| Great Devotees |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
ANDAL |
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| The Story of a
Florist There is a story -that a seller of flowers attained salvation by preparing beautiful garlands and offering them to Shri Krishna. There is a city called Mathura in NorthIndia. This is some 300 miles to the south of Delhi. The kings of Chandravamsha (the Moon Dynasty) lived there. Mathura was their capital. Ugrasena was the king.Kamsa was his son. He imprisoned his father and himself became king. Many good people were persecuted by Kamsa. Kamsa hated Shri Krishna. He wanted to kill him somehow. He kept ready elephants and wrestlers for this purpose. ShriKrishna was in a place calledNandagokula. Kamsa invited Shri Krishna to Mathura. Shri Krishna and his elder-brother Balarama came to Mathura. As they were village boys, they wore simple clothes. But should they not go to the king's court infine clothes?They saw a washerman of Kamsa 's palace. Krishna and Balarama took fine clothes from him. A little later they saw a hunchback; she used to supply sandal paste to the palace.The brothers got sandal paste from her and applied it to their bodies. Then they reached the house of the man who supplied flowers to the palace. His name was Sudama, meaning a maker of lovely garlands. He earned his livelihood by selling garlands. When Balarama and Shri Krishna came to his house, Sudama involuntarily got up and touched their feet. He gave water that they might wash their hands and feet and then offered seats.The followers of Shri Krishna who had accompanied him from Nandagokula were also welcomed in the same way. The florist felt very happy. He said to Shri Krishna, "Lord! My life has now become meaningful. My house has attained holi- ness. By worshipping you one gains the blessings of all other gods." Then 'he presented beautiful, colorful garlands to both Shri Krishna and Balarama. The complexion of Shri Krishna was Shyamala (blue black). He wore blue back flowers to match his complexion. Balarama was of fair complexion. He wore flowers to match his complexion. Shri Krishna and Balarama were very happy. " 0 h, Sudama, what do you desire? I will give you whatever you wish," Shri Krishna said to him. The florist replied,"Lord you are everything to me. I am your devotee. Grant that my devotion be firm and unwavering. And may I have the compassion to suffer with those that suffer!" Shri Krishna wondered that Sudama wanted nothing for himself. He said to him, "I have given you whatever you haveasked for. But you must also listen to what I say. Generation after generation, your family will have all that it desires. May your family continue! May you be wealthy so that you can serve God! Be happy and live in peace!" So Shri Krishna blessed the florist. Like this maker of garlands Periyalwar, too, asked for nothing. He also garlands and offered them to God with devotion. As Sudama went on offering garlands to Shri Krishna and Balarama, saying,'This is lovely, this is lovelier,'so Periyalwar also found fulfillment in presenting flowers to God. He would not give even a single flower to any one except God. Did he not grow angry even with Andal, whom he loved so much, because she wore the garland? |
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