Akavoor
Chathan is believed to be one of the twelve children of Vararuchi, a renowned
scholar and astrologer who adorned the court of King Vikramaditya. Akavoor
Chathan was brought up in a poor low-caste family and is a popular character in
the Malayalam folklore of South India. He was respected as a gifted scholar, intelligent
and wise.
One day, his landlord informed Akavoor
Chathan about his intention to visit several holy lands and bathe in the holy
rivers to purify his soul and wash away his sins. He invited Akavoor Chathan to
accompany him during the pilgrimage. Akavoor Chathan politely accepted the
offer and followed the landlord, carrying with him a bitter fruit from his farm throughout the pilgrimage. He
dipped the bitter fruit in the holy waters
and brought it back. The landlord completed the pilgrimage and was happy
that all his sins had been washed away by the pilgrimage and the dip in the holy
waters.
The landlord arranged a grand
feast to celebrate his successful pilgrimage and share his joy. Akavoor Chathan
was also invited. At the feast, no one could relish the food as it was very
bitter. The landlord was furious. He enquired about the preparation and was
told that Akavoor Chathan had entrusted the landlord's wife with the holy fruit
which he had carried during the pilgrimage and following his request, she had
included the bitter fruit in the dishes for the day. The bitter taste of the
fruit had spoiled the feast. Akavoor Chathan was summoned and questioned. He replied that
he had included the fruit in the meals with the intention of sharing the
blessings brought by the fruit among all the participants of the party. He
added that as the fruit had been carried to several Holy lands and was washed
in holy waters, he believed that the bitterness of the fruit would have been
washed away like the sins of the landlord.
The land lord learned a lesson from the
incident. Akavoor Chathan taught him that a formal wash in holy water or a
visit to a sacred place could relieve a person from his sins, only if these
acts and rituals are accompanied by internal purification, real repentance and
true transformation.
Let
justice flow like a stream, and righteousness like a river that never goes
dry.
............................................................................................................................................
© By Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University
of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally and Leo. S. John and Neil John, Maniparambil,
Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for
students kindly visit our web-site:
This is Story No. 130 in this site. Please click ‘Older Posts’ at the bottom of a page to read previous stories and
click 'Newer Posts' at the bottom of
a page to read newer stories in this site. Please click on a word in the 'Story Themes' to read stories on that
theme
No comments:
Post a Comment