Story of Sage Naradha
– Purushothaman Balakrishnan from Toronto, Canada.
MahaRishi Veda Vyasa is known for subcategorizing the Vedas into 4 and also known for giving this world lots of Puranas. But one day Veda Vyasa felt upset and incomplete even after creating the ithihasa called Mahabharatam and blessing this world with 16 other puranas. Luckily for Sage Veda Vyasa, Narada Maharshi came to his ashram.
Seeing the upsetness on Veda Vyasa’s face and therefore asked why Sage Veda Vyasa was in that state. Sage Veda Vyasa then told Narada Maharshi that he doesn’t feel satisfied. In response Narada Maharshi advised Sage Veda Vyasa to write a grantha that glorifies the Lord in such a manner where the feeling of bhakthi will be evoked in the reader. Then upon Sage Veda Vyasa’s request Narada Maharshi also narrated how he himself had grown devoted to Bhagavan in his previous birth.
Because of a curse from the Prajapathi, he had to be born on this earth. His name during his previous birth was Upabarhana. Upabarhana was a Gandharva and once he went to a yaga and instead of singing kirtans about Bhagavan, he sang other songs. So, he got cursed by the rishis to be born as a son of a servant maid in his next birth.
As the son of a servant maid, the little boy had great fortune in serving the sadhus who had come to the village for Chaturmasya. He would wake up and follow the sadhu’s around to notice what they do on a routine, then he would prostrate before them, listen to their kathas, take a dip in the waterbody the Sadhus would take a dip in. It had been through sheer grace, compassion and by eating the ucchistam (sacred food remnants) of these sadhus that he developed a great desire to seek the Lord. As the Chaturmasya had come to an end the Sadhus left. Upabarhana felt very upset that these Sadhus who were the reason for him to develop such love towards Bhagavan are leaving.
As the days continued one day his mother got bit by a snake. After that he left for the forest to do penance and get Bhagavan’s darshanam as he was longing to see bhagavan. One day Bhagavan had granted him a brief darshan in his heart because of the grace of the sadhus who he had served before. But Bhagavan had withdrawn his form saying that the boy was only eligible for that brief vision in that birth.
It had been through sheer grace, compassion and by eating the ucchistam (sacred food remnants) of these sadhus that he developed a great desire to seek the Lord
However Bhagavan blessed that little boy so that in his next birth he was born as Sage Narada. Inspired by Narada Maharshi’s story, Maharshi Veda Vyasa authored Srimad Bhagavatham, a maha purana which stores all of Bhagavans leela’s and various different bhaktha charithrams.