Yudhisthir- a was performing Rájasúya Yajiṋa.(1) Kings, courtiers, men and women from all over had come to witness the great performance of King Yudhisthira. Shrii Krśńa was also present there.
Suddenly a mongoose entered the place of the yajiṋa. Everything about this mongoose was unusual. Half of its body was golden, but the other half was like that of any other mongoose. The mongoose started rolling all over the place, and repeatedly rubbed every portion of its body to the earth of the place. People around were awe-struck – what was the mongoose doing?
And then as if to bring its wondrous actions to a climax, the mongoose stood up and yelled in a very disgusted tone, “Useless! Absolutely useless is this yajiṋa! Nothing compares with that yajiṋa which I had the fortune to attend. Futile is all this here!” And he left the place.
People there were so taken aback that they just could not believe all that had happened. With expectations of some explanation of the mystery surrounding the mongoose, people looked eagerly at Shrii Krśńa.
Shrii Krśńa then said, “Long ago I heard about a certain very pious family. I had a desire to test their piety. The family consisted of a father, a mother, their son and the son’s wife. The father would go out and ask for alms from the people in the area and whatever would be got out of this, the whole family would share it.
“Suddenly there occurred a famine in the area. The father was not able to get anything in alms for days together. On one of those days of hardship, when it was sure that if nothing could be gotten, that day itself the entire family would die of starvation, the father was able to get a handful of chátu.(2) On returning home he gave the chátu to his wife and said, ‘All of us are so hungry, and this much chátu is hardly enough for one of us. Better therefore to divide it into four parts; otherwise I know in hunger I would definitely eat more and you would willingly offer me others’ shares too! And so, by the time you make a paste of the chátu, I will finish my bath.’”
Shrii Krśńa continued his narration to Yudhisthira and the people around, “The old man was about to finish his bath when I reached there and said, ‘I am so hungry! Please, if you have something, give it to me or I will die right here!’
“The Brahman and his hungry family were in a similar condition, but pious and righteous that the old man was, how could he say that there wasn’t any food? So he said, ‘Yes, we have something for you. Please do come in.’
“I followed the old man to the house. I was offered water to wash myself and then a proper seat was given to me. The old man then went into the next room and said to his wife in a low voice, ‘God has sent a guest to us, but the food is so little! I think my share should be given to the honourable guest.’
“At this his wife said, ‘What do you mean? I know well that you are very weak. If you do not eat today itself, you will not survive. And you are so important to the family. Not your share, but my share, should be given to the guest.’
“Hardly had the mother finished when the son said, ‘[I am very young.] But both of you are old and weak. I can very well live days together without food. So I will take my food to the guest.’
“And immediately the son’s wife added, ‘I am the youngest of all and so can tolerate hunger better than anyone. So to save the life of my elders, my food must be given to the guest. Let’s not delay, he is waiting for his food.’”
Shrii Krśńa continued, “And so there was quite a fight for the first sacrifice, though knowing full well that a sacrifice here meant death. Finally, no solution coming up and the guest getting delayed, the old man said, ‘Now look here, this is my order. My food must be given to the guest.’ So the old man’s share of the chátu was brought before me.
“I was so hungry that naturally I finished that small amount of food within no time. The old man understood that my hunger was not satisfied. My host then brought his wife’s share to me. This too I finished and looked hungrily at my host. The son’s share was then served to me. This I also gulped down, then asked, ‘Haven’t you got anything more?’ And then the share of the son’s wife was also placed before me. This satisfied my hunger.
“I then thanked the noble old man and his family and blessed them, Kalyáńamastu [‘Let there be welfare’], and left the place.
“Some time after my departure, the members of that great family died of starvation.
“There in that very house lived this mongoose. He saw this great sacrifice, this great yajiṋa. Seeing all this, he was moved to his very depths. He was overwhelmed. He prayed, ‘O Great Lord! You gave me birth as a mongoose, but you have also shown me such a great thing! Lord, how fortunate I am, how blessed I am to have seen this great yajiṋa!’ And with great feeling, he rolled on the floor of the room. All those portions of his body that were touched by particles of chátu lying on the floor turned golden. But about half of his body did not.
“Since then, whenever the news of a great sacrifice or yajiṋa reaches him, he definitely goes there and rubs his body on the earth of that place so that the other half of his body may also turn golden. But as yet such a thing has not happened to him.”
Shrii Krśńa concluded, “He heard somewhere that Yudhisthira was performing a great yajiṋa. So he came here too. But as his body did not turn golden, he was disgusted to see what was just another show of sacrifice. And so he said, ‘Useless, absolutely useless is this yajiṋa.’”
[Bábá then said:] You know, the measure of sacrifice is not its quantity or its grandeur. A sacrifice should always be measured in terms of the circumstances in which it has been rendered.
[Bábá then asked:] Which character in this story is the greatest? [After a pause Bábá said:] The old Brahman is the greatest – for he is the one who made the others in his family so great!
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