Vishnu – Ambarish – {Ep.171} – Stories From India – Podcast

In this episode, we’re doing a story about Ambarish, a King who did something many other Kings were unable to. He humiliated Durvasa. You probably know of Durvasa from a bunch of stories we have done before. And if you do you’ll know that putting Durvasa in trouble is nearly impossible. But Ambarisha was able to do it, thanks to a very special gift from a very special God.

A capable ruler

Ambarish was a capable King. He ruled his Kingdom fairly, passed judgment wisely, was tough on the lawbreakers, was generous to those who did good. So an all-around good guy.

Ambarish was also a devotee of Vishnu. Now, if you’ve heard earlier episodes on this show, you’ll know that Vishnu is the preserver of this Universe. He creates a kind of balance between Brahma the creator and Shiva the destroyer. A bit of a shameless plug here, but Brahma is also my dad. So yeah, I’m pretty myself in the who’s-who of Indian Mythology.

Anyway, Ambarish was quite a devotee of Vishnu and often prayed to him. In fact every month, he would fast an entire day to make his prayers more successful. Don’t ask me how that works for regular humans. For me, if I want to see Vishnu, or for that matter Shiva or Brahma, I just show up at their doorstep. Besides having complete knowledge of the past, present and future, I can also travel anywhere in space and time. Kind of like the Doctor from Doctor Who but I don’t need a spaceship disguised like a police call box.

Vishnu is pleased with Ambarish

After a prayer and fast combo that Ambarish performed in Vishnu’s honor, Vishnu appeared. Himself, in person! Ambarish was delighted, but he didn’t forget protocol. He bowed before Vishnu, who was rather pleased by Ambarish’s devotion. I must say I got a little jealous of Ambarish at this point. You may know from previous episodes that I’m rather devoted to Vishnu myself. I am also president-for-life of Vishnu’s fan club! So you might be able to understand why I feel just a teensy bit jealous when Vishnu looks favorably upon others.

Vishnu granted Ambarish a boon. Ambarish would get personal protection from Vishnu’s own Sudarshan Chakra. The Sudarshan Chakra is a flying disk that spins around Vishnu’s finger. It’s a very sharp disk that can slice and dice anything! Even diamonds, the hardest material known to people, wouldn’t stand a chance against the Sudarshan Chakra. The protection of the Sudarshan Chakra was practically guaranteeing that Ambarish could not be hurt physically.

Ambarish continues his duties

It was a good gift to have for a King. A King bent on warfare might have loved it, but Ambarish was observing peace at that time. No chances of him getting drunk on the power of the Sudarshan Chakra. Besides, the Sudarshan Chakra’s protection could be used in defense, not offense. Except if you were Vishnu. Vishnu could of course use it any way he pleased.

Ambarish thanked Vishnu, and Vishnu departed. But that didn’t mean Ambarish stopped praying. The King continued to be just as devoted to Vishnu as he was before. He continued to fast, and he continued to pray to Vishnu every month. Some of his ministers were puzzled. Vishnu had appeared and granted him something, what more did Ambarish want? To which, the King patiently replied that praying to Vishnu wasn’t a one time thing. Getting a boon wasn’t Ambarish’s goal. He needed to continue doing what he could to keep the people in his Kingdom rich, and happy.

Durvasa gate-crashes Ambarish’s party

At one such fast, a few months later, Ambarish had an unexpected visitor. It was Durvasa. If you have heard previous episodes featuring Durvasa you know that Durvasa is not the kind of person whom you want to have visit you in your home. Imagine the worst kind of spoiled brat behavior, and imagine the spoiled brat also has practically unlimited power. So take someone like Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter’s cousin books. And in Voldemort-like powers and you get Durvasa.

He cursed Indra for something simple- and that ended up with the grandest having to extract nectar from an ocean of milk. It also led to a lot of other incidents. All of that energy expended just because Durvasa felt a little offended.

“Don’t begin without me!”

