DHARMIC INSIGHTS

OF A BUCTHER
• It is fair to say, Bhagavad Gita is the crest jewel of
Mahābhārata. Bhagavad Gita is the pendant of the
long string of pearls, we call the Mahābhārata. But
there are two other Gitas -Udhava Gita and Vyadh
Gita.

• Bhagavad Gita was delivered by Lord Shri Krishna to

Arjuna, Udhava Gita by Shri Krishna to Udhava, his
long-standing friend and disciple.

• The Vyadha Gita is a highly philosophical account

explicating Advaitha philosophy.

• Vyadha stands for ‘butcher’, therefore, Vyadha Gita is

delivered by a butcher. A butcher's job of cutting and
selling meat comprises profound philosophical
nuances in it.
There exists a story behind it which holds the essence of karma
yoga, the definition of work and worship –

A young brahmin boy decides to renounce the world, leave his

old parents, go to a forest and do tapas austerities to attain God
and truth. This may resonate with the story of Gautham Buddha,
but this happens before Buddha. In fact, this happens at the time
when Pandavas is in the forest. His parents requested their son
to stay back and look after them as they are getting old and have
no one to take care of them.

But the adamant son on one fine day, left them and went to the
forest. He started doing tapas and after several years, his
concentration improved and gained unique powers. A crane
came and sat on the tree under which he was meditating. When
the bird dropping fell on his head, he snapped out of his
meditation. The man looked up furiously at the crane and with his
burning eyes of fury, he burnt the bird into ashes, despite the fact
that, the crane is incapable of distinguishing a yogi from
someone ordinary. The man was amused at his own power and
grew proud of himself.
He usually goes to seek Bhiksha from the
nearby village, something people who have
renunciate their material possessions as part of
their spiritual endeavour do to get food from
others. They beseech for food by chanting
’bhavati bhiksham dehi’.
He went to one house where a lady was
preparing food. Her husband has just come
home from work, so, she was busy taking care
of her husband. She told this young brahmachari
to wait. This infuriated him as he yelled at her for
making such a great man wait till her chores
were done.
But with a smile, the lady replied, "Do you think
I’m a crane so that you can burn me up?
Please take this food." The Brahmachari was
shocked to know that others know about the
crane.
Seeing the shock on his face, the lady calmly added,
"I prioritised my duty, that is to feed my tired husband.
You don’t seem to know anything about yoga or
spirituality yet. You have got a wrong assumption
about it, so I suggest you go to the next village, seek
the guidance of Dharmavyadha. He will teach you
Vedic yoga and the real essence of spirituality.

This hurt his ego, especially because a lady who

hasn’t read the Vedas, read his mind and suggested
to seek the guidance of another man. He asked a few
people about Dharmavyadha. Finally, he reached
Dharmavyadha's place and was astounded to see a
butcher.
The place looked just like an ordinary slaughterhouse with
an overpowering stench of blood and meat hanging in front
of the shop. While the Brahmachari was studying the place,
the butcher came out and said, "Son! Did the lady send you
here? Come in". This further shook the Brahmachari. With a
smile on his face, he welcomed him to his lessons.

He then saw Dharmavyadha busy preparing food for his old

parents. While serving, he pressed their legs and made
them comfortable. Mystified by all these unexpected
experiences, the ascetic asked him why, in spite of his great
wisdom, he was doing this gruesome work of a butcher. The
butcher replied: "My son, replied the Vyadha, "no duty is
ugly, no duty is impure. My birth placed me in these
circumstances and environments. in my boyhood I learnt the
trade; I am unattached, and I try to do my duty well. I try to
do my duty as a householder, and I try to do all I can to
make my father and mother happy. I neither know your
Yoga, nor have I become a Sannyasin, nor did I go out of
the world into a forest; nevertheless, all that you have heard
and seen has come to me through the unattached doing of
the duty which belongs to my position.
After that, he came out and told him, "My son you don’t know
anything about spirituality. You thought running into a forest
and acquiring powers through meditation can make you an
accomplished man! Well, you are wrong. By killing a crane,
you sinned. You killed the crane because you were blind with
anger and had no control over your mind or actions. Now, the
man's ego has been wiped out.
Vyadh Gita starts with the butcher teaching the Brahmachari
about how to worship one's worked no matter what it is. He
taught him that disinterest in work will reflect in the
performance of duties.
In Vyadh Gita, Shri Krishna says that by considering work as
worship, one can attain supremacy. People like King Janaka
have attained supremacy through karma yoga- by putting their
actions as worship. The butcher and the lady too teach the
Brahmachari to love their duties. The woman who whole-
heartedly served her husband and the butcher served his old
parents with utmost reverence.
Swami Vivekananda says the Vyadha Gita contains the heights of
the Advaita philosophy which propagates the idea of renunciation.
Renunciation is not all about going away from the house, taking
shelter in a forest and becoming an ascetic. One can be a
householder yet engage in spiritual endeavor. Ramana Maharshi
says that one can change from a householder to an ascetic. But
the point is to find out who the "I" is and to go beyond it.

A lady once requested Amma to give her "enlightenment" or

realization. Amma smiled at her and said "Continue doing whatever
you are doing, you will reach there one day". She told her that the
‘Yaaga’ or ritual sacrifice conducted by King Daksha turned out to
be a battleground due to his hubris, whereas, with his dedication
and faith in Lord Shri Krishna, Arjuna turned the Kurukshetra
battleground into a place of worship.
The brahmin in the story was under so-called doing spiritual austerities was doing with the ego that ended up
pushing him into the pit of ignorance.

But just by serving food to their family, the lady and the butcher became examples of Karmayoga.

Spirituality is not about running away from actions, avoiding basic duties and bindings of human
existence.

The name Mahābhārata acts like a skeleton to which thousands of side stories are attached.
LEARNING OUTCOMES

Establishes that the destination of knowledge is reachable from all walks

of life.
A lesson on how dharmā, duty and work ethics help to attain happiness
and Peace.
An inspiration to be a self-directed and lifelong learner.

Demonstrates how Dharmā (in this case, the duties and responsibilities
of an individual) helps to attain self-awareness and self-actualization.
Portrays how we need to remain tranquil at every situation that life has
to offer.
N A M A H S H I VAYA