Maudgalya and the Ear of Corn
Maudgalya · maudgalya, “son of Mudgala”
Maudgalya has other meanings too: see all meanings of Maudgalya.
In the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa, Brahmā tells Nārada how Vishṇutīrtha on the Gautamī came to be. The ṛshi Maudgalya worshipped Bhagavān Vishṇu every day on the bank of the Gaṅgā and was blessed with his darśana, yet he and his family lived in want. When his wife Jābālā urged him to ask why, Vishṇu taught him that each being reaps what it has sown and that bhoga, worldly enjoyment, comes only through dāna. Maudgalya had nothing to give, so Vishṇu had Garuḍa bring an ear of corn, Maudgalya offered its grains, and his family was filled with plenty for seven generations.
Maudgalya and his household
There was a ṛshi named Maudgalya, so called because he was the son of Mudgala. Mudgala, his father, was old and well known in the worlds, and Mudgala’s wife was named Bhāgīrathī. Maudgalya’s wife was Jābālā, and she had good sons.
Maudgalya bathed in the Gaṅgā early every morning, keeping his rites with self-control. On the bank, by the method his guru had taught him, he invoked Vishṇu in the lotus of his heart every day with kuśa grass, clay and śamī flowers. When invoked, the consort of Lakshmī, Jagannātha, came to him at once, seated on Garuḍa and holding the śaṅkha, cakra and gadā. Worshipped by Maudgalya with bhakti, he told him wonderful stories of many kinds. Late in the afternoon Vishṇu would say: “Go home, dear one. You are tired.” Then the brāhmaṇa went home, and Jagannātha went to his own abode with the devas.
Maudgalya brought home whatever little he had gathered himself and gave it to his wife. He was devoted above all to the lotus feet of Mahāvishṇu. Jābālā was a pativratā who took her husband as her highest goal. Whatever greens, roots or fruits he brought, she cooked well and served to guests, to her husband and to her sons, and ate only after all had been fed. Every night, after the meal, Maudgalya joyfully told them the wonderful stories he had heard from Vishṇu.
Jābālā’s question
A long time passed. One day Jābālā, wondering at their hardship, spoke to her husband in private: “When Vishṇu comes near you, ask Jagannātha: if Vishṇu, honoured by the devas, comes to us, why should misery befall us? The moment he is remembered, old age, birth, death and sickness vanish. What then when he is seen!”
Maudgalya agreed. He worshipped Hari as usual and, with joined palms, humbly asked: “When you are remembered, Jagannātha, sorrow, poverty and pāpa vanish. Yet I see you, and adversity still stays with me. How is that?”
Vishṇu’s teaching
Śrī Vishṇu said: “All beings, everywhere and always, enjoy or suffer the fruit of their own karma. No one does good or bad to another. The fruit follows the seed that is sown; never and nowhere does a mango grow from a nimba seed. How can they be fit for glory and wealth by whom the Gautamī has not been served, Hari and Śaṅkara have not been worshipped, and nothing has been given to brāhmaṇas? Nothing has been given by you to brāhmaṇas or to me, and only what is given goes over to the supreme ātmā.
“One can become pure within by regular acts of cleanliness with clay, water, kuśa and mantras, or by wearing down the body with tapas. But nowhere can men gain bhoga without dāna. Purified by holy rites, one becomes detached; then his jñāna is unobstructed, and he becomes liberated while still living. Through bhakti to me, moksha is easy for everyone. Bhoga is gained by dāna and the like, or by relieving the misery of all beings. You will attain moksha, but you will not gain bhoga through bhakti alone.”
Maudgalya said: “How can there be moksha through bhakti? Moksha is rarer than bhoga. If moksha is gained, what use is anything else to embodied beings? Moksha is more worthy of honour by all than bhakti. Jagatpati, you who are one with the universe, that is what I would like to have.”
Vishṇu said: “This is the difference, brāhmaṇa. Whatever is given to a brāhmaṇa or to any other suppliant after remembering me returns as everlasting benefit. Whatever is given without thinking of me yields only an equal benefit; it is used up and cannot add to one’s bhoga. So, wise one, go to the bank of the Gautamī and give me something to eat, or give to a worthy brāhmaṇa.”
The ear of corn
Maudgalya said to Vishṇu: “I have nothing else to give you. This body and all I have are already given to you.”
Then Bhagavān Vishṇu, Jagannātha, quickly said to Garuḍa: “Bring an ear of corn here. He will offer it to me, and after that he will gain the bhoga that is fitting, as he chooses.” Hearing his master’s command, the king of birds did so, and Maudgalya, keeping his rites with self-control, offered the grains of the corn to Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Meanwhile Vishṇu said to Viśvakarman: “Wise one, every cherished wish shall be fulfilled in the family of this ṛshi, up to the seventh generation of his descendants. They shall have cows, gold, grain, clothes and ornaments.” By the power of Vishṇu and of the Gaṅgā, Maudgalya obtained everything that adorns life and satisfies the mind.
Told by Vishṇu, “Go home”, Maudgalya went back. Seeing all the riches and plenty in his āśrama, the ṛshi said: “Oh, the power of dāna! Oh, the remembrance of Vishṇu! Oh, the power of the Gaṅgā! Who could have imagined so great a thing?” With his wife, sons, grandsons and kin he enjoyed the good things of the world, and in the end he attained moksha together with his pitṛs.
The phala of Vishṇutīrtha
From then on the tīrtha has been known as Maudgalya and as Vaishṇava, besides Vishṇutīrtha. Snāna and dāna there give both bhukti, worldly enjoyment, and mukti. If the tīrtha is merely heard of or remembered, Vishṇu is pleased with that person, who is freed of all pāpas and is happy. There are eleven thousand tīrthas there on both banks together, and snāna, dāna, japa and the like at them bestow every kind of wealth.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 66
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 66