Durvasa arrived just as Ambarish and his advisers were ready to break their fast. Ambarish put down the bit of rice he had picked up and greeted Durvasa politely. The King remained calm, even though his advisers were nervous wrecks. They all had heard Durvasa’s stories. And being in positions that lacked power made the advisers even more vulnerable. What if Durvasa didn’t like the color of the clothes they wore. Or what if he decided to curse them just because they had been too cheerful?

But Durvasa didn’t pay them any attention. He said “Ambarish, I will do you the honor of joining in your meal. But before eating I must bathe. I will bathe and come back. Do not get started without me”

Given a direct command like that Ambarish had to agree. It’s not just that Durvasa’s reputation, it was the King’s duty to follow the whims and fancies of every guest. A guest should be treated like God, his guidelines said. And this is something that continues to this day in Indian culture. Durvasa was certainly a guest who abused this guideline, but that didn’t matter to Ambarish who just wanted to do the right thing.

Hunger and Thirst

There was a specific time range that the fast had to be broken in for it to have maximum effect. Otherwise their efforts would have been wasted. This narrow window of auspiciousness was crucial. 

Ambarish and his advisers were already very hungry and thirsty. If Durvasa had appeared a second later than he did, the fast would already be broken. But now they had to look at amd smell all the delicious food that was so tantalizingly within their grasp, and yet so far out of their reach.

They waited and waited. For hours.

“Do you think he got lost on the way to the river?” Asked one advisor, who was literally salivating, with his eyes fixed on the laddoos. 

Ambarish calmly said that he couldn’t have. They had just put up some new signposts here.

“Maybe he changed his mind” said another advisor hopefully.

“Unlikely. He’s most likely picked some longer than usual mantras to chant during his bath today.” Ambarish responded.

Finally one of the priests tried a different tactic, “you know our auspicious time window is passing quickly. What if we had a sip of water? Just a sip. Even if Durvasa is late we’ll have kept him happy and we’ll have broken the fast from the window of auspiciousness point of view”

One of Ambarish’s advisers chimed in – “Yes. You will still be eating a meal with Durvasa, you can just have a sip of water now. Water should be fine. Humans are 70% water basically. And it’s no different from it it had rained. Your body would have absorbed some water if it did, and no one would hold that against you.”

The royal librarian had been studying the royal book of ethics edition 6 and finally lowered his glasses and said. “I have to agree, according to chapter 7, a host may consume water without consultation with or permission of the guest if the host is thirsty and if the guest is not present to object to said water consumption. There may be some updates in edition 7 I believe, but edition 7 only came out last week and I don’t have a copy”

Durvasa’s curse

Convinced by these arguments Ambarish took just a single sip of water in the dying seconds of the auspicious time window. And immediately stopped. Because a voice thundered. “Ambarish, how dare you!”

It was Durvasa. 

“Were you hiding behind a bush just now?” Asked the surprised King.

“Never kind what I did. What did you do Ambarish? You swore you’d participate in a meal with me.”

“But it was just a drop of water! And I’m made of water. So its no different than if it rained and my body absorbed it naturally” the King protested.

“Nonsense!” Said Durvasa. “You should carry an umbrella when it rains so you dont accidentally break your fast. Everyone whom I have met know that”

“Everyone knows that now” thought Ambarish, “but I bet they didn’t before you cursed them”

Aloud he began “and the royal book of ethics…”

“Specifically prohibits it. I myself helped write edition 7. But enough quibbling over little details. It’s clear that you have committed a crime and you must be punished”

With that Durvasa plucked a hair from his eyebrow. Ambarish and his ministers wondered why the rishi was punishing himself by plucking his own hair forcefully. But they understood when Durvasa threw the hair towards Ambarish and it transformed into a gigantic monster.

Automatic protection system

The monster stepped forth grinning an evil grin that showed its long sharp teeth.

It made straight for Ambarish and it was clear the monster intended to eat the King up. Ambarish’s soldiers sprung into action. By running away. They hightailed it, abandoning their King because the monster was that terrifying! And they knew the King didn’t stand a chance.

