Viswarupa.
Even that failed to have an Seeing the strange disappearance of the
effect. They persisted in wrongdoing.
They waged war and perished. O best
among brahmanas, you have no reason to
be angry with me."
After this explanation of Krishna, Utanga
recovered his calm. Krishna was,
delighted.
"I wish to give a boon to you. What would
you like?" said Krishna.
"Achchyuta," said Utanga, "is it not
enough I have seen Thee and Thy Form
Universal? I do not desire any further
boon."
But Krishna insisted and the desert
wandering simple brahmana said: "Well,
my Lord, if you must give me some boon,
let me find water to drink whenever I
might feel thirsty. Give me this boon."
Krishna smiled. "Is this all? Have it then,"
he said, and proceeded on his journey.
One day Utanga was very thirsty and,
unable to find water anywhere in the
desert, he bethought himself of the boon
he had received.
As soon as be did this, a Nishada appeared
before him, clothed in filthy rags. He had
five hunting hounds in leash and a water-
skin strapped to his shoulder.
The Nishada grinned at Utanga and
saying, "You seem to be thirsty. Here is
water for you," offered the bamboo spout
of his water-skin to the brahmana to drink
from.
Utanga, looking at the man and his dogs
and his water skin, said in disgust:
"Friend, I do not need it, thank you."
Saying this, he thought of Krishna and
reproached him in his mind: "Indeed, was
this all the boon you gave me?"
The outcaste Nishada pressed Utanga over
and over again to quench his thirst, but it
only made Utanga more and more angry
and he refused to drink. The hunter and
his dogs disappeared.
Nishada, Utanga reflected: "Who was
this? He could not have been a real
Nishada. It was certainly a test and I have
blundered miserably. My philosophy
deserted me. I rejected the water offered
by the Nishada and proved myself to be
an arrogant fool."
Utanga was in great anguish. A moment
later Madhava himself appeared with
conch and discus. "O Purushottama!"
exclaimed Utanga; "you put me to a
difficult trial. Was it right of you to try me
thus? Make an untouchable offer unclean
water to me, a brahmana, to drink. Was
this kind?" asked Utanga. Utanga spoke in
bitter tones.
Janardana smiled. "O Utanga, for your
sake, when you put my boon into action, I
asked Indra to take amrita to you and give
it to you as water. He said he could not
give to a mortal what would give him
immortality, while he was willing to do
anything else. But I prevailed upon him
and he agreed to take amrita and give it to
you as water, provided I let him do it as a
Chandala and tested your understanding
and found you willing to take water from
a Chandala. I accepted the challenge
believing you had attained jnana and
transcended externals. But you have done
this and made me suffer defeat at Indra's
hands." Utanga saw his mistake and was
ashamed.
101. A POUND OF FLOUR
WHEN Yudhishthira was crowned and
installed as king after the Kurukshetra
battle, he performed an aswamedha yajna.
As was the custom on occasions of this
great horse sacrifice, all the princes of the
land gathered on invitation and the yajna
was completed in great splendor. The
brahmanas and the poor and the destitute
people, who had come in great numbers
from all parts of the country, received
bounteous gifts. Everything was done in