Srimad Bhagavata Mahatmyam 09 - The Choice of Atmadeva and Dunduli - Dundukari or Gokarna

Hari Om

My highest Salutations to Lord Narasimha, the destroyer of ignorance and in whose abode resides the Goddess of abundance. My repeated Salutations to him at whose service are Gods themselves at all time. Also, my scaled Salutations to all Gods that includes Hanuman, Sarasvati, Garuda, Sesha, Shiva, Narada, Dhruva, Prahalada who are always brimming with devotion and are never exhausted at the service of Lord. My utmost Salutations to Srimad Acharya and all the Gurus of the lineage through whom the nectar of Bhagavata Shastra has been flowing and seek the shelter of Guru Raghavendra at all times.

The Choice of Atmadeva and Dunduli - Dundukari or Gokarna 

After clarifying the list of sins what one could get rid of with the service of Srimad Bhagavata, Sanatkumara says that he would narrate a story. Hearing this, one could redeem sins. The incidence of the story happened about 30 years back from the date of Sapthaha organised by Narada Rishi and narrated by Sanatkumara. So, let’s hear that.

There was a place on the banks of Tungabhadra, in South India. People following dharma and righteous path were living there. Among them was a person by name Atmadeva.

He had studied all the four Vedas and well versed in Smriti. He was bright. He lived on alms as per his dharma. Also, he possessed wealth and spent on doing the right things. He had a wife by name Dunduli. She had two good attributes. One, she was born into a good family and the other, she looked pretty good. Else, she possessed bad characters. She was stubborn and always wanted to have her say. She never considered her husband’s opinion. She spent her time gossiping and carrying tales. She was a talebearer. Atmadeva loved her. She carried out household activities efficiently and the couples lived together. For a long time, they did not have children.

For having children, Atmadeva started performing sacrifices and spiritual remedies. He started donating Cow, Land, Gold, etc. for Brahmins, poor and needy. While he continued his dharma of studying Shastra’s and donations, the wealth he possessed reduced, but they never got children. Over a period, Atmadeva got bogged down about having children and could not do anything else. 

One day being worried and tired, Atmadeva went to the bund of a lake and sat below a tree lost in the thoughts of not having children. Same time, a Sanyasi happen to come there. Seeing him, Atmadeva greeted him, offered his respects by falling at his feet. The saint, having seen the Atmadeva filled with sorrow & worry, enquired the reason. Atmadeva confessed that as he has been denied to have a child in this life, he has decided to suicide. He asks, what is the point of leading a life without a child? The house without children or the family without an heir is a waste. Atmadeva further says I am a sinner. If I buy a cow and rear it in my house, it will not give birth to a calf. Nor if I plant a tree it will yield fruit. Even, if I buy vegetables & Fruits to my house, it will dry. Also, if I carry out fire sacrifice and offer substance, those are not accepted by Gods. So too, what I donate to Brahmin and needy have not been answered by Gods. Filled with grief, Atmadeva reasons his decision to suicide.

Having heard the Brahmin’s confession, the saint felt pity. He, through his divine vision, understood the fate and the future of Atmadeva and advised thus, Atmadeva! Do not expect nor worry of having children. Everyone is destined with a fate based on their deeds of past life and so are you. Don’t get attached with materialistic happenings and have a sense of Viveka or ability to distinguish. You would not have children even in your next seven births. This is what I have learned from your fate. So stop worrying about having children. Look at society & history, not all parents who have got children had happiness from them. Though King Sagara had 60,000 children, they all were burnt into ashes by Kapila Rishi and could not derive happiness from them. So, you renounce grihastha ashrama of Family life and adopt Sanyasa. There is peace and happiness in Sanyasa. 

Atmadeva says, Sanyasi, I am now not in a position to accept your advice nor I have the ability to distinguish. You have a lot of spiritual power, I beg you to kindly bless me with a child. Else, I will proceed with my decision to suicide. Also, without family & children, I don’t see how Sanyasis accomplish happiness in life. Grihastha ashrama or Family life is the best.

Sanyasi saw that Atmadeva was stubborn and demeaned the Sanyasa dharma. However, the kind Sanyasi said, Brahamin, don’t be so stubborn. The stubbornness will only bring unhappiness to you. Asking a child beyond your fate will lead to untoward. This is also reemphasised by Prahalada in later part of Srimad Bhagavata. Prahalada advises that like one does not work for getting unhappiness in life, so too one should not work with the expectation of happiness. However, observing that Atmadeva was not convinced, Sanyasi concluded that it was Atmadeva’s bad fate. He took fruit in his hand and conferred mantra on it. He gave the fruit to Atmadeva. He asked him to give it to his wife for her to eat. He also informed him to follow the procedures of dharma and left the place without to return.

Atmadeva being very happy took the fruit and ran to his house. He narrated his encounter with Sanyasi and gave the fruit to his wife to eat. However, his wife Dunduli who was crooked took the fruit to her neighbor and started talking ill. She started worrying about the effects of pregnancy. While the virtuous women, do this as Tapas or austerity. With their attribute of affection, they feed the baby by generating milk. She was not prepared to let her womb grow nor face morning sickness nor nausea nor the pain to carry and deliver. Also, she was not prepared to follow the dharma of Satya or speak truth nor Saucha of maintaining cleanliness of body & mind nor Daya of being kind & affectionate nor Dana of donating to pious & needy nor eat food only once a day. This was suggested by the Saint who had promised birth of a good son. 

