Jagadamba's grace on Sudarshan
Welcome friends once again to your devotional story.
After 15th generation from Lord Ram, a king named Dhruvasandhi was born in Ayodhya. He had two wives. The elder queen was Manorama, daughter of Kalingaraj Veersen and the younger queen was Lilavati, daughter of King Yudhajit of Ujjain.
The elder queen Manorama had Sudarshan as her son and the younger queen Lilavati had Shatrujit as her son. The king had equal vision on both of them. Both the princes were brought up equally.
The king was fond of hunting. One day while hunting he fought with a lion, in which he himself attained heaven along with the lion. The ministers wanted to make Sudarshan the king by performing his last rites.
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When Shatrujit's maternal grandfather Yudhajit came to know about this, he came to Ayodhya with a large army to oppose this. The king of Kalinga Veersen also came in support of Sudarshan. A war broke out between the two.The king of Kalinga was killed. Now Queen Manorama got scared.
She took Sudarshan along with a nurse and Chief Minister Vidal and fled to the hermitage of Maharishi Bharadwaj at Prayag. Yudhajit anointed Shatrujit on the throne of Ayodhya and reached Bharadwaj's hermitage to kill Sudarshan. But due to the fear of the sage, they had to run away from there.
One day, Bharadwaj's disciples were talking about the Chief Minister. Some said that Vidal is impotent. Others also said - 'He is completely impotent.' Sudarshan was still a child. When he heard Klib-Klib from their mouths again and again, he also started saying 'Kli-Kli'.
Due to his past good deeds, he transformed into a Kalibeej. Now he started repeating 'Kli Kli' while sleeping, waking up, eating, drinking. Here the Maharishi also gave him Kshatriya rites and in a few days, by the grace of Bhagwati and the sage, he became very proficient in all the arts of weapons and arms.
One day, by the mercy of the Goddess, while playing in the forest, he found an undamaged quiver and a divine bow lying there. Now, by the grace of Bhagwati, Sudarshan became fully powerful.
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King Subahu ruled Kashi at that time. His daughter Shashikala was a great scholar and a devotee of the Goddess. Bhagvati commanded her in a dream that 'You should choose Sudarshan as your husband. He will fulfill all your desires.' Shashikala accepted Sudarshan as her husband in her mind at that very moment.
In the morning she narrated her dream to her parents. The father scolded the girl harshly and considered it an insult to have a relationship with a helpless forest dweller. He started preparing for his daughter's swayamvar.
He did not even invite Sudarshan to it. But Shashikala was also firm on her path. She sent the Goddess' message to Sudarshan through a Brahmin. He also came to Kashi along with all the kings.
Meanwhile, her maternal grandfather Avanti King Yudhajit also arrived with Shatrujit. Despite all the efforts, the news of Shashikala choosing Sudarshan in her mind had spread everywhere.
How could Yudhajit tolerate this? He called Subahu and asked him how this news spread. Subahu said it was not my fault. Still Yudhajit said, 'I will kill Subahu Sudarshan and abduct the girl by force.'
The kings felt some pity for the child Sudarshan. They called Sudarshan and explained the whole situation to him and advised him to run away.
Sudarshan said- 'I know that I have neither any helper nor any army, yet I have come here to see the swayamvar as per the order of Bhagwati in her dream. I have full faith that she will protect me. I have no enmity with anyone nor do I wish ill for anyone.'
Now in the morning when the kings came and sat all dressed up for the Swayamvar, Subahu asked Shashikala to go to the Swayamvar. But she refused to be in front of the kings.
Subahu spoke about the insults of the kings and the fear they cause. Then Shashikala said, 'If you are a coward, then hand me over to Sudarshan and leave me outside the city.'
There was no other way, so Subahu told the kings, 'You all will come to the swayamvar tomorrow, Shashikala will not come today.' Here in the night itself, he got Shashikala married to Sudarshan in a brief ceremony and started sending him as soon as the morning dawned.
Yudhajit also came to know about this somehow. He was standing on the way with his army with the intention of killing Sudarshan. Sudarshan also reached there remembering Bhagwati Jagadamba
Just as the war between the two was about to break out, Bhagwati Jagadamba appeared in person. Yudhajit's army fled. Yudhajit was killed along with his grandson Shatrujit. Paramba, Jagajjani Jagadamba inspired Sudarshan to ask for a boon.
Sudarshan only prayed for unconditional and unwavering love at the feet of the Goddess. He also prayed for the protection of Kashipuri. Due to Sudarshan's boon, Mother Paramba Durga located in Durgakund is protecting Varanasipuri till date.
So dear readers, how did you like the story? Hope you liked it. With this, we bid farewell. We will meet again with the next story in devotional story. Till then keep smiling and keep remembering the Lord.
Thank you
Har Har Mahadev
