Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa once travelled to Mithilā, the great city of the Videha country, to bless two of his dearest devotees. One was Śrutadeva, a poor but learned brāhmaṇa. The other was Bahulāśva, the humble king of Mithilā. Both invited Kṛshṇa at the same moment. By his yogamāyā (power of illusion) Kṛshṇa entered both homes at once, and neither man knew of the other’s welcome. This narrative is told in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 86.

The two devotees

In Mithilā two men led very different lives, but both had the same single-minded love for Kṛshṇa.

Śrutadeva was a brāhmaṇa of great learning and true vairāgya (detachment). He was a householder who lived very simply. He accepted only what came to him unasked each day, and he never stored up anything or sought more than he needed for himself and his family. Each day he received just enough for the body’s journey, and no more. He did all the duties of a householder, such as welcoming guests, regular pūjā and sacred study, but he held on to nothing. His mind rested wholly in Kṛshṇa, and his contentment was that of one who has already received everything.

Bahulāśva was the king of Mithilā, born in the great line of Janaka. He was learned, humble and free of pride, and he was deeply devoted to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Both men were dear to Kṛshṇa in the way a pure bhakta (devotee) is dear, without any condition.

Kṛshṇa’s journey to Mithilā

Kṛshṇa set out for Mithilā in his chariot, driven by Dāruka. With him went a remarkable company of ṛshis: Nārada, Vāmadeva, Atri, Vyāsa, Paraśurāma, Asita, Aruṇa, Śuka, Bṛhaspati, Kaṇva, Maitreya, Cyavana and many others.

The procession passed through the villages and towns of Ānarta, Dhanu, Kuru-Jāṅgala, Kaṅka, Matsya, Pāñcāla, Kunti, Madhu, Kekaya, Kośala and Arṇa. In each place the people came out to receive Kṛshṇa with offerings in their hands. Their faces and hearts bloomed with joy at the sight of his shining, smiling face. Many simply gazed at his lotus face as if they were drinking it in through their eyes.

When the news reached Mithilā that Kṛshṇa was coming, Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva both hurried out at the same time and fell at his feet. Each stretched out his cupped hands and invited him to his home.

Kṛshṇa wished to bless both equally, so he accepted both invitations. Through his yogamāyā he entered both houses at the same time. He appeared to Bahulāśva in the palace and to Śrutadeva in the humble brāhmaṇa’s home, and neither knew that the other was receiving him too.

Bahulāśva’s welcome

King Bahulāśva received Kṛshṇa and the ṛshis with all the honour due from a great king. He offered fine seats. He washed their holy feet with his own hands and poured that water on his own head with the deepest respect. He anointed the ṛshis with sandalwood paste, garlanded them, and offered clothes, ornaments, incense, lamps and the best food. He placed Kṛshṇa’s feet in his lap and gently pressed them, with a heart overflowing.

Then Bahulāśva spoke:

“O Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, you are the inner witness of all beings. You see the hearts of those who remember you, and so you have come to us. You once declared that no one is more dear to you than your pure devotee, not Saṃkarshaṇa, not Lakshmī herself, not Brahmā. You have made those words true today by coming here. What shall I ask? What can I give? I ask only this: stay here for some days. Let the dust of your feet (pāda-dhūli) purify the line of Nimi, and bless this city.”

Kṛshṇa agreed and stayed, bringing good fortune to all of Mithilā.

Śrutadeva’s welcome

At the same time Kṛshṇa and the ṛshis arrived at Śrutadeva’s modest home. The moment Śrutadeva saw them, he burst into a dance of joy. He whirled his upper cloth, laughing and weeping together. He and his wife brought out whatever they had: mats of kuśa grass, wooden stools and seats of darbha grass. They greeted the guests with sweet words and washed their feet with great reverence.

Śrutadeva sprinkled that foot-water on himself, on his wife, on his children and on all his relatives, and felt the highest joy in every drop. He offered fruits, cool water scented with fragrant roots, darbha grass, tulasī leaves, fresh lotus flowers, and whatever pure (sāttvika) food he could prepare. He was poor, yet his welcome was complete in the one thing that matters, pure śraddhā (faith).

While the guests rested, Śrutadeva sat near their feet and gently pressed them. Then he spoke:

“O Purushottama, you did not come to us only today. From the moment you made this world and entered it as sattāsphūrti (the very ground of being), you gave your darśana to all of us. A sleeper makes a dream world and enters it himself as the dreamer. In the same way you are always present in all beings as the ātman. Yet for those who always hear about you, praise you, worship you, bow to you and talk of you, you shine clearly in the heart. For those whose minds are scattered by karma, you stay hidden even though you are right here. O Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, tell us what we should do. At the moment you become visible to a human being, all his sorrows end.”

Kṛshṇa’s teaching in Śrutadeva’s home

Kṛshṇa was moved by Śrutadeva’s words. He took his hand warmly, smiled and said:

“O *mahātman (great soul), know that these great ṛshis who sit with me have come to bless you. Wherever they go they carry me in their hearts. The dust of their feet holds all the tīrthas of the world. Merely seeing, touching or speaking with such mahātmas makes a person pure at once. A sacred river takes long years to do this, but they do it immediately. The power of sacred rivers and places of pilgrimage comes first from the presence of such sādhus. I am in these ṛshis. They are my own form.*

“In this world the brāhmaṇa is the highest, by birth, by *tapas, by learning and by contentment. If a brāhmaṇa is also my devotee, need I even say that he is the highest? I tell you truly: this four-armed form of mine is not as dear to me as the brāhmaṇa. The brāhmaṇa is sarvaveda-rūpa (the form of all the Vedas), and I am sarvadevatā-rūpa (the form of all the devas). Some people foolishly honour only images and tīrthas, and show no respect to the brāhmaṇa who sees me in all beings. Such people honour me with their hands while striking me with their feet.*

“Therefore, O great-souled one, honour these ṛshis with the same śraddhā that you have shown to me. That is my own direct pūjā. All the upacāras (offerings) in the world, without this understanding, do not reach me.”

Śrutadeva took these words into every part of his being. He honoured all the ṛshis as Kṛshṇa himself. With that understanding, in that very life, he and Bahulāśva both reached the highest sattva and the moksha (liberation) of the great sādhus.

Kṛshṇa stayed some days longer, spreading blessings over Mithilā, and then returned to Dvārakā.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skanda, Chapter 86