A king named Sudharmik ruled Kerala. His nature was to follow religion, take care of his subjects and chant the name of God. Chandrahas was born to him, and as soon as he was born, he started chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna. The whole kingdom celebrated the birth of Chandrahas. The kings of the enemy side decided that this was the right time to attack. Sudharmik was immersed in the joy of the birth of his son. The kings of the enemy side attacked him and surrounded the kingdom. Sudharmik’s army tried to stop them but failed. King Sudharmik and many soldiers were killed. After this, the royal palace was also surrounded so no one could escape.
The Governess Saved The Life Of Chandrahas
His mother asked the governess to save Chandrahas’s life. The governess thought she would be killed if she took him like a prince. So, the governess took the form of a housemaid, hid Chandrahas under some plates and bowls, and came out. When the soldiers looked from above, she said these were some used plates of the royal family, so the soldiers let her go. The Governess ran away with Chandrahas and reached Kuntalpur.
She prayed to the minister there, Dhrshtabuddhi, that I am proficient in the art of service and kindly keep me in the palace service for some time. She informed them that Chandrahas was her son. Being a maid of the royal family, she was very proficient. She was kept in service. She did not tell anyone about her real identity. When Chandrahas was three years old, the governess passed away. Now, there was no one to take care of him. The name “Krishna! Krishna!” was always on his lips. Now, he started wandering in the streets. He was thrown out of the palace because he was kept in the palace only because of the service of the governess.
Meeting Between Sage Narad And Chandrahas
Seeing the three-year-old child Chandrahas roaming in the streets, someone would give him a bath, someone would give him clothes, and someone would feed him. Chandrahas would chant the name of lord Krishna all the time. Dev Rishi Narad saw that this child kept saying “Krishna Krishna,” and he had no one except Lord Hari. Sage Narad called him and said, while caressing him, “Listen! I am giving you an infallible thing.” Narad brought a small Shaligram stone for him. Narad said, “Wash it, drink the water, and eat anything only after showing it. This is your method of devotion. Give the stone a bath and drink the water. whatever you get, offer it to the Shaligram stone and eat it.”
Chandrahas thought some vessels would be needed to wash, bathe, and offer food to the Shaligram stone. He kept the Shaligram in his mouth like a betel leaf. He thought that if the stone is kept in the mouth, it will be washed and fed automatically. Sage Narad also preached the mantra of God to him.
Astrologer’s Prediction For Chandrahas
The minister Dhrishtabuddhi, who had given shelter to Chandrahas’s governess, had a son, Madan, who was very Godly. He also had a daughter named Vishaya. Madan had a nature of feeding the devotees. He invited many devotees and Brahmins for food. Chandrahas also went there while playing and started eating the food there. Among those Brahmins, there was also an astrologer. Dhrishtabuddhi took his daughter Vishaya before him and said, “Look at her hand and tell me what kind of groom she will have. What kind of wealth will he possess?” The Brahmin looked around and, pointing towards Chandrahas, said, “He is her groom.”
Dhrishtabuddhi said, “You probably did not read the lines of her hand properly; he is a maid’s son. How can he become my daughter’s husband!” The Brahmin said that I had seen the right horoscope and went away. Dhrishtabuddhi thought that this poor boy should not become my daughter’s husband. I am the Chief Minister of such a big kingdom, and my daughter should not be misfortuned. He decided to get him killed the same day. He immediately called the executioners and said, “Take this boy and kill him in the forest; cut off any of his body parts and show me.” Chandrahas looked so beautiful, well-behaved and lovely that no one was ready to kill him; that is why he put a condition that any of his body parts should be cut off and shown to him as proof.
When the executioners held Chandrahas’s hand, as soon as they touched him, they started feeling affection like a mother has for her child. They started talking among themselves, “Brother, my whole life has been spent killing people; I have never done any virtuous deed. This beautiful child is stealing my heart; why has this impudent minister ordered to kill him? I don’t know how many people I have killed in this life, but I don’t know what is happening; I don’t have the courage in my heart to kill this child.” The other one said, “If you don’t kill him, you will be killed. Something will have to be done.”
