Episode 4

Story of Mandavya[i]

This is the story of sage Mandavya. The sage is the advocate of a law that children below the age of fourteen shall not attract sin for their  misdeeds and hence they cannot be punished. Please read the story and reflect.

Mandavya was a sage and one day he was sitting beneath a tree in his Ashram. When he was in deep meditation, a few thieves being chased the soldiers, entered into his Ashram and hid inside. The sage did not observe what was happening. The soldiers questioned the sage as to whether he had seen the thieves running there. The sage did not answer as he was in deep meditation. The soldiers searched inside and found the thieves as well as money. They tied all the thieves and also the sage and presented them before the king.  The king imposed ‘Soola Danda’ (death sentence by thrusting over a raised trident) to all the people. The soldiers did what was ordered by the king and they felt that he was dead.

Mandavya was such a great Rishi that he continued doing penance in spite of the physical suffering. Pain is to the body and not to the soul. The people in and around were surprised to see the great sage surviving the pain of the trident and still pursuing the penance. For anybody’s query he used to reply that no one was responsible for his suffering.

A few days later the king came to know through his soldiers that the sage was surviving the heavy odds. The king rushed to the spot and ensured the sage was safely grounded from the trident. Upon his orders the soldiers tried to remove the trident but in vain. Then they cut off the trident to certain point but the pointed edge was struck to his body only. The king profusely apologized and left the place. Mandavya began wandering with the trident edge and was meditating continuously. He was famously called and eulogized by all as ‘Ani Mandavya’ (Mandavya with trident).

One day Mandavya met the God of Dharma and asked the reason for his punishment by the king. The God replied, ‘When you were in your childhood you had inserted the sharp darbha (kusa grass in Sanskrit) grass into the tails of the locusts. So I have imposed this punishment upon you. Just as small charity results in the merit growing in geometric proportion, a small sin results in agony growing in geometric proportion’[ii].

Mandavya did not agree with the logic and reasoning of the God of Dharma. Any unrighteous act (adharma) done during childhood should not attract punishment. The law, after all, should be ethical and amenable to reason. He cursed the God of Dharma to born on earth for a couple of years. With his power of tapas, he ordained that ‘no child below fourteen shall attract sin for juvenile delinquencies’[iii]

Later on the God of Dharma was born as Vidura, brother of Dhritarashtra and Pandu Maharaja.

Points to ponder

1.    Do you agree that law is the codification of ethics and morals?

2.   Can a law sustain against the principles of Dharma?

3.   Who has to take the responsibility of adharma being practiced by children below fourteen years?

4.   Can a meritorious person prescribe law for the general populace like Mandavya did in Maha Bharata?

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[i] This story is from Mahabharatha Adi Parva by sage Ved Vyasa.

[ii] स्वल्पमेव यथा दत्तं दानं बहु गुणं भवेत्

अधर्म एवं विप्रर्षे बहु दुःख फलप्रदः  - Maha Bharatha Adi Parva 107.12.

[iii] आचतुर्दश काद्वर्षान्नभविष्यति पातकं

परतः कुर्वतामेवं दोष एव भविष्यति  - Maha Bharatha Adi Parva 107

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