Having perverted thoughts, she did not have the fruit and kept it aside. However, she confirmed Atmadeva that she had the fruit. Having told lies, Dunduli started hatching a plan to make up for the lie she had told her husband, Atmadeva. Incidentally, at the same time, her sister happens to visit her. Dunduli, confesses the happenings and expresses her concern for having conspired against her husband. And also she expresses her worry that her conspiracy getting exposed. She asks her sister if she could suggest the way forward. 

Dunduli’s sister turns worse than her. While Dunduli hesitated to give birth to a child, her sister was prepared to do a business of selling a child. She says, please don’t worry. I am pregnant. After having delivered, I will pass on my baby to you. Till such time you act as if you are pregnant. You may worry that how I could convenience my husband. But don’t worry, arrange some money and I shall convenience my husband also. For those people who have seen me carrying, I would tell them that there was unfortunate abortion. The baby died. The fruit that you have hidden from your husband, feed it to the Cow. Let us check if the Cow is going to conceive.

The plan of Dunduli and her sister started unfolding with time. They were successful in executing the plan. Dunduli’s sister delivered a baby boy. Her husband brought the baby secretly and gave it to Dunduli. Dunduli communicated to Atmadeva that she delivered a baby boy.

Being very happy, Atmadeva donated wealth to Brahmin and got the baby’s horoscope done. Also, he arranged Jatakarma including placing the baby in the cradle, offering to the Lord in a temple, Naming the baby, piercing the ear for an earring and so on. As per the wish of his wife, he named the baby as Dundukari. He celebrated all these auspicious activities full of pomp and festivity. Meantime, Dunduli informed Atmadeva that she has not enough milk to feed the baby. She asked Atmadeva to invite her sister to their house who had just delivered and lost the baby. So that her sister could also feed the child. Atmadeva did so.

After about three months from the birth of Dundukari, the cow which was fed with the fruit received from Sanyasi also delivered. To everyone’s surprise, the cow delivered a baby boy. The baby had a divine face and ear that was like Cow. Atmadeva was very happy about it. He also arranged Jatakarma and carried out all auspicious activities. He named the child as Gokarna which literally meant that one with ears of Cow. All the people of the town visited him. They all congratulated Atmadeva and said that though he did not have a child for a long time, now he is being blessed with two children. The Cow has also delivered a human baby. However, no one understood the conspiracy of Dunduli and her sister. 

Both the children grew up by time. They grew up in the same house and became youth. While Gokarana at every stage, as he grew up, became Knowledgeable and Pundit.

However, Dundukari was stupid, unclean, never maintained personal hygiene, was short-tempered, rowdy, indiscriminate, lit fire to others house, pushed small kids into well, troubled others, made fun of handicaps and did such other cruel deeds. Always he was in the company of bad people. As he became a youth, he fell into habits of gambling and womanising. That way he lost all the hereditary wealth of the family. He would, beat-up his parents for more money. 

Seeing all this, Atmadeva and Dunduli, the parents of Dundukari, lost their heart and started wailing in front of their near and dear. They wondered how they could get rid of the issue and who would help them. They also cursed their fate and started repenting for having a child. Meantime, their other son Gokarna returned home after higher education and got to know on various development. 

Consoling his parents and suggesting the path of Vairagya or impassion, Gokarna says, this samsara involving a cycle of death and birth is constituted of very little happiness and fight to accomplish it. Rest major part constitutes difficulty, sorrow, and unhappiness. Also, the little happiness what one sees in life would only make a pathway for sorrow. However, we live with the illusion of being happy and as if all is going well. There is no substance in life. We keep claiming about our children, wealth and so on. However, the relation among all these is like the relation between the flame, oil, twig and the lamp. The flame has a friendship with a twig as long as oil is there. So too, the closeness of friendship would be the amount of sorrow one should burn. We forget about the Lord Paramatma who is always a companion in life after life and all state of life. I should tell that even a King or a rich man in this samsara has to face the same. Only the person who is happy in this world is a Vairagi or an Impassionate. Also, this body will die, one or the other day. 

Atmadeva, remembering the earlier advice of Sanyasi. Realising his mistakes, saw Gokarana as a well-wisher. He enquired as to what to do after taking-up vanaprastha ashrama. Gokarna says one has to leave attachments with the body and so too on ownership of children, relations, assets or wealth. One should strengthen their resolve against materialistic pleasure which is short lived. Living on the righteous path, one should do service of Saints, develop bhakti in the Lord and Jnana of him. Doing so, one should curtail the desire for possession and enjoyment. Also, one should stop seeing materialistic prosperity or defects in others. Serve Srimad Bhagavata by hearing, reading or narrating. By doing so enjoy the flavor of Srimad Bhagavata and bring its dharma into practice. 

Atmadeva had become old and over sixty years of age. He became impassionate and resolute to follow the path shown by Gokarna. Srimad Bhagavata and its dharma became very close to his heart. He took refuge of Srimad Bhagavata to overcome all impediments. The tenth Skanda became very dear to him, more than his life. Lord Sri Krishna blesses him with Sayujya and Atmadeva joins the Lotus feet of the Lord.

Hari Om

Sri Krishnarpanamastu