Guṇanidhi and King Dama
Guṇanidhi-Dama, simply known as Gunanidhi and Dama, Sanskrit: गुणनिधि-दम, Telugu: గుణనిధి మరియు దముడు, Hindi: गुणनिधि और दम.
Guṇanidhi was the fallen son of the brāhmaṇa Yajñadatta of Kāmpilya. He fell into gambling, theft and every kind of wrong conduct for a brāhmaṇa. Yet on a Śivarātri night he lit a lamp in a temple of Bhagavān Śiva by accident, heard the names of Bhagavān Śiva, and saw a devotee’s pūjā. These three acts, done without any thought of devotion, won him the grace of Bhagavān Śiva at the moment of death. He was taken to Śiva-loka. He was then born as King Dama of Kaliṅga, son of king Arindama. His single duty as king was to see that lamps burned in every Śiva temple in his kingdom. After a reign of great puṇya (merit), he was born as Kubera, lord of all treasures and lasting friend of Bhagavān Śiva.
Guṇanidhi, first life
Birth and education
Guṇanidhi was the only son of Yajñadatta. Yajñadatta was a brāhmaṇa of the Somayājī line in the city of Kāmpilya. He was a man of perfect learning, who had taken dīkshā (initiation) for many yajñas (fire rituals), with deep knowledge of the Vedas and a sound character. The boy received the upanayana (sacred thread) at the age of eight and began his studies. But without his father knowing, he soon fell into gambling and bad company. Again and again he took money from his mother to give to gamblers. He gave up sandhyā-vandana (the daily prayers), snāna (the holy bath) and all the ācāras (duties) of a brāhmaṇa. He mocked the Vedas and the brāhmaṇas, and he kept the company of actors and criminals.
Hiding and discovery
Each time Yajñadatta asked, the mother hid all this from him. She said the boy had just stepped out to study. When the boy was sixteen, Yajñadatta arranged his marriage. Even after his marriage Guṇanidhi kept to his ways. Little by little he gambled away everything: silks, gold vessels, his mother’s sari, brass and copper pots, and an ivory bed.
The truth came out when Yajñadatta met a gambler wearing his own gem ring and pressed him to tell the truth. The gambler told him everything. Guṇanidhi had given him the ring. He had lost far more besides. He was the leader and best player of gambling in the city. Yajñadatta went home in shame. He poured out water in the rite of giving up Guṇanidhi as a son, and the same day he married another brāhmaṇa woman.
Wandering and the night of Śivarātri
Guṇanidhi was cast out and homeless, and he wandered without a goal. On a Śivarātri evening he was hungry. He followed a group of devotees of Bhagavān Śiva to a temple. There a great devotee of Bhagavān Maheśvara was doing the night pūjā with a full fast (upavāsa), dance, song and devotion. Guṇanidhi sat at the doorway. He was waiting for the crowd to fall asleep so that he could steal the naivedya (food offering).
When the devotees fell asleep, he went into the inner shrine. The lamp was dim. He tore a piece of cloth from his uttarīya (shoulder cloth) and made a wick. He lit the lamp so that it burned brighter, so that no shadow would fall on the top of the liṅga. Then he gathered the naivedya. As he hurried out, he struck a sleeping guard. The temple guards caught him, beat him, and he fell. He died of his wounds that night.
At the moment of death
The Yama-dūtas (messengers of Yama) and the Śiva-gaṇas (attendants of Bhagavān Śiva) came together. The Śiva-gaṇas named three accidental acts of puṇya:
- He lit the lamp and took the shadow from the top of the liṅga.
- He heard the names of Bhagavān Śiva by chance.
- He saw a devoted bhakta’s Śivarātri pūjā.
He did these three things with no thought of devotion. Yet they won him the protection of Bhagavān Śiva. The Yama-dūtas were sent away. Guṇanidhi was taken to Śiva-loka in a divine vimāna (flying chariot).
The Śiva Purāṇa tells this in the Rudra Saṃhitā, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 17–18.
King Dama, second life
After enjoying a divine life in Śiva-loka and serving Pārvatī and Parameśvara, Guṇanidhi was born as Dama, son of king Arindama of Kaliṅga. The saṃskāra (inner impression) of the lamp lighting from his earlier life became the main drive of his whole life as king:
- From childhood Dama was devoted to the pūjā of Bhagavān Śiva.
- When he became king, he spread Śiva-dharma through his kingdom.
- His one firm dharma as king was to light lamps in every Śiva temple in his land.
Dama called together all the village officers of his kingdom and said: “In every śivālaya (temple of Śiva) in your area, lamps must burn without a break. If you fail to do this, you will be put to death.” Under this royal order, every Śiva temple throughout Kaliṅga glowed with lamplight at all times.
Dama lived out his reign in this dharma, gathered great puṇya, and died. By the force of the lamp-lighting saṃskāra, now chosen with full will through a whole royal life, he was born as Kubera, lord of the jewel-lit city of Alakā. The Śiva Purāṇa tells this in the Rudra Saṃhitā, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 18.
The Rudra Saṃhitā’s own summary
The Rudra Saṃhitā sums up the three lives in these words:
“One who is entirely averse to all dharma — the dīkshita’s son (Guṇanidhi) — where was he? And now he has attained the dignity of a Dikpāla. He is now Kubera, enjoying the difficult-to-attain office of a guardian of a direction. The result of even the faintest service to Śiva, done accidentally, bears its fruit in time. Therefore, those who seek happiness should worship Śiva.”
Yama’s instruction to his messengers
This account goes together with the instruction of Yama, Dharmarāja, to his messengers. Yama gave it when he heard how the three accidental acts of puṇya had outweighed Guṇanidhi’s lifetime of pāpa (sin). It sets down that people who bear bhasma (sacred ash), rudrāksha (sacred beads), jaṭā (matted hair), or the form of Bhagavān Śiva in any way are free from Yama’s rule.
Sources
- Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 17–18