Annadaanam

Annadaanam
("God comes to the hungry in the form of food")--Gandhi.
Dear friends,
I have heard elders say that "there is no other 'Daanam' greater than 'Annadaanam'; It is the ultimate". My sahadharmini elucidates further, "That is the only 'Daanam' which having received, the recipient gets satiated and says 'no thanks..enough' as compared to any other 'Daanam'.... material or otherwise which never satisfies the receiver who will crave for some more and more!!!" A point which I pondered every time I sat with thousands of devotees for a free meal at almost all of the temples we visited in Karnataka State equipped with their mechanized kitchens!!!
With my 32 years of nomadic life as a soldier my children had the unique privilege of being with their grandparents who recalled for the kids stories from scriptures couched in moral values. Today if my son misses any one on this planet, he simply says "Grandpa". So now for some musings:
The Mahabharata war is over. The central characters are all in heaven/hell. In fact Yudhishtira is even surprised to see Dhuryodhana in Heaven! Karna too is in heaven but with slight discomfort due to nagging hunger. "Krishna! I feel so hungry here in heaven", pleads Karna.
"Well, suck your forefinger and may be you will get satiated" taunts Krishna. "Remember? That poor hungry soul who was once ready to eat out of your hands? What did you do? You directed him by pointing towards Dhuryodhana who at that time was dolling out 'Annadaanam'. Was that all the so called daanaveera karna could do? Now you suck that same finger and be happy and see if you could get appeased!" admonished Krishna.
Karna is the very embodiment of sacrifice. Nay, sacrifice is a synonym for Karna. In the entire world you cannot find one other man equal in the spirit of sacrifice to Karna. In weal or woe, triumph or defeat he could not forget the quality of sacrifice. But Karna was human after all. He had forgotten that Krishna had already granted him his request on an earlier occasion to make amends soon enough!
Cut to that occasion
Darkness had enveloped the battlefield. Krishna was with Arjuna. He in His sweet voice was calling out, "Karna! Karna!" Karna was gasping for breath in his last moments. He cried, "Who is calling me? I am here." Following the direction from which the words came, Krishna went near Karna. Before that, Krishna assumed the form of an indigent Brahmin. Karna asked him, "Who are you, sir?" Karna was nearing his last breath. Krishna (as the poor Brahmin) replied, "I have heard a lot about your reputation as a charitable person. You are known as, 'Daana Karna' (Karna the great giver). Today, not knowing your plight, I am here to ask you for a gift….. a donation." "Certainly, I shall give you whatever you want," replied Karna. "I am to perform the marriage of my son. I want a small quantity of gold," said Krishna. "Oh! Is that so? Please go to my wife, she will give you as much gold as you need", said Karna. The Brahmin broke into a laughter. He said, "For the sake of a little gold have I to go all the way to Hastinapura? If you say, you are not in a position to give me what I ask, I shall leave you. "
Karna declared, "As long as breath remains in me, I will not say 'no' to anyone." Karna opened his mouth, showed the gold fillings for his teeth and said, "I shall give this to you. You can take them." Assuming a tone of revulsion, Krishna said, "What is it you suggest? Do you expect me to break your teeth and take the gold from them? How can I do such a wicked deed? I am a Brahmin."
Immediately, Karna picked up a stone nearby, knocked out his teeth and offered them to the Brahmin. Krishna in his guise as Brahmin wanted to test Karna further. "What? Are you giving me as gift teeth dripping with blood? I cannot accept this. I am leaving", he said. Karna pleaded, "Swami, please wait for a moment." Even while he was unable to move, Karna took out an arrow and aimed it at the sky. Immediately rain poured from the clouds. Cleaning the teeth with the rain water, Karna offered the teeth with both his hands.
Pleased with his supreme sacrifice, Krishna grants Karna the vision of himself seated on Garuda, accompanied by his consorts. The Lord promises Karna to grant him whatever boon he wishes. Karna says that, although he could ask Krishna to give victory to Duryodhana and bring his armies back to life, he does not want to do so. He then requests two things: firstly, that as soon as he dies, his mother Kunti shall be informed. She will rush to the battlefield and proclaim publicly that Karna is her son and that he is not of low caste. Secondly, in order to reach Krishna's feet (that is, the liberation of his soul from the cycle of births) Karna wants to fulfill the good deed of feeding others (annadaanam). This is the only daanam he has not been able to carry out in this life, because nobody wanted to eat in the house of a person of low caste. He asks Krishna to give him in his next births the means to be liberal and the opportunity to carry out annadaanam. A moved Krishna grants Karna these favours and tells him that in his next life he will be reborn as Siruttontar Nayanar, famous for offering his own son as food to Lord Siva, after which he will attain moksham.
Warm rgds
V~v~R
31-01-09