Durvasa: Maharshis of Ancient India

By Smt. T.N. Saraswati

Durvasa was actually Lord Sankara who was born as the third son to sage Atri and his wife Anasuya. He was known to grant boons and heap curses. When Rama was in conversation with Kalapurusha and had asked Lakshmana not to allow anyone in, Durvasa forced himself inside threatening to curse that Ayodhya and the entire clan would perish. Upon Bhagawan Rudra's intervention, Durvasa agreed to be a ritwik at the yaga of emperor Swethaki. Princess Pritha( Kunti) served the sage with such great devotion and patience that he blessed her with a manthra.When she chanted the manthra with a particular God in mind, the God would grant her desire to her.  Durvasa was held in high esteem by the devas and was an invitee at Lord Brahma's court. Sage Mudgala was a precious gem who was put to a rigorous test by the sage so that his good qualities came out shining. Duryodhana got an opportunity to serve the sage , which he did excellently. He then sent him to the Pandavas hoping to put them in trouble. But, Lord Krishna came to the Pandavas' rescue. Durvasa brought out the utter devotion of Ambareesha towards Lord Vishnu only after putting him through a very difficult test. Even Devendra was not spared from his anger. In fact, he lost all his wealth as a result of the sage's curse. He had to pray hard to Goddess Lakshmi who restored to him all that he had lost. Sri Krishna had great respect for Durvasa. The Yamuna river made way for the Gopikas to  cross so that they could have the sage's darshan and an opportunity to serve him. As they had carried a lot of sweets and other food for Durvasa,the sage who lived on the juice of the 'durve' asked them to put only a little of whatever food they had brought to offer him.But, they were stunned to see that their vessels had become empty!  Once, when Durvasa did tapas in Kashi, the Gods were not pleased and hence did not appear before him. He got so angry that the fire of his anger reached the sky forcing all the Gods to come down in huge numbers. Finally, it was Lord Sankara who convinced the sage not to curse the holy place (Kashi) as many people found their salvation there.  Durvasa dealt with people rather harshly. Ironically, however, it was through his curses that people's virtues came to the fore. So, directly or indirectly, he was responsible for unearthing many a great personality and presenting them to the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana
• Release date: May 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9789389020229

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MAHARSHIS OF ANCIENT INDIA

Durvasa

Written by

Smt. T.N. Saraswati

Translated by

Prof. G. S. Mudambadithaya

© Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana, Bengaluru. All rights reserved.

Published by:

Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana

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Sri Ranga Sadguruve Namah

Bharatha Samskruti Prakashana, which has the major objective of acquainting our children with Bharathiya culture in its true form has brought out a number of books based on two of our great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha. The chief among them are the Epic Characters of the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana. These beautiful books have come out in a number of languages and have been welcomed by educational institutions, the government and the public wholeheartedly. We are delighted to learn that the Bharatha Samskruti Prakashana has brought out another set of ten books on Great Maharshis of Bharatha.

These books acquaint the society with the great sages who built our great culture. They are great souls who have found out truth and devoted their life, energy and experience for the welfare of the people of this planet. They were extraordinary human beings having great wisdom, vast experience and character worthy of imitation. They gifted everything to the world without seeking fame or any kind of gain. Welfare of the world was their sole object. (Lokassamastah Sukhino Bhavantu). A few among such great men are introduced to us through these books. By a study of these books let our young boys and girls develop qualities such as faith in truth and good character and become vibrant individuals and useful citizens of this great land of Bharatha.

Let Bharatha Samskrithi Prakashana bring out many such useful books and help people become better citizens and make our country great among the nations of the world. May God bless the scholars who have written these books and those who edited them and brought them out in attractive forms. We pray to God for the good of all.

Ashtanga Yoga Vijnana Mandiram

Shravana Sukla Dwitiya

With Narayanasmaranas

Sri Sri Srirangapriya Sripadasrisrih

Bangalore

Dated 22-7-2001

DURVASA

Shri Gurubhyo Namaha

Father Atri

Among the great sages Atri is the foremost. It is said that he was born from the eye of Lord Brahma. He reached a stage beyond trigunas namely satva, rajas and tamas.

Sage Atri had no children for a long time and in order to get children he began to perform severe tapas to please gods. He observed silence for one hundred years and he was in samadhi. He stood on one leg and meditated on God. He had no food except