The Executioners Forgive Chandrahas
The executioners took Chandrahas to a secluded forest and asked him, “Do you know why we have brought you here?” Chandrahas was five years old. He said, “I don’t know why you have brought me here.” They replied, “We are executioners. Dhrshtabuddhi has ordered us to kill you. So we will have to kill you. If you like anything, tell us, and we will get it for you. Whatever you want, tell us, but even if we don’t want to, we will have to kill you.”
Chandrahas said, “I don’t want anything; I just need time. I am not afraid of death. I have a daily prayer; let me do that; after that, you can kill me.” They said, “Yes, we give you time. You can also call someone. You can do whatever you want.” Chandrahas said, “I am an orphan. I have no one except Lord Krishna; whom would I call? He is my only refuge.” Saying this, Chandrahas took out Shaligram stone from his mouth while shedding tears and said, “Lord! I have no knowledge of how to serve you. I keep you in my mouth. My life is about to end. I pray that I reach near you and remember you. I should never be separated from you.” Saying this, Chandrahas looked towards the executioners and signalled them to kill him.
One executioner sat down, seeing his expression, and said to the other, “Brother! Even if you or Dhrshtabuddhi kill me, I will not be able to kill this child; I do not have the courage.” The other executioner agreed and said, “There is something special about this child. Look at his feet; there is a sixth finger on his left foot. We will cut it and take it away, and this will also prove that we killed him. Who will search for this child after that? Let us leave him in the forest.” The executioners did the same and went and showed his finger to Dhrishtabuddhi, saying that they had killed the child.
In the forest, blood was flowing from the cut finger of Chandrahas. “O’ Krishna! Jagannath! Vasudev! Janardan!” while uttering such names, Chandrahas started fainting. Deer, cubs, and all the birds surrounded Chandrahas, and he kept uttering “Krishna Govind Damodar Madhav”.
Chandrahas Becomes The Prince Of Chandanpur
There was a kingdom named Chandanpur under Kuntalpur. The king of that place was not getting a son. The king of Chandanpur used to pay taxes to Kuntalpur. He was going to Kuntalpur to pay taxes. When he saw many deer and birds surrounding a place in the forest, he stopped. When he went and saw, a divinely radiant child was lying unconscious, and blood was flowing from his finger. He took Chandrahas in his lap and became happy that his charity was successful as he got such a beautiful child. The king brought Chandrahas home and was grateful God had blessed him with a son. When he asked Chandrahas who were his parents, Chandrahas replied, “Lord Krishna! I have no one except Him.” The king understood that God had blessed him with such a great son.
A big celebration was held in the kingdom. Chandrahas was given the title of prince. The entire kingdom was filled with joy. The king thought that such a great devotee had come to them, so now they did not need to pay taxes to anyone. When the tax did not arrive thrice, the emperor ordered the minister to solve the problem.
Minister Dhrishtabuddhi Conspired Again Against Chandrahas
The minister reached Chandanpur kingdom. Chandrahas had such an influence that everyone would sing Krishna Bhajans and remain immersed in joy. Dhrishtabuddhi recognized him and thought that this was the same boy. We had decided to kill him, but the executioners let him go, and now he has become the prince of the king. He told the king, “First, you should have informed the emperor before making this boy the crown prince. And secondly, you have not paid the tax yet. If the emperor wishes, your kingdom will be destroyed momentarily.”
The king of Chandanpur folded his hands and said, “Now, only you can protect us.” The minister was thinking that Chandrahas would have to be killed at any cost because the astrologer had told him that he would be the groom of his daughter. The minister said, “If you send Chandrahas to the emperor, he will be happy and forgive your crime.” The king accepted this. Minister Dhrishtabuddhi wrote a letter and, while giving it to Chandrahas, said, “Do not open it and read it. When you reach there, give this letter to my son Madan. He will help you meet the emperor, ask for forgiveness, etc. But do not open this letter on the way.”
Marriage Of Chandrahas And The Minister’s Daughter
Chandrahas tied the letter in his turban and left for Kuntalpur. Now, he had entered adolescence. There was a garden just outside Kuntalpur. Chandrahas tied his horse to the tree and lay there remembering the Lord. In a short while, he fell asleep. After some time, the same daughter of Dhrishtabuddhi, who was supposed to marry Chandrahas, according to the astrologer, came there with her friends. Seeing the horse tied, she realized that a traveller had mistakenly entered the royal garden. Her eyes fell on Chandrahas, who was sleeping. As soon as she saw him, she was mesmerized thinking who this handsome teenage boy was.
