MAIRAVATI

Long ago in the city of Ksitpratisthita, Ritumardan was the king. His wife, Madanarekha was very devoted and religious queen. She gave birth to a baby girl and named her Mairavati. The princess was beautiful and bright. The king made the arrangements for her general education, while the queen took care of her spiritual teachings.

One day, when the court was in session the queen sent Mairavati there. She was dressed in her finest robe and jewelry. Her father, Ritumardan, had her sit on the throne with him. The king asked his courtiers, “Does anyone in this world have as much wealth as I do?”

The courtiers answered, “Your Majesty, we can not even think of that much wealth, even in a dream, let alone having it. Nobody else in this world has as much wealth as you do.”

The princess disagreed and said, “There may be many other kings who have in their possession equal or more treasures. We should not brag about what we have.” The king overlooked this comment.

He asked another question, “With whose grace are you all happy?

The courtiers replied, “By your grace, Your Majesty. There is no doubt about it.”

The princess again disagreed. She said, “What is wrong with you all? You do not have to flatter him. You know, what we receive is due to our own karmas. Father, if you think you can make everyone happy, then why don’t you make everybody happy on the same level as yours? That is impossible, because you are just the instrumental cause, and what is happening is nothing but the result of everybody’s own karmas.”

The king became outraged and shouted, “Crazy girl! Why are you talking against me? Who has taught you such a thing? You know that I can make a poor man rich or the rich man a poor man. If you agree with me, I will marry you to a prince, but if you disagree I will marry you to a poor guy and you will see how your karmas work.”

The princess replied calmly to her father, “You are mistaken.” She continued, “If I do not have good karmas in my favor, then even the best of the grooms chosen for me can turn into a beggar. We should not brag as if we can do anything and everything.”

The king was very upset. He ordered his guards, “Go and find the poorest, the meanest, and the ugliest man, and I will marry her to him. I want to see how her karmas protect her.”

The princess stayed calm. The king’s men found a leper and brought him to the court. His ears were rotten, nose flat, and his fingers were pouring pus all over the place. The king was very happy with their choice. He told the princess, “Defiant girl! It is my order that you marry him.”

The princess had no hesitation. She slowly got down, and accepted this man as her wedded husband. Everybody in the court was stunned. The king felt satisfied for his actions. The princess was asked to remove her precious clothes, and jewelry, and was ordered to leave the city. Princess and her husband left the city.

The princess was as happy as usual. She never regretted for what she had told her father. She had full faith in her religious belief. They walked the whole day, and later in the evening, they took shelter in a temple. The leper was very compassionate to her. He said to her, “I know what your father did was not right and it is not easy for a royal girl to marry a leper. I free you from this marriage, and request you to find a better person.”

The princess told him, “Why are you talking like that? I have accepted you as my husband and I am happy with my choice.” She continued, “Wealth, health, beauty, and comfort, or discomfort come because of our karmas. We should not feel happy or unhappy by that. The karmas change and their results change. So, let us not worry about that.”

The leper was very impressed by her reply and started to admire the princess. He thought, “What a noble woman! How strong her religious beliefs are!!” As the sun went down, the leper fell asleep.

The princess was still awake doing prayer. She noticed an old woman with a young man approaching them. The old woman told the princess, “I know what happened to you. I did not like your father’s behavior, and I have come to help you. I have brought with me a young man who is handsome, and you should give up that leper and marry this young man. You will be happy with him.”

The princess told the old woman, “Madam, I am married to this man with my own wish and with the consent of my father, and I am not backing out. A woman marries only once, and I have done that. He may be a leper but for me, he is the king of the kings, my king.”

The old woman became angry and said, “If you take my advice, you will be happy, otherwise I will kill you.” The princess started uttering the holy Namokar Mantra. At once, a miracle happened. There was neither the leper, nor the old woman. Instead, a divine person stood in front of her. He said, “I am Manichud, the king of the city named Manipur on the Vaitadhya hill. Once I heard someone say,

” Crows are black everywhere,

Parrots are ever green,

Happy are happy everywhere,

Misery, the wretched are in!”

So, I decided to test this. Therefore, I changed myself into a leper to find this out. The king’s men picked me up. You proved that real happy person could be happy in any situation. You are truly honorable and praiseworthy. How lucky I am to have you as my wife and my queen.”

The princess did not know if this was a dream or if it was for real. She still stood confident in her belief that purity always shines. The princess showed her gratefulness to the divine person, her husband, and accepted that this also happened because of her karmas. They lived happily ever after.