That’s where they were wrong. Because right before the monster’s sharp Claws could sink into the King, something shiny zoomed into view. It was the Sudarshan Chakra. It moved quickly and sliced off the monster’s arms before decapitating the monster itself. But it didn’t stop there. The Sudarshan Chakra’s internal threat detection system had determined that the monster originated from Durvasa’s hair. And Durvasa had quite a bit of hair left. So, the Sudarshan Chakra headed for the rishi next. It only wanted to give him a shave. But you can imagine how Durvasa misunderstood its intentions.

Durvasa on the run

Durvasa ran from the scene. Thankfully besides his superpower of cursing, he also was could travel fast. Not enough to leave the Sudarshan Chakra far behind, but enough to keep it at a constant distance at least. He couldn’t stop to rest or breathe even, or the Sudarshan Chakra would catch up and probably do to him what he had intended his monster to do to Ambarish.

Can Brahma help?

Durvasa being a prominent rishi had the equivalent of speed dial to most of the who’s-who of Gods and Goddesses in Indian mythology. He called Brahma first. Because Brahma is easiest to convince. If you’ve heard earlier episodes you’ll know how generous Brahma is, even when granting superpowers to hardened criminals and megavillains.

Coincidentally I was visiting my dad Brahma just then, when the call from Durvasa came in. I didn’t eavesdrop, at least I didn’t mean to. But then I already have complete knowledge of everything so I figured I wasn’t causing any harm you know.

Durvasa asked for ideas to stop the Sudarshan Chakra. Like, could Brahma create a wall around the menacing disc?

You know walls won’t work, my dad told him.

Well what if you create an anti-matter Sudarshan Chakra that can annihilate this Sudarshan Chakra? Durvasa suggested.

Well now I can see you’re really clutching at straws here. An anti-matter Sudarshan Chakra won’t be stable enough. It’s just going to disintegrate in this matter dominated universe of ours. Why don’t you try Shiva instead? He can destroy the Universe can’t he destroy the Sudarshan Chakra?

Can Shiva save Durvasa?

But Shiva’s answer was no. Not that he couldn’t but that it was Vishnu’s property. I mean what if Vishnu were to just walk up and destroy by bow or my trident. How would I feel then?

“But he did destroy your bow. His avatar Ram did that in episode 16, sixteen flags”

That’s not what I meant Shiva clarified. That was an old unused bow. No, it’s best you talk to Vishnu himself.

Surely, Vishnu can save him?

It was Vishnu’s own Sudarshan Chakra so surely this meant Vishnu knew the abort codes and could stop it chasing Durvasa. But Vishnu said no. It was only upto the one person whom the Chakra was protecting. 

But that’s risky! Don’t you have any kill switches.

Bad choice of words, but I get what you mean. And no, i cant let you wiggle out of this, you’d need to talk to Ambarish directly. 

Back to square one

Reluctantly but still speedily Durvasa reached Ambarish again, and fell at the King’s feet and apologized. Ambarish was magnanimous in his position. He prayed and immediately the Sudarshan Chakra went off.

Durvasa and Ambarish made peace that day and they did break their fast together. But if you thought this incident changed Durvasa, you’d be completely wrong.

That’s all for now

Some notes on the show

We have mentioned the Sudarshan Chakra before, in Episode 121.5 our 2 year anniversary special, as well as being briefly mentioned in Episode 36 – Juggernaut. 

Durvasa has featured in a few episodes before, besides Episode 105 – Mahabharat – Four Weddings and a Birth and Episode 37 – A Fishy Engagement mentioned above, he also caused the events of Episode 51 – Oceans Rising, Episode 52 – Oceans Rising Higher and Episode 53 – Open the Quantum Gate!

The one time that he did something useful was when a trick he showed Kunti allowed her to have the Pandava children in Episode 115.

That’s all for now. 

Next Time

In the next episode, we’ll do a folk tale from Bengal about devotion and faith. The faith of a schoolboy and his mother, in someone who appears to be an ordinary cowherd at first but soon it becomes apparent that he’s much more than that.