Madhwa Vijaya - 32
Sarga 16 Part 1
One of his illustrious students went on to describe the grace of Poornapragnya which would save one from the bondage of samsaara…
On the banks of the river Gomathi, a shudra ruler who despised the Vedas drew Poornapragnya into a battle of words. “If even a single sentence in the limitless Vedas does not bestow the reward it claims to, then that sentence becomes untrue. And thereby the entire Vedas become untrue!”
To this, Poornapragnya replied, “The reward will definitely be bestowed to the deserving”. The doubting Thomas said, “Since there seems to be no one who is deserving, is he invisible or a myth like the horns of a donkey?”
Poornapragnya gathering a few grains of green gram in his palms, chanted the oshadhi suktha* and generated sprout- leaf- flower- seed, emphatically establishing the supremacy of the Vedas.
*A sacred chant found in the Vedas that cures diseases and increases the effectiveness of plants and herbs
When the Aachaarya was conducting his lessons in the evening, the light of the lamp went out. Poornapragnya, who accomplished super human feats through the graced of Hari, enabled his students to read with the light that emanated from the tip of his toe nail.
At Kalasa, Poornapragnya saw a huge boulder meant to prevent the unruly flow of the Bhadra river, lying abandoned. Upon enquiry, the people who had managed to drag it up to that point exclaimed, “It is a super human task. We feel that even if Bheemasena were to appear, he would not be able to accomplish this feat”.
Poornapragnya effortlessly carried the boulder (like Hanuman carrying the mountain) and placed it in the desired spot. The boulder stands in the same position even today, bearing silent witness to the prowess of Madhwaachaarya.
When the Aachaarya accompanied by followers, went to take a dip in the ocean, on a new moon day, the people of the nearby village had gathered in large numbers to have a purifying bath during solar eclipse.
When the people saw Poornapragnya emerging from the waters, the noble ones felt blessed while the wicked were vexed. Then the ocean seemed to rush forward, roaring, to prevent the wicked from vilifying the Aachaarya.
And then as if to show its reverence to Madhwa, the ocean came forward in tiny waves, making a soft sound, displaying its delight with the bubble of the foam.
Both, Madhwamuni and the ocean were deep and enchanting. Both were filled with priceless pearls (of wisdom and oysters). The difference between them being, the sweetness of Aachaarya which endeared him to people and the lack of sweetness of the ocean (saltiness).
The Aachaarya sat on the beach, elucidating the many sukthas of Rigveda. His sonorous voice was heard clearly over the dull sound of the waves. People drawn to the discourse, with heads bent low and folded hands, listened to the exquisite explanations and declared, “Fie upon the detractors of this champion of the Vedas!”
Those who were swept off their feet by the strong waves of the ocean became a laughing stock. They watched Madhwaachaarya going under and becoming completely submerged in the ocean and ridiculed him, “The famous victor has fallen. The unshakeable Jagadguru has been shaken by mere waves of the ocean!”
Poornapragnya did not deem it necessary to respond to these lowly ramblings. Instead he cast a glance at the ocean and it became placid as a lake.
Despite being witness to these unique feats, the detractors were not filled with respect but only with rancour. They requested Madhwa to grant an audience to one Kodinjaadi, a man of great physical strength. Kodinjaadi was said to have had pulled a tree that required 30 strong people to shift it. Madhwa said, “Please do show us the extent of your strength.”
Then Kodinjaadi and his equally strong brother clasped their hands around Madhwa’s neck as he chanted hymns from the Vedas. The tighter their grip, the harder became his neck. Madhwa continued to chant, even as the brothers broke into a sweat. Madhwa even had them fanned. They fell to the ground defeated but not remorseful.
Then Madhwaachaarya placed a finger on the ground*** and asked them to lift it. Try as they might, they could not. In a display of laghime*, one of the various siddhis** that he was a master of, the Aachaarya went around the temple of Narasimha, on the shoulders of a young boy.
*the yogic ability to make oneself weightless
**extraordinary powers, said to be eight, ashta siddhis: anima, mahima, garima, laghima, praapti, prakaamya, isitva, vasitva, the abilities to become small, big, heavy, light, gain something, satisfy one’s desires, lead, influence.
***display of garime
To be continued…