God’s Holy Name Is Bigger Than Him – Story Of Devotee Sudhanva

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There was a kingdom named Champapuri, and the king was called Hansdhwaj. He was extremely religious and ruled righteously. He was very fond of devotion to God and the superiority of warriors, and he looked after all his subjects like his own sons. His own son’s name was Sudhanva.

This is the story of when King Yudhishthira was performing Ashwamedha Yagya (horse sacrifice). The spies informed Hansdhwaj that King Yudhishthira’s horse had entered the border of his kingdom. King Hansdhwaj asked whether Lord Krishna was also with them. The spies told him he was not there, but Lord Krishna’s Dwarka army accompanied them. Hansdhwaj thought that if Lord Krishna had been with them, he would have worshipped the horse and gotten to see Him. But now he would have to find a way to see Lord Krishna by giving some trouble to the Pandavas. He knew Lord Krishna would be anxiously present to help the Pandavas. Therefore, he ordered the capture of King Yudhishthira’s horse.

Call Of War From King Hansdhwaj To Pandavas

The great warriors like Arjun, Pradyumna, etc., who accompanied the horse, were ready for the war. As soon as the horse was captured, Hansdhwaj joyfully declared war and immediately ordered his army to be present. He also ordered that if anyone delayed even a little, he would be thrown into a large cauldron of boiling oil. By the time the drum sound was over, the entire army should be out of the city.

Hansdhwaj mounted the elephant, mentally offered obeisances to Lord Krishna, and proceeded to fight with the great warrior Arjun. On hearing the king’s order, all the soldiers arrived on time. As per the order, boiling oil was put in a large cauldron, and if anyone delayed, he would be thrown into the cauldron. All the brave warriors were present, but his son Sudhanva did not arrive on time.

Sudhanva was a great devotee of the Lord and used to chant His name all the time. When the war was declared, he went to his mother. He said, “Mother, today I have got the ultimate blessing of my life because today I have to fight with Arjun. Today, with my war skills, I will make him so satisfied and restless that his charioteer Lord Krishna’s blessings fall upon us. But it is possible that I may not return. Therefore, I seek your blessings to fulfil my wish of meeting the Lord.”

His mother bid him farewell, blessing him to fulfil his wish. After this, his sister applied Tilak on him, performed Aarti and wished him victory in the war. When he moved ahead, Sudhanva’s wife Prabhavati, whom he had just married, came smiling in front of him. Seeing Sudhanva ready for the war, she said, “I know that today you are going to fight with the mighty warrior Arjun, and I also know that it is impossible to return from there. But be kind enough to ensure that there is someone to pay homage to you after you are gone.”

Sudhanva said, you be patient; I will return after defeating Arjun with the power of Lord Krishna. Prabhavati replied, “To date, I have not heard that anyone who has gone to meet Lord Krishna has returned. Outside, oil was boiling in the cauldron, and seeing Prince Sudhanva not coming on time made King Hansdhwaj very sad that Sudhanva was violating his orders. Sudhanva had stayed to fulfil his wife’s desire for a son, but the king did not know this.

Hansdhwaj Orders To Put His Own Son In Boiling Oil

Hansdhwaj immediately ordered the executioners to catch Sudhanva, bring him and put him in boiling oil. As soon as the order was given, the soldiers immediately went and told Sudhanva that the king had ordered that he should be taken captive and put in boiling oil because he was late. He replied that first, he should be allowed to meet the king. Sudhanva bowed before his father, but the king repeated his words and said his punishment was fixed.

Hansdhwaj had two royal priests named Shankh and Likhit, who were very jealous of Sudhanva’s devotion and chanting of the holy name. They got the opportunity and asked the king to give Sudhanva the death penalty by putting him in boiling oil. They also warned that if he did not listen to them due to his attachment to his son, then they would abandon him. The other ministers tried to convince the king, but Hansdhwaj could not go against the royal priests.

Sudhanva became restless, seeing his wish to see Krishna go unfulfilled. As soon as he was about to be put in the cauldron, he called out to God and said, “O Govind! I am not sad to die because I had set out today to die. But before dying, I wanted to see you and see how you look at me from Arjun’s side. If I had been pierced by Arjun’s arrows and you were in front of me, I would have felt happy, but I am dying here in the cauldron, like a coward. O Lord! Have mercy on me and fulfil my wish. I will be satisfied to die while worshipping you with my arrows.”

The Miracle Of Sudhanva’s Chanting Of Krishna’s Name

Sudhanva started chanting, “Krishna! Krishna!” and was put in the cauldron. Even after staying in the boiling oil for a long time, not even a single hair of Sudhanva was burnt. Everyone was very surprised because the oil was boiling in front of everyone, but the holy name did such a miracle that Sudhanva kept sitting in a happy mood, chanting “Krishna Krishna”.

The royal priests started thinking that the fire was burning, but nothing was happening to Sudhanva. They put a coconut in the cauldron. The coconut burst in the boiling oil and hit the heads of Shankh and Likhit. Drops of oil fell, and blisters appeared on their faces. This confirmed that Sudhanva was alive due to the power of Krishna’s name, and the fire could not burn him.

Both the priests, Shankh and Likhit, started thinking that they despised Sudhanva’s devotion because of their pride in their knowledge of the scriptures. Today, they saw the effect of Sudhanva chanting the holy name. Meanwhile, Sudhanva was taken out. The priests cursed themselves for opposing a devotee and jumped into the same cauldron.