She saw the letter in Chandrahas’s turban, so she bent down, quietly picked it up, opened it, and started reading it. A message in Sanskrit was written for the minister’s son, Madan: “O Madan! Leave aside the thoughts of right and wrong; give Vish (poison) to this young man as soon as he arrives.” After reading it, the minister’s daughter was very sad as she had fallen for him at first sight. But her father wrote about giving poison to such a beautiful young boy. She took the letter and changed Vish (poison) to Vishaya (her name). Now, the meaning of that letter changed to “O Madan! Leave aside the thoughts of right and wrong; give him Vishaya as soon as he arrives.”
She put the letter back in his turban, went to her house, and started waiting for him. Chandrahas got up and reached the minister’s house to meet Madan. When Madan learned that his father had sent him from Chandanpur and he was the prince of that place, he hugged Chandrahas. Chandrahas said, “Your father has given this letter.” Madan read the letter, “Give Vishaya to this young boy right away!” Immediately, without thinking, Madan called the priest and got them married. When the minister came to his house, he was surprised to see all the decorations and the wedding atmosphere. Someone told him that he himself had ordered the marriage; Madan also had the letter with him.
Chandrahas Became The Emperor, And The Minister Lost His Son
The minister went home and asked Madan, “Have you lost your senses? Where did I write about getting her married in the letter?” Madan said, “Father, your order has not been violated. You wrote my name and asked me to marry Vishaya to this young man without thinking. There is no fault of mine in this.” When the minister saw Chandrahas as the groom, he became more angry. He thought that even if my daughter became a widow, I would not let him live.
He went near Chandrahas and said, “It is a great blessing that you have become my son-in-law. There is a tradition in our family. There is a temple outside our city where the groom goes alone to worship. You will have to follow the custom.” Chandrahas agreed and started preparing for worship. On the other hand, the minister sent many soldiers and ordered, “Whoever comes for the worship, kill him immediately. He should not escape in any way; otherwise, all of you will be killed.” All the royal soldiers reached there immediately after getting the order.
At that time, the emperor was talking to some great scholars and sages. The sages said, “Lord, now your ruling on the throne will not be auspicious for the kingdom. Your time is changing. At this time, if Chandrahas is made the emperor, then there will be no famine in the future, and it will be very auspicious for the people. This is the auspicious time for you to step down from the throne.”
The emperor said, “I will follow this so that the people and the country are blessed.” Madan was sitting there. Everyone said, go immediately and bring your brother-in-law, Chandrahas. When Madan left, the soldiers told him Chandrahas was leaving the city to worship. Madan went in that direction, and as soon as he met Chandrahas, he said, “Listen! I will finish the worship on your behalf. This is the auspicious time; go, you have been called for the coronation as the emperor.”
Saying this, Madan went in a different direction for the worship, and Chandrahas went for taking a vow for the emperorship. Here, Chandrahas’s coronation started. There, Dhrishtabuddhi’s son, Madan, reached the temple to worship, but the soldiers who were already prepared cut him and threw him away. The minister’s entire plan turned upside down. The son was killed, and Chandrahas was anointed as the emperor. The soldiers came and informed the minister that the one who was killed in the goddess temple, as per his orders, was his son, Madan.
Dhrishtabuddhi said, “How is this possible? That was Chandrahas.” The soldiers said, “He has been anointed as the emperor.” Now, Dhrishtabuddhi started crying. He started shouting repeatedly, “Alas! I am so unlucky that I got my own son killed.” When Chandrahas heard that his death was certain, but Madan got killed, He immediately went and kept Madan’s body in front of him. He meditated on God, touched Madan’s body, and Madan returned to life. Dhrishtabuddhi was not aware of this incident. Till then, he had killed himself by breaking his skull. Chandrahas also gave him his life back and said, “Father, now chant Krishna-Krishna.” Now his mind was purified and taking refuge in God, he also devoted his life to the devotion of God.
Guidance By: Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj
