Story of Upamanyu

Among Apod Dhaumya’s three personal disciples, Upamanyu was a little chubby. 

To reduce Upamanyu’s weight, Apod Dhaumya gave him duty to pasture cows. He needed to bring cows to grassland and feed them daily. Upamanyu accepted this duty wholeheartedly and Apod Dhaumya’s heart was at ease as this work will help him reduce his weight.

After some days, when Apod Dhaumya saw Upamanyu again, there weren't any changes in his physical condition. He was as chubby as before. Curious Apod Dhaumya asked Upamanyu, “What do you eat daily?”

Upamanyu replied, “When I go out to feed cows, I beg in the village. Villagers are generous, so they give me plenty of food and I eat that.”

Apod Dhaumya thought that if he ate this much, there would be no change in his body so he told him, “it’s wrong for you to eat all food without serving it to your teacher. Next time, you must first serve that food to me then eat whatever is available.”

Upamanyu nodded, “I will obey the teacher's instructions.”

From the next day onwards, whatever Upamanyu got from begging, he took it to Apod Dhaumya and Apod Dhaumya was taking away everything from Upamanyu and leaving nothing for him to eat.

After some days, Apod Dhaumya noticed that there was still no change in Upamanyu’s body. He was still as chubby as before so he asked, “Child, I took everything you got from begging, what do you eat after that?”

Upamanyu replied, “After giving you everything first, I go back to the village and beg again and eat whatever I get.”

Apod Dhaumya instructed, “It’s not moral for a student of a monastery to become so greedy and take shares of beggars who live on begging. So don’t do this anymore.”

Upamanyu nodded and from the next day, he again started his routine of taking care of cows during the day and after returning in the evening he greeted his teacher.

Seeing no change in his body again, Apod Dhaumya asked, “I took everything you got from begging and you are not going to beg again. What do you eat now?”

Upamanyu replied, “I drink cow milk to fill my stomach.”

Apod Dhaumya said, “You shouldn’t drink milk from cows without my permission. It’s inappropriate.”

Upamanyu nodded and again followed his routine. After not seeing any change in his body again, Apod Dhaumya asked, “I stopped you from drinking milk, what do you eat now?”

Upamanyu replied, “When calves drink milk from cows, they generate foam from their mouths. I consume that foam to fill my stomach.”

Apod Dhaumya replied, “Seeing you watching them drinking milk, they show mercy on you and share their food. This is not good for their development. You shouldn’t take it for granted and disturb their development.”

Like this, his teacher banned him from eating and drinking. One day, starved Upamanyu couldn’t control his hunger and ate leaves of a poisonous plant named ‘Arka’ in the forest. Those leaves, one couldn’t say that they were briny, pungent or bitter, he ate them directly and when it started to digest, it started burning his body and eyes with heat. As his vision became dull, while wandering around the forest, he fell into one well.

It was already evening and Upamanyu didn’t return to Monastery. Apod Dhaumya asked other disciples, “Where is Upamanyu?”

One disciple replied, “He went to the forest with cows to feed them but didn’t come back.”

“I stopped him from eating so he might be angry. I will go and search for him.”  Saying this, he went to find Upamanyu.

While looking around, he noticed a faint voice asking for help. Following the direction of the voice, he found Upamanyu and asked, “Child, how did you fall in there?”

Upamanyu told the whole story to his teacher which brought him to that situation.

“I heard that Ashvinikumars, doctor of the deities, is nearby. I will ask them to come here. You should praise them wholeheartedly. If they become happy, they will immediately treat your eyes.” Apod Dhaumya instructed Upamanyu and left.

Meanwhile, when Ashvinikumars came near well, hearing Upamanyu singing their praises, they became happy and said, “Child, we are very happy with your praises so we brought you some sweets. You eat it first then I will treat your eyes.”

Upamanyu replied, “I will not eat without offering it to my teacher.”

Ashvinikumars responded, “If you offer it to your teacher, he will eat everything and will not leave anything for you. And, your teacher is not here. If you eat it here, he will not know.”

Upamanyu replied, “I will not go against my teacher’s instructions. If I eat behind his back without his permission, it will break trust between us which is a felony towards my teacher.”

Ashvinikumars laughed, “We are very happy with your devotion for your teacher. Your teeth are not iron black like your teacher but made of gold. We will now treat your eyes and you will get great vision. We bless you for a great and prosperous future ahead.”

After treatment of eyes, Upamanyu came off well. He went to Apod Dhaumya who was standing nearby and was aware everything happened there. He responded to Upamanyu, “Child, not allowing you to eat food was to make you control your hunger and you passed my test. If you control your eating habits, your body will become healthier and you will get longevity. I bless you for your brilliant and knowledgeable future.”

After this incident, Upamanyu controlled his hunger for a healthy life and worked hard studying under Apod Dhaumya.