Sudhanva kept chanting the name “Krishna,” and immediately, everything in the cauldron became cool. Both priests fell at Sudhanva’s feet, hugged him, and said, “Dear Prince! Today, we have become pure by your touch. By your grace, today, we have understood that the power that exists in the name of God is not in any other means. Only you will save us. Go fight and fulfil your desire.”

Sudhanva’s Challenge To Arjun

The king announced that today, Sudhanva will take over as the commander. The great soldiers could not see when Sudhanva would pull the bowstring and when he would shoot the arrows. When Arjun saw Sudhanva making great warriors unconscious, he pulled the string of his bow and stood in front of him. When Arjun challenged Sudhanva to a battle, Sudhanva smiled fearlessly and said, “O Parth! You have fought many battles and have been victorious. But then your charioteer was Lord Krishna. Although you are a great warrior, at this time, you cannot stand before me because your charioteer is not here. If you want to win over me, remember your charioteer; otherwise, your bow cannot defeat me.”

Hearing such a challenge from a young warrior, Arjun got angry and showered arrows on him. Sudhanva cut each of his arrows and even attacked Arjun’s flag, bowstring and bow. He also injured Arjun’s charioteer. Seeing a chariot without a flag and a bow without a bowstring, Arjun was surprised and remembered Lord Krishna. Sudhanva mockingly said, “You were calling me a kid, but if I want, I can injure you with arrows and put you in a condition that does not befit a brave man like you. There is still time; remember your charioteer and call Him here.”

Arrival of Lord Krishna

As soon as Arjun remembered, Lord Krishna reached there, removed the unconscious charioteer, and took charge of Arjun’s chariot. Sudhanva’s wish was fulfilled. He got down from his chariot and bowed in front of the Lord. He again became angry and called Arjun and said, “O Parth. Now, do not hesitate. Now, you will be victorious. To defeat me, you will have to show courage.”

Arjun said, “Today, I will make your head fall off with three arrows. If I am not able to behead you in front of Lord Krishna, all my ancestors will become devoid of virtue and fall into hell.” Sudhanva said, “Parth! I pledge in front of Krishna that I will cut your three arrows in the middle and make them fall off. If this does not happen, I should fall down”.

After this, Sudhanva worshipped Arjun with ten arrows and Lord Krishna with a hundred arrows. Also, with one arrow, he threw the chariot a hundred steps away. Krishna said, “Arjun, see how powerful Sudhanva is. I am sitting with the weight of the whole universe, and still, he threw me along with you a hundred feet away. This power has been attained by Sudhanva by continuous chanting of name and being committed to a single woman, his wife.”

Sudhanva Defeats Krishna Using Krishna’s Holy Name

Arjun aimed the divine weapon and made death sit on the arrow. Krishna said, “I am making death sit on this weapon with the merits I got by protecting the cowherd men and women by lifting the Govardhan hill.” Arjun told Sudhanva, “Beware, this is the arrow of death”. Sudhanva replied, “I have an arrow named Krishna, which is death of death”. God is on one side, and God’s name is on the other. Sudhanva loudly uttered “Krishna” and broke that arrow into pieces. God asked Arjun to prepare another arrow immediately, and He placed many powers on it. God wanted to show that even his own powers, good deeds and virtues do not work in front of His name. That is why God becomes subservient to His name.

Sumir Pavan Sut Pavan Namu,
Apne Basi Kar Rakhe Ramu

Ramcharitmanas

Sudhanva said to Arjun, “If I do not break this arrow into pieces, then I should be entitled to the sin of killing Maharishi Vashishtha and Arundhati.” Saying this, Sudhanva shot the arrow while chanting, “Govind! Krishna!” The arrow shot by Arjun, which was endowed with the powers of God, broke into five pieces. Seeing Arjun getting discouraged, Lord Krishna blew His conch and asked Arjun to aim the arrow. God said I am placing all the good deeds of being a one-wife man when I came in the form of Lord Ram on this arrow. Then he ordered Brahma to sit on the back part of the arrow and death on the front part and asked Arjun to shoot the arrow.

Sudhanva said to Arjun, “You still have doubts? See what God is doing for your victory. Now take a vow to save this arrow.” Arjun said, “If I do not cut off your head along with the crown with this arrow, then the sin of differentiating between Lord Hari and Lord Shiva should befall me immediately”. Sudhanva said, “If I do not cut this arrow, then the sin of kicking the idol of Lord Shiva at Manikarnika Ghat in Kashi should befall me immediately”. Both the devotees of the lord took big vows and shot their arrows. Sudhanva cut that arrow while chanting “Krishna, Krishna”.

There was uproar. No one could cut an arrow with such glory. The arrow was cut, but its front part cut Sudhanva’s head. Surprisingly, the sound “Krishna! Krishna” still came out of Sudhanva’s cut head. Lord Krishna came down, picked up Sudhanva’s cut head, and hugged it to His heart. Meanwhile, the light from Sudhanva’s body circled around the Lord and merged into the Lord. Lord said to King Hansdhwaj, “There has never been such a devotee to date like your son, and there will never be one in the future. He has gone to my divine abode, so do not grieve or mourn his death.”

Conclusion

The name of Lord Hari, who grants fearlessness to his devotees, has immense glory. Everything is achieved by constantly chanting the Lord’s name with devotion. Chant and sing the name of the Lord.

Guidance By: Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj