Ancient Indians – Satya Samhita

I felt I should share this story that uncle e-mailed to me…  I would also like to know what happened to all the present day corrupt politicians and other powerful people, the british colonials and the muslim invaders.. to which loka were they sent?

What happens when somebody steals another’s money and what is the relationship between the criminal and the person who lost the money? If such questions are pondered over, the thinking process of at least some individuals might change. In this context let us remind ourselves of a story from Brahmanda Purana. The guru of devas,  Brihaspati, once explained thus about the nature of some sins to Indra.

1. You cannot atone for the sin of stealing the money of a Brahmajnani, a poor man, afamily man with wife and children and a person’s money earned by hard work
2. It is a greater sin to steal the money of a man who trusted you.
3. It is not a sin to kill a person who stole from brahmanas and God.

This story is about the sin of stealing.
Kanchipuram was one of the seven holy cities (saptapuris) of India and once upon a time,the city was well known for its wealth, and righteousness. At that time, there was a thief by name Vajra in that city. He used to commit thefts in the city households wheneverthere was an opportunity. In due course, he amassed some wealth and he wanted to hide it safely. He went to the nearby forest and in a dense part of the forest he dug deep pits and secured the money and gold there in. He used to cover these pits with some stones for his own identification. A hunter in the forest has observed all this. He used to collect firewood in the forest and sell it in the town. After the thief left, the hunter dug the pit and stole one tenth of the treasure and again covered it with stones not to cause any suspicion. He went back and gave the money to his wife. After some days, the hunter’s wife told her husband “There is a Brahmin living in our neighbourhood. Whenever he saw me, he used to say to the lady next to our house that I would become very rich in few days. He told her about the curse of Valmiki that hunters, actors and tribal people losethe money shortly after getting it. But because of my charitable nature, he assured that I would remain respected and well to do. As per the learned Brahmin’s word, we got this money”

“What should we do now?” asked the hunter. “In a way this is easy money for us. You have not worked hard to get it. So we shall not use it for personal consumption, but let us spend it on the works useful for the society. We shall use it to dig wells and tanks in our town. The hunter agreed with the wife’s proposal. He selected a place of water scarcity and arranged the digging a big water tank for public use. The money brought was finished but the tank work was partly remaining. The hunter started to find out the several places at which the thief Vajra was hiding the stolen wealth. Without causing any doubt to the thief, the hunter used to take out money little by little from the various pits and continued the construction without interruptions. He built a big temple for Siva near the tank. In due course it became a popular temple. He gave the remaining money to the needy and scholarly Brahmins. In those Brahmins there was a person by name Devaratha,whom the hunter considered as his Guru and he called the township which he built Devarathapura. The Brahmins of Kanchi were glad and gave the titles “Dvijavarma”and “Shilavati” to the hunter and his wife. These titles eventually became their namesin vogue. They stayed near the temple only and spent their time in the service of the temple and the society built around it. After a few years the couple died at the sametime. The messengers of Yama (The God of death and the Lord of Hell), and Siva and Vishnu arrived to take away the Jivas. Their debate among them as to who can take theJivas could not be settled. At that time, the sage Narada arrived there. He said that the jiva of Dvijavarama as yet cannot go to any loka, it should go in the form of a wind with consciousness of this life intact (in other words as a ghost or a pisacha). He should stay in that form as long as all the people whose money he stole live on this earth. He wouldnot leave the earth but he will be relieved of the load of his bad karma. This will be forabout twelve years from now. Narada told Shilavati “You have not committed any sin;you can immediately go to Siva loka” Shilavati’s Jiva sat down obstinately, saying “I won’t go to Kailasha, the abode of Shiva, leaving my husband in the form of a ghost”. She prayed to the sage Narada, “Sir! Kindly direct me what I have to do to unburden my
husband’s sins He is still in this loka only. How can I get him back after he is relieved of the debt of this karma? Please advise me.” Narada thought that her wish should be fulfilled and suggested to her the following course.
“You will get back your husband after he is relieved of his Karma with my blessings. In this period you go to a holy place of worship of Siva. You worship Uma and Maheswara there and you chant Sata Rudriyam 1008 times strictly following rules for consumption of food etc. My boon and your prayers will certainly bring him back to life.” She did penance for twelve years as per the advice of Narada. Her husband came back to life.They together worshipped Siva for some time. In the meanwhile, all the owners whosemoney was stolen also died. The couple went to Siva Loka and joined the Siva ganas there.
Indra asked Brihsapati to clarify to him what happened to the thief Vajra and the originalowners of the money. Brihaspati explained:
1. The first thief has stolen money from several households. But a significant portion of it was put to good use for the welfare of the community. He gets the sin dueto stealing and the merit for pious deeds (punya karmas) for the portion spent on these. Therefore his jiva will go to the Heaven (Swarga) for some time and then to Hell (Naraka) for his sins.
2. The original owners who earned the money by hard work will all go to Swarga because of the good deeds done with the money.
3. The thieves both Vajra and the hunter will be on earth as ghosts (pisachas) till all the people who are the true owners of the money live on the earth.
4. If the thief had stolen money from one thousand people and the thief dies early he remains a ghost on this earth till the last person is dead. See how long he should suffer.
5. If the thief dies last, there is no doubt. He will directly go to Naraka as he had not received punishment on earth.
6. If the money of the original owner is ill-gotten, the sin for the same will gettransferred to the thief.
7. After his death, if the original owner has still left lot of ill gotten wealth evenafter some amount was stolen, he will remain a ghost on earth (because he is alsoa thief ) till all the money reaches people.
8. What is the significance of the death of real owner after which the thief is relieved of the form of the ghost? The theft causes grief to the owner only till his death.His relationship with lost money ends with his death. This is the time of therelease of the thief.
The scriptures say “Gahana Karmano Gatih” (Bhagavad-Gita 4.17) No body can sayhow the reaction of Karma would be ultimately, and its path is very difficult to determine before hand. Shilavati, the wife of the hunter, could convert the theft of her husband into a meritorious deed leading both of them to release and attainment of Kailasa. For any one with tendencies to commit sins, if such a wife (or minister) is there, he will be saved. Buta wife, who endorses the act, will share the effects of his bad karma.
What is the root cause of all these sinful acts? It is money. If the money reaches theneedy or deserving, the act turns into a meritorious one. If God can divert the flow ofmoney to good deeds there won’t be sin in this world. Ill gotten wealth if it is hidden inforest and or a safe haven in a distant land these rules apply. That is law of dharma. It isup to you to accept it or not.
English Translation – V. V. S. Sarma

All Rights to the Translation Vest with Prof. V.V.S. Sarma