Once, King Puranjan left the company of his unknown best friend and set out on a journey through the world in search of happiness. While wandering, he saw a magnificent city south of the Himalayas, which had nine entrances.
There, he met a very beautiful woman. She was accompanied by ten servants and a ferocious five-hooded snake as a guard. Puranjan was captivated by her beauty and married her. She became the queen of that city.
King Puranjan became so enamored with his wife (Queen) that he lost his independence. He laughed when she laughed, and cried when she cried. He became so engrossed in sensual pleasures that he completely forgot his unknown old friend.
⏳ Attack of Time and Old Age
After years of sensual pleasures, the Gandharva king named 'Chandveg' (Time) attacked the city with his 360 soldiers (day and night). He was accompanied by 'Kalakanya' (Old Age). Puranjan grew old, his beauty faded. The five-hooded serpent (Prana Shakti) that protected the city fought valiantly, but eventually, it too weakened.
🔄 Death and Rebirth
The city began to collapse under the onslaught of enemies. King Puranjan was extremely frightened at the time of his death, but even in his final moments, his mind was engulfed in worry for his wife and children. Because he was contemplating a woman (wife) at the moment of his death, he received a female body in his next life as the princess of Vidarbha.
🙏 The Life and Liberation of the Vidarbha Princess
In his next life (as a woman), she was married to King Malayadhwaj. In the final stages of his life, King Malayadhwaj took up the vow of retirement and retired to the forest, and one day, he passed away.
When the grieving queen prepared to commit suicide (sati) on her husband's funeral pyre, her old, unknown friend (in the form of a Brahmin) appeared. He reminded the queen (who had been Puranjan in her previous life):
"I am your eternal friend. You are neither the princess of Vidarbha nor Puranjan. You are a conscious soul. Under the influence of Maya, you have mistaken yourself for this mortal body."
Upon the opening of the eye of knowledge, the soul recognized its true nature and attained liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
🕉️ Spiritual meaning (deep meaning) of the story 🕉️
Devrishi Narada has explained a profound philosophy through this story:
1. Puranjan: It means 'one who resides in the city (body/city).' This is the soul.
2. Avigyat Sakha: This is the Supreme Being (God), who always resides in the heart of the living being, but the living being forgets Him due to ignorance.
3. City: This is our human body.
4. Nine Gates: The nine openings of the body (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, anus, and genitals).
5. Rani: This is our intellect. The soul becomes attached to the body only under the influence of the intellect.
6. Ten Servants: Our ten senses (5 senses and 5 motor organs).
7. Five-hooded Serpent: The five vital airs (Prana, Apana, Samana, Udya, and Vyana) that protect the body.
8. Chandvega: This is time. His 360 soldiers are the 360 days of the year, which continuously diminish our lifespan.
9. Kalakanya: This is old age, which wears away the body.
10. Rebirth as a Woman: The mind (attachment) at the time of death determines the next birth (birth).
✨ Moral : - The essence of this story is that as long as the soul remains engrossed in bodily pleasures, alienated from God (Paramatma), it must repeatedly wander in the cycle of birth and death. True salvation is achieved only when, by the grace of the Guru, one realizes that "I am not this mortal body, but an immortal soul and a part of God."
Read more : - A Fool's Journey to Wisdom
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