Sri Guru Gita – 18 April 2014 – Episode 117

Jai Guru Datta Swamiji.

Jaya Guru Datta. English summary:

Jaya Guru Datta. One day, sage Vaishtha addressed king Dileepa thus, “Dileepa, you take my daughter out for walks only in the vicinity of your house, will you not take her to the forests and show her the beauty of the forests? You are the king, what are you afraid of? Take her out for walks farther away. You are only showing her the vicinities around the house. That is not enough. Show her the forests.” Dileepa obeyed his Guru’s command. He took Nandini (the divine cow) to the forests. Nandinidhenu roamed around freely in the forests, walking happily with Dileepa. A few days passed like this. There was no need to shepherd Nandini like other animals, she would follow the king exactly as asked. Sage Vasishtha’s ashram is in the Himalayas. The forests were in the Himalayas too. So, Nandini was very familiar with that area.

One day, she set out with Dileepa and was roaming freely as usual when she suddenly disappeared. She was walking with Dileepa and following him closely, but disappeared all of a sudden. A worried Dileepa began anxiously searching for Nandini. As he was wondering how he would face sage Vasishtha, he heard the roar of a lion and the cry of a cow in a cave. Immediately, without a second’s delay, he darted into the cave. His sped like an arrow into the cave. There, a lion had Nandinidhenu in its clutches. As Dileepa was about to shoot his arrow to kill the lion, his hand involuntarily got stuck mid-air. At that time, the lion spoke in human language thus, “King, this is my territory. This cow is my food. So, let me eat my food. Don’t be unjust. I need to eat my food, so please restrain yourself. Don’t attack me”. Dileepa realized that this lion had great powers. He knew it was not an ordinary lion because it could speak human language. He was surprised to hear it speak.

The king replied humbly, “Lion king, it is true that this is your territory. It is also true that this divine cow is your prey. But, this divine cow is under my protection. So, please let go of the cow and eat me instead. That will be just”. Saying so, he lowered his head to the lion. The cave glowed with divine light. Nandinidhenu looked very pleased . She said, “King, this is all my creation. I am happy with your devotion and dedication. Ask me for whatever you want”. Dileepa prostrated to Nandinidhenu and asked to be blessed with children . That is what he wanted. The Guru had instructed him to worship Nandini and be blessed by her.

Jaya Guru Datta.