Sermons of Sravana Kumar

In Hindu epic Ramayana, Shravan Kumar was killed accidentally by King Dasharatha. Shravan Kumar's parents, Shantanu and Gyanvanti were hermits. When they became aged, Shravan wanted him to take them to the four most sacred places of pilgrimage to purify the soul. Since Shravan Kumar could not afford the transport, he decided to put each parent in a basket and tie each to an end of a bamboo pole, which he would shoulder while on their pilgrimage. According to Ramayana, while hunting in the forest of Ayodhya, then-Prince Dasharatha, heard a sound near a lake and unleashed an arrow, hoping to hit an animal. When he crossed the lake to collect his kill, he found that his arrow had fatally struck a teenage boy, who was bleeding! The injured boy was Shravan, who then told Dasharatha that he had come to the lake to collect water for his sick and aged parents, who were both blind and whom he had been carrying on a sling. With his dying breath, Shravan requested Dasharatha to take water to his parents and to tell them what happened. Shravan then succumbed to his wounds (i.e. he died) and when Dasharatha took water for his parents and told them of his tragic mistake, they were unable to bear the shock. Despite acknowledging that it was an accident, they cursed Dasaratha that he too would experience grief due to loss of a son! This curse turned out to be true when king Dasharatha had to suffer the exile of his most beloved and able son Rama who had to be exiled at his own orders.

Once upon a time, there was a kind and caring boy called Shravana Kumar. Both his mother and father were blind and frail. This meant that he had to do all the household chores and work for himself. He still loved and was devoted to his parents. One day his parents expressed their heartfelt desire to go on a pilgrimage to 'Char Dhamas' (four holy places of the Hindus, of great religious importance) in their last days. As he was their dutiful son, Shravana Kumar was determined to fulfill his parents’ wish wholeheartedly. Therefore, as it was not possible for them to walk due to their old age and frail health, he built a carriage for them, which consisted of two bamboo baskets tied by three ropes to a rod, which would be used by him to carry the baskets. He put his parents in the baskets, mother in one and father in the other and held the rod on his shoulders, to carry them to the four holy places. Then he set out on foot, with his parents, on a pilgrimage. 

On the way, his parents felt thirsty and told him to get some water for them. So Shravan went out in search of water and reached a riverbank. He started filling water in his pitcher from the river. 

At the same time, Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhaya (and father of Lord Rama), was hunting in the nearby forest. When he heard the sound of water in the river, he mistook that he had heard an animal, drinking water. He was adept at shooting down a target, just by hearing its sound, without seeing it. So he picked up his bow and shot an arrow in the direction of the sound. Unfortunately, it was not an animal but Shravan Kumar! 

On hearing the moaning sound, King Dashrath came to the place to see who it was. He saw an innocent boy crying in pain. The vessel was lying on the ground. His body was all splashed with blood and mud. The arrow had struck Shravana in the chest, fatally wounded him and he was close to death! King Dasharath rushed to the spot and realised his blunder, when he saw his arrow stuck on Shravana Kumar’s chest!

When Dasharatha realized what he had done, he was devastated by the blunder he had committed. He felt very much ashamed, apologetic and asked Shravana Kumar what he could do to help ease his pain. In his last breaths, Shravana Kumar recounted his story to Dasharatha and begged him to give his blind parents some water to drink. He said, “O, King! I came to take water for my parents. They are thirsty. I am in severe pain. Please pull out this arrow and take some water to my parents.” The king sadly removed the arrow and then Shravana Kumar died. 

Dasharath sadly filled up water in the pitcher and went in search of Shravana's parents, carrying the pitcher of water. When he reached Shravana's parents, he gave it to the blind parents, who drank it to quench their thirst. 

When he told them sadly what blunder had happened due to him and asked them for their forgiveness, they cried out in despair, on hearing what had happened. Both the parents of late Shravana Kumar were full of sorrow and dismay. They cursed Dasharath that like them, he would suffer the separation of his son and would also die because of the loss of a son! The parents then drowned themselves in the same river in great grief.  

(As destiny would have it, Dashratha's son Lord Rama had to leave his home and lived in the jungles for 14 years and Dasharatha died due to the separation from his son. Hence this curse turned out to be true when king Dasharatha had to suffer the exile of his most beloved and able son Rama, who had to be exiled at his own orders. It was actually his beloved wife Kaikeyi's wish that could not be ignored since he had himself promised her a boon years back, when she had saved his life on a battlefield!) 

Moral of the story: Always respect and care for your parents and elders like Shravana Kumar and don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes like Dasharatha did.

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Sanjay Kumar Mishra
Department of English
Rajkumar College, Raipur
Chhattisgarh, India