Sadhvi Vishrut Vibha
Attachment Turned To Detachment
There was a beautiful town named Illavardhan in the ancient times, where lived a rich and prosperous man by the name of Dhandatta. He got married to a girl named Dharini, who after performing many pujas gave birth to a boy who was called Illachikumar. He was an intelligent boy and he acquired proficiency in the various forms of art.
Once, a famous group of acrobats visited the town of Illavardhan. In the center of the town there was a huge playground, where the acrobats were to show their brilliant performance. The acrobats made their necessary arrangements by setting up bamboo poles in the ground, for their show. A huge crowd of onlookers gathered there to see the marvelous performance, Illachikumar was one of them. The showman’s beautiful daughter Lilavati also performed along with the acrobats. Illachikumar was greatly impressed by both, her beauty and performance.
He then resolved, “I shall marry only this girl and if I cannot do so, I shall remain a bachelor throughout my life.” The performance soon ended and people returned to their respective homes but Illachikumar remained standing there. He sent a message to his father through his friend saying, “I shall forsake food and water until my weeding is fixed with the showman’s daughter.”
The father tried to pacify his son but he did not succeed. Ultimately the father sent for the showman and said, “My son wants to marry your daughter. Please accept his proposal. If you agree to do so I shall provide you with a lot of money so that you can get rid of your poverty forever.”
The showman said, “I do not want to sell my daughter. If your son wants to marry my daughter, he should also become a showman. I shall give my consent only when he becomes proficient in the art of acrobats. Besides this, he should also impress the king, and acquire a huge reward from him.”
Illachikumar accepted this challenge. He renounced his parents and riches in order to marry the beautiful maiden. Disguising himself as a showman, he joined the group and wandered from place to place with them, mastering the art of dance in a very short span of time. Very soon, Lilavati also began to like him for his great sacrifice he had willingly made for her, but she was unable to express her love for him without seeking the permission of her parents.
After some days, the showman came to know that Illachikumar had achieved great dexterity in the art of dance. He suggested to Illachikumar, “Take your equipment with you and go to the town of Benatat, where you should be able to please the king and bring back a huge reward for your performance. Only then I shall give my daughter to you.” On hearing these words from the showman, Illachikumar was overjoyed and on that very day, he set out for Benatat along with his troupe.
As soon Illachikumar reached the town, he visited the king and requested him to grant him permission to perform in his presence. The king agreed to his request.
The place selected for the performance was a vast campus situated in front of the king’s palace. Illachikumar made the necessary arrangements for his performance and fixed bamboo poles in the ground with strings around it.
The king sat on his throne to witness the show with his family and ministers. Illachikumar began his performance at the specified time. At first he got a wooden plank and put it on the bamboo sticks, and then a rail was fixed in the middle of the wooden plank. He placed a betel nut on the nail, after which he tied anklets around his ankles and wore wooden slippers. He then took a sword in one hand and a shield in the other and climbed up the bamboo pole. Balancing him self with his naval on the betel nut, he started rotating round and round. People were astonished by his wonderful performance and applauded aloud. Illachikumar performed his next feat in which he walked on the strings, performing various difficult acts with a sword and shield.
On the other hand, Lilavati dressed up in beautiful robes, danced and sang folk songs in her melodious voice. The spectators were simply captivated by the performance.
The king charmed by Lilavati’s beautiful performance and began thinking, “If this girl comes to my palace, my life will become joyful. But, I cannot fulfill my desires as long as this showman is alive. M life is worthless without this girl; I must possess her by all means. If this showman dies while performing, only then can I possess her.”
While the king was engaged in such evil thoughts, Illachikumar completed his dance performance and everyone started clapping loudly.
But, as he king had evil thoughts in his mind, he said, “I had been preoccupied with my thoughts about other matters, so I could not judge your performance properly. Perform again and then I will reward you.”
Although Illachikumar knew that it dangerous to ascend the poles, he still climbed it once more to win the reward and the beautiful girl. Soon, the second show was over and the spectators were well satisfied once more. Illachikumar came down and bowed before the king expecting his reward.
The king persuaded Illachikumar to perform for the third time. It became apparent to everybody that the king was attracted towards the girl and wanted to kill the showman. As Illachikumar came out of the arena after the third performance, he suddenly saw a young monk begging from a rich man’s house. The rich man’s wife, being a beautiful girl and an ardent devotee welcomed the monk and gave ‘modakas’ to him with great respect and devotion.
To Illachikumar’s surprise, the monk did not look at the beautiful lady but kept looking down at the floor. Seeing this scene, Illachikumar was deeply impressed by the control and detachment of the monk. He was not looking at the gorgeous young lady even though she stood right in front of him. Illachikumar started thinking, “If I were to die now with this feeling of attachment, I would definitely go to hell.”
The king queen, Illachikumar and Lilavati witnessed the scene too. The king thought, “I am the king of this land by the grace of the Almighty. It is my duty to see to the happiness and safety of my subjects, instead I have become possessive and lustful. The monk has taught me a great lesson in life.
Illachikumar was immersed in his own thoughts what does the monk have that has made him indifferent to the beauty and wealth of such a prima donna. On the other hand, look at me; I had everything yet I left my home and my parents, just to be with this girl. I even risked my life for her. I too must attain the peace and the detachment that he has.
The queen and Lilavati also realized that outer beauty is not everything; it is inner beauty or a good character, which is more important.
