Life Lessons from Shani Mahatmya — Some Mini-epiphanies
There is immense depth and therapeutic value in Shani Mahatmya (roughly, The Majesty of Shani), apart from its well known spiritual (and astrological) import.
Shani Mahatmya is a well known story that is often prescribed for repeated listening, especially during the famous 7.5 year phase where Shanideva’s influence rules on people’s janma rashi. This must be from some purana but that is immaterial to this discussion.
After repeatedly listening to this story, a number of mini-epiphanies may occur — some of which are self-evident truths and some others, deeper glimpses into the nature of the world. However, first, people should know at least the gist of the story, so that they can fully appreciate the points being made.
While a summary of the story is produced below, those interested in reading the full story in English may read here.
SUMMARY OF SHANI MAHATMYA
Vikramaditya, a just and noble king, ruled Ujjain. One day, he was discussing with his pandita-s which was the best graha (planet).
Different pandita-s chose different graha-s and one of them also chose Shani. But since Shanideva was the son who had even ‘harmed’ his own father Surya immediately after he was born, Vikramaditya humorously declares Shanideva more of an enemy than a son.
At that time, Shanideva appears and tells Vikramaditya that he will soon enter the latter’s janma rashi and cure his arrogance.
Soon, Shanideva creates circumstances that take Vikramaditya out of his kingdom and takes him to a different town called Tamalindu. In that town, he gets accused of a theft he did not commit — a miracle happens that causes a necklace to go missing but Vikramaditya is the only person at the spot of the crime. His limbs are cut off and he gets thrown to the city gate.
A lady from the oil-presser jaati, a native of Ujjain, sees Vikramaditya as she is travelling to her in-laws’ home in Tamalindu and takes him to her in-laws’ house. There, Vikramaditya does the work of sitting on the bull/machine that that presses oil to earn his livelihood.
Throughout this time, he has been praying to Shanideva for mercy.
One day, he is sitting in his usual perch and singing Raaga Deepaka. The lamps in the city suddenly light up and the Princess is impressed. She summons him to her palace and makes him perform.
The next morning, Shanideva appears before Vikramaditya. Despite having no limbs, Vikramaditya instinctively tries to do a namaskara at the feet of Shanideva but without limbs, all he manages to do is roll on the floor.
Shanideva is moved by his bhakti and tells Vikramaditya to ask for any boon, to which the latter requests Shanideva that he should never give such difficulties to anyone else. Shanideva is doubly impressed since the king isn’t asking for his limbs or his kingdom but is only seeking mercy for others.
Eventually, Shanideva performs a miracle that convinces everyone concerned that Vikramaditya isn’t a thief, he gets his limbs back, and is sent back to his kingdom with two new brides and a lot of wealth.
<End of summary>
NOW FOR THE MINI-EPIPHANIES
If you are expecting something on the lines of “arrogance is not good”, “even a king’s fortune can turn”. etc, those are self-evident and no need to repeat.
Here are some other ones.
Sing even when in deep trouble
Long ago, I had tweeted — So what if you have lost everything. You still have yourself. (Easier said, of course)
Here was a man who lost his kingdom, his hands and legs. A king at whose mercy thousands used to live, was now living in the home of an oil presser, at his mercy. He had no present and no future. Yet, he was not full of poison or resentment.
He was singing Raaga Deepaka even in such a situation!
What character should a man possess to sing even when he has lost everything?
This is something to aspire to — the ability to focus on the smaller pleasures of life especially in dark times.
Keep calm and know your place
Vikramaditya may have been a great emperor. Still, it wasn’t his business to judge Shanideva’s actions or pass comments on Him.
Never get into discussions that judge things far above your paygrade. Vikramaditya’s troubles began when he hosted those pandita-s asking them which graha is the best. The things entities far above us do are dependent on their position and variables, far removed from our judgement.
Such discussions are pointless at best and dangerous at worst.
When two people who have something better to do start arguing about this politician vs that, or when two people at whose expense smartphone companies are laughing to the bank argue about iOS vs Android, the argument may merely be pointless or just damaging to their relationships.
However, when such attitude veers into the territory of Gods, Guru-s or sampradaya-s, it begins to enter a dangerous realm. If you have a preference, indulge in it and make your way in it. Getting into spats on who or which is better will get you into trouble because, given your rather low level vision, you will end up running something down to show something else as better. When you run something far more powerful than you down, expect trouble.
Similarly, this also applies to those maligning Indradeva using certain pauranika sources or some other deity using some other scriptures. Whoever your choice of CEO is, that CEO won’t take kindly to the insult of His chosen senior executives. The CEO may be well within His/Her right to subtly upbraid the executives, but you are nowhere in that picture.
Remember, kindergarten kids don’t decide which PhD thesis is better? Keep calm and know your place.
Never shoot the messenger or your mouth off
Vikramaditya said something about Shanideva’s actions in the context of the latter having harmed His own father. But this view forgets that Shanideva was just doing His job, a job given to Him by Paramatma. Shanideva works as per certain rules set by Paramatma.
