion, the Guru arrived at the spot, pulled out the cart, and blessed him with profound satisfaction."

सर्व विद्या आल्या त्याला । तया गेहीं पाठविला ।
गुरु म्हणे उपमन्यूला । तूं धेनूला वनी चारीं ॥१३॥

"Blessed with mastery over all sciences and scriptures, Baida was sent home happily. Sage Dhaumya then commanded his third disciple, Upamanyu, 'Go out into the forest and graze the cows daily.'"

नेवोनि तो गुरें रानीं । चरवी तेथें भिक्षा करुनी ।
गुरु मागे तें जाणुनी । भिक्षा आणुनि दे ती मला ॥१४॥

"While grazing the cattle in the dense forest, Upamanyu sustained himself by begging for alms (Bhiksha). Knowing this, the strict Guru demanded, 'Whatever alms you collect, you must bring and surrender entirely to me first.'"

द्विरावृत्ती भिक्षा करी । शिश्य एक देई घरीं ।
तें जाणुनी गुरु दुसरी । भिक्षा घरीं देई म्हणे ॥१५॥

"Upamanyu complied and surrendered everything. He then began going out for a second round of alms to feed himself. Recognizing this, the Guru restricted him again, saying, 'Taking a second round of alms deprives other seekers; you must not do it.'"

दुश्चित्त तो नच होई । दोनी भिक्षा घरीं देई ।
वस्तोच्छिष्टपय घेई । गुरुमायी वारी तया ॥१६॥

"Even then, Upamanyu did not harbour any resentment or unstable thoughts. He gave up the second round of alms. He then began drinking the leftover milk directly from the udders after the calves had finished nursing. The Guru's wife, acting on the test, forbade him from doing that as well."

तो अर्‌काचें क्षीर पीतां । होई अंध कूपी पडतां ।
कृपा आली गुरुनाथा । दृष्टी देता झाला मंत्रें ॥१७॥

"Driven by intense hunger in the forest, Upamanyu accidentally consumed the highly poisonous sap of the Calotropis plant (Arka-kshira) and went blind. Unable to see, he stumbled and fell deep into a hidden well. The Guru, filled with sudden compassion, rushed to the well and restored his eyesight using powerful Vedic mantras."

सत्कामाः फलंतु ते । असें म्हणुनि धाडी त्यातें ।
तो हो कृतार्थ कीर्तीते । तच्छिष्यें मिरविली ॥१८॥

"The Guru blessed him, saying, 'May all your righteous desires be perfectly fulfilled!' and sent him forth. Upamanyu went on to achieve ultimate fulfilment, and his disciples famously spread his glorious legacy across the worlds."

जगद्वंद्य शिष्य झाला । सतक्षकेंद्र पाडिला ।
गुरुतोषाची ही कला । जा तूं गुरुला पुनः सेवीं ॥१९॥

"Upamanyu became universally revered, even humbling the mighty king of serpents, Takshaka. Such is the transformative art of pleasing the Guru! Therefore, go back and serve your Guru with absolute devotion."

तो तद्वैरें अनुतापाला । मग तारिती गुरु त्याला ।
आले भिल्लवाडीला । वास केला चार मास ॥२०॥

[Siddha Muni concluded:] Hearing these ancient instances, the anxious Brahmin repented deeply for his complaints and was subsequently saved and blessed by the Guru. Afterward, Shri Narasimha Saraswati travelled to Bhillawadi and resided there for the four months of the rainy season (Chaturmasya).

 

 

 

इति श्रीमत्परमहंसपरिव्राजकाचार्य श्रीमद्वासुदेवानंदसरस्वति विरचिते श्री सप्तशती गुरुचरित्रे षोडशोऽध्यायः