ARUNI
Aruni of Panchala was a dedicated student of the ancient sageDhoumya. In the days of yore, a student had to stay with the teacher andhelp in theteacher’s daily chores in order to receive the knowledge he sought.
It was a day of cold winter. Aruni was
carrying the firewood he had collected for the sage's household. As he was
passing by a field, which belonged to the sage, he noticed a breach in the
embankment that was holding water in his teacher's field. He realized that the
water would seep away and the field’s crops would die with no water.
"What should
I do? If I stop to build the embankment I will be delayed and there is no
firewood at the hermitage to keep the place warm. I better rush to the
hermitage with the firewood and then come back to take care of the
breach."
Meanwhile the sage
and his disciples had assembled for the day's lesson. Aruni was missing.
Soon Aruni rushed in, dropped the
firewood in the courtyard, and informed the teacher about the breach of the
embankment. Then he quickly rushed out.
Sage Dhoumya felt proud of his disciple,
"It is hard to get such a responsible disciple."
Aruni ran all the way back to the
troubled spot and tried to stop the leakage of water by putting some logs and
mud. However, this did not stop the leak. The heavy pressure of water washed
away the dam Aruni made. He felt helpless. It seemed impossible for him to stop
the leakage without help. He thought for a while and then made a plan.
It was getting dark and the teacher
became worried. He called his disciples and set out looking for Aruni. As he
called out for Aruni, he heard a faint voice, "Here I am master!"
The teacher and his disciples rushed to
the spot and saw Aruni lying on the breach, in order to hold the water in the
field. The disciples quickly pulled Aruni out from the freezing water. He was
repeatedly muttering, "The water is flowing out, the crops will die
---."
"Don't worry
Aruni! We will take care of the breach," said the disciples.
"Never mind
my son! You are more precious than the crop," said the teacher.
Aruni was covered in a blanket and brought
home. Sage Dhoumya himself tended to Aruni. The sage then blessed his disciple
with pride, "You shall, forever, be renowned for your unmatched devotion
and obedience to your guru.”