Guru Charitra Concise version - Chapters 7 & 8

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Sri Guru charitram
Sri Gurubhyo namaha – Hari Aum
chapter 7
greatness of shiva pooja
 
Siddhayogi continued to narrate the greatness of Gokarna Kshetra. There lived a great king Mitrasaha in Ishvaku (Solara) dynasty. His wife Madayanti was a very good woman.
 
Once king Mitrasaha went to the forest for hunting. Some demons attacked him. The king killed some of them & returned to the palace. One of them escaped. He then came to the king’s palace & joined there as a cook.
 
On the Srardha day of King’s father, he mixed human flesh in the food and disappeared. Sage Vasishta was invited for the ceremony, he discovered this & cursed the king to be born as a monster.
 
Vasishta’s curse hurt the king Mitrasaha and he was ready to curse back the sage. On the advice of the queen, he spilt the holy water on his feet. His feet turned black. king Mitrasaha turned a monster & was called Kalmasha Padha, the black footed.
 
The queen begged the sage to pardon her husband. But the curse couldn’t be nullified. However Vasishta was kind enough to give him a human form after several years.
 
Kalmashapada lived in the forest in the form of a monster. He was killing & eating the passers by. Once he killed a brahmana & his wife cursed him with death when he touched his wife. She cremated her husband and joined him in death also as ‘Sati’.
 
Vasishta’s curse came to an end. He recalled the brahmani’s curse and did not touch the queen. On the advice of his guru, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to relieve off his sins.
 
The king met Sage Gowthama on his way. He blessed him and advised him to go to Gokarna and worship Lord shiva Mahabhaleshwara there. Then, he would get out of the curse, he added.
 
Sage Gowthama continued. He said Pooja offered to shiva on Amavasyas, Mondays, Wednesdays, eclipses yield endless results. Offering Bilwa leaves to the Lord on Maha shivratri day is very auspicious.
 
Sage Gowthama quoted his own experience. Once an old woman fell sick at gokarna. She died after a day. A celestial vehicle arrived in the skies and took her to shivaloka.
Yamadootas failed to take her as she breathed her last in gokarna Kshetram.
 
The old lady was Sowdhamini  by name in her previous birth. She lost her husband. Due to poverty, she turned a woman for pleasure. She lived with an idiot, got a child from him. Once she even ate the meat of a calf.
 
After her death, she had to go to hell. Later, she was born as a blind woman. She begged & earned a living. At last she reached the gokarna Kshetram.
 
Mahashivratri was being celebrated with pomp & pleasure there. The begging woman did not get alms as it was a fasting day.
 
During noon, one of the pilgrims gave her a bunch of Bilwa leaves. The woman threw this on a Shivalingam out of anger that she could not  eat those leaves.
 
This act of the beggar woman relieved her off her sins. She attained Moksha.
 
Such is the greatness of gokarna Kshetram.
 
Here ends the 7th chapter of Sri guru charitram.
Sri Gurubhyo namaha!
Aum Sai Ram!
May Lord Sri Dattatreya bless us all!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sri Guru charitram
Sri Gurubhyo namaha – Hari Aum
chapter 8
guru’s teaching
Namadharak listened to siddhayogi’s narration of the sanctity of Gokarna Kshetram. He asked him, how long Sri Pada sri vallabha yati halted there & blessed good souls.
Siddhamuni replied him that sripadayati spent 3 years at Gokarna & moved on to Sri Sailam. After 4 months, he proceeded to Kuruvapura.
Sri Pada sri vallabha yati blessed several good men & women in Sri sailam & kuruvapura. There was a woman by name Ambika there. She had no children. Those born would die soon. The couple observed several rituals and pleased gods. Later they had a son. They named him Narahari. He was initiated at seven. But he showed no inclination to any vedic learning. Parent’s trials were in vain. The Brahmin died. The mother & the boy stayed thereafter.
Since he was idle & lazy, no one gave him alms. They told the mother to get him married. Both the son & the mother decided to drown in full flooded Krishna river. Meanwhile Sri Pada sri vallabha manifested there. He stopped them.
Smiling, the guru said: “ Atmahatya is a great sin. I know your problem.”
The mother asked the guru to bless her with an intelligent son
at least in the next birth. The guru spoke gently “ Mother! You please worship Lord shiva. Pradhosha pooja of Lord shiva is very powerful. Even Lord Krishna was the son of Yashodha as a result of this vrat. There is an episode connected to this Vrat. Once Chandrasena ruled Ujjain. His friend Manibhadra was a devotee of Lord shiva. Shiva had given him a pearl necklace. This he presented to chandrasena. The king was always adorning it. Even enemies could not face him. They all united once & attacked him. The king was immersed in
Shani pradhosha pooja. Some cowherds looked at the king doing Shiva pooja. One of the boys worshipped a mud lingam. Shiva manifested before him. He granted him a temple. The cowherd’s small house turned a grand palace. He became the chieftain of cowherds. His mother was very happy. Sri Pada sri vallabha narrated this to Ambika and advised her to perform Shiva pooja & blessed her.
Ambika and her son performed shiva Pooja as narrated. After some time the dull boy turned a scholar. Both the mother & the son prostrated before the guru. He was honoured by all.
 
Here ends the 8th chapter of Sri guru charitram.
Sri Gurubhyo namaha!
Aum Sai Ram!
May Lord Sri Dattatreya bless us all!
 

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