He is like a judge interpreting the law strictly within its letter and spirit. Can you blame the judge for passing a sentence?
Shanideva is just the messenger. Focus on the message. No point shooting one’s mouth off about Shanideva or any other graha.
Similarly, in other situations in life, focus on the message and not the messenger, especially when people are just doing their job delivering that message.
Give bad news immediately
Here is how the necklace goes missing. A merchant gives shelter to Vikramaditya when he is lost and enters Tamalindu. The merchant sees a prospective groom in him. Later that night, the merchant sends his daughter to have a conversation and test Vikramaditya. When she goes in, she finds Vikramaditya fast asleep. Unsuccessful in waking him up, she removes her necklace and sleeps, too.
Late at night, Vikramaditya wakes up and sees the young woman as well as her necklace. But soon, he sees that a swan comes out of a painting hanging from a wall and begins to swallow that necklace.
At that time, if he had immediately raised an alarm about it, someone may have even believed him. But he just witnesses the miracle and sleeps. The next morning, when the young woman wakes up, she is shocked to find her necklace missing and believes Vikramaditya stole it because he was the only other person in that room.
So, give bad news immediately.
Take complete responsibility
If you are in a soup, remember, you’re the chef, no matter who the cook was — this was Vikramaditya’s attitude.
The punishment Vikramaditya was suffering was for a theft he never committed. Yet, when the oil presser lady asks Vikramaditya why he is in such a pitiable situation, he says that it is his karma phala that reduced him to this.
Many of us keep looking for ways to shift the responsibility of our life’s trajectory to someone or something else, even when we know we are directly or indirectly at fault. Here is Vikramaditya doing the exact opposite, because he knew that in the larger picture, he was at fault, even if he had not committed the theft.
Even assuming your culpability is unclear, assuming responsibility in the sense of “could I have done something differently?” is the only way out of the soup. You can blame anyone but the soup is still all around you.
So, take complete responsibility.
Goodness without strings
It is ironical that satkarma done without any “what’s in it for me?” in mind, leads to the most remarkable benefits. After all, this is very much like Shri Krishna’s most misunderstood verse from the Gita.
The oil presser lady and her family took Vikramaditya in when he was at his lowest ebb. At that time, limbless, his future would have seemed like a dark, long road to nowhere. Yet, they showed goodness for its own sake, knowing well that they were taking up a liability that wouldn’t pay them back in any way. Eventually, they got rewarded handsomely once Vikramaditya got his kingdom back, but that did not look like even a remote possibility when they looked after him.
Another point to think of is — perhaps Vikramaditya, as a king was just and good to his subjects, even when he was all powerful. His earlier goodness came to his aid at the time of his deepest adversity. Why would anyone care this deeply for a tyrant?
Goodness without strings, eventually pays back.
Start with what you have, do whatever you can
When Vikramaditya is taken to the oil presser’s house, the former insists on working with something and takes the job of sitting on the bull/machine that presses oil. Despite having no limbs and having been a king earlier, he is ready to be productive with whatever he has!
Further, Vikramaditya finishes his 7.5 years of Shanideva’s influence. Meanwhile, Shanideva is also moved by Vikramaditya’s continuous worship and he appears in front of him.
Vikramaditya forgets that he has no hands or legs, and tries to do a namaskara to Shanideva. As a result, he falls on the floor and rolls. Vikramaditya did not wait for Shanideva to give him back his hands or legs but just went into it with whatever he had.
Typically, there are those who want to start their worship but are waiting for the perfect arrangements — I’ll start worshipping once I buy that, after I get this, after I learn that, etc. But Vikramaditya’s situation is opposite — he cannot even do a namaskara but has forgotten all of that and completely offered himself.
Shanideva is deeply moved by this, as would any God be.
If you want to do something, start with what you have, do whatever you can.
A bit like how Shri Krishna said:
“पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति।
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः।।”
With regularity, other doors will soon start to open. But sitting and waiting got none anywhere.
It’s about solving the problem, not about solving *your* problem
So, at the end of this story, Shanideva is impressed with Vikramaditya. Ask for anything you want, He says.
Vikramaditya could have asked for his limbs, his kingdom, riches, moksha, anything. But he asks Shanideva this: Please do not give anyone this much pain and suffering to anyone.
Shanideva is astonished by Vikramaditya’s selflessness.
Vikramaditya isn’t bothered about solving his own problem. He is thinking of solving this class of problems for all people. Throughout the story, there are many examples of Vikramaditya’s sterling character but none better than this one. He has one shot at getting everything back, but he asks something for others.
Perhaps this, too, is a message to people by Shanideva — the best way to overcome pain is to take care of the pain of others.
CONCLUSION
This writing is not meant to be an advice to anyone. It just contains some ideas from the Shani Mahatmya that perhaps everyone can ponder over.
Perhaps that is what Shanideva wanted too. That people remember these things in the challenging times that are often associated with the 7.5 years of His influence.
Listening to the Shani Mahatmya is indeed deeply therapeutic.
