Slokam 5 

The celestial cow Kamadhenu,  as the name suggests, is the full filler of all desires. Karthaveeryarjuna visits the hermitage of Parasurama.  In a demonstration of the power of Kamadhenu to provide all the food that is required to entertain an army, Parasurama’s father Jamadagni is able to lavishly entertain his guest of honor

When a treasure is displayed,  everyone wants a part of it for himself. The celestial cow is invoked and sustained by the power of meditation of the sages.  In many ways this depiction of the celestial cow is an insight into the way the path of spiritualism works.  As long we are dedicated to the cause of the Paramathma and remain on the path of devotion,  the “celestial cow” Kamadhenu will be there to provide all our physical needs.   The celestial cow would be physical reality for sage Jamadagni.  For us ordinary mortals,  the celestial cow would acquire various forms like a pleasant work place,  a pleasant family environment,  good health etc.  The Celestial cow is available on call to all of us.  The requirement is that  we stay  on the spiritual path,  do not lose our way in worldly matters,  and dedicate our lives to devotion of the Paramathma. 

We are always deceived by the pursuit of material benefits.  For sage Jamadagni,  who has completely withdrawn from society and lives in isolation,  the provider of essentials takes the physical form of Kamadhenu.  It is the result of his intense and dedicated tapas.  However,  our immediate assumption is that anyone in the possession of Kamadhenu would be able to get all the endowments of the celestial cow as well. We will forget the tapas of the sage that is required to maintain kamadhenu’s peace, and well being.  The well being of Kamadhenu alone enables the continued flow of material rewards,  which in turn frees the mind from worldly worries and helps focus the mind more intently on tapas.

In the absence of this complementary and self sustaining relationship,  the mere possession of Kamadhenu as a physical creature will not endure and will not be an eternal provider of physical well being.   When prosperity comes in the form of a helpless creature,  the enjoyment of that prosperity comes with an obligation to protect. 

Karthaveeryarjuna is impressed with the vast amounts and variety of food that Kamadhenu is able to provide.  He discloses this to his ministers,  who immediately decide,  without understanding the consequences,  that the king must take possession of Kamadhenu.  Karthaveeryarjuna is tempted into accepting the advice.  The idea was to buy Kamadhenu from Jamadagni. This “good” intent however, turns into greed very quickly, and an attempt is made to steal the cow, so that Karthaveeryarjuna  gets it for free. 

Our intent is always to enjoy the fruits, without taking the trouble to plant the seeds,  nurture the sapling and then enjoy the fruits that a fully grown plant provides.  There are no short cuts in the path of attainment.

Jamadagni has Kamadhenu with him, purely because of his spiritual attainment.  He strived in the right direction, and his attainment is recognized by the celestials, who endow Kamadhenu so that the sage can continue on further in his journey.

Karthaverryarjuna has no such qualification. He wants to take possession of only the rewards without any commitment, contribution, sacrifice  or effort.  Is this not what all of us try to do all our lives? No matter what the compulsions, the “easy” option should not be taken.

Todays Kamadhenu has fallen into the hands of Kali and the forces of greed.  The Tapas of the sages, which gave us Kamadhenu in the first place has been broken,  because their source of material self sufficiency has been hijacked. The stolen kamadhenu is exploited by us, the people,  who have not themselves earned the right to the rewards.   

Conflict, confusion,  trapped by illusions, losing sight of the ultimate reality, are all the undesirable consequences of this brutal exploitation of Kamadhenu. 

Jamadagni tries to protect Kamadhenu but is killed by Karthaveeryarjuna’s soldiers. Karthaveeryarjuna’  who respectfully stopped to visit Atri and seek his blessings, is overcome by greed.  When the sage is killed,  Kamadenu,  attacks the army in revenge and demolishes it completely,  but her calf is stolen by Karthaveeryarjuna’s minister.

Today,  even vegetarians cannot escape the fact that the milk products consumed are tainted by the fate of the cow that produces them for us.  The thousands of milk products are extracted from a being that is suffering the exploitation. 

Jamadagni probably made a huge mistake in sharing the secret of kamadhenu with Karthsveeryarjuna.  It is the mistake that sage Vasishta made in sharing the prowess of the Kamadenu with Viswamitra,  when he was a kshatriya king. Were Sage Atri and sage Vasishta “showing off” the result of their tapas?

The poignant message in this slokam is that Jamadagni is sharing the fruits of his tapas by playing the role of  the good host to Sage Karthaverryarjuna.  The king does not see the power of the tapas and the sacrifice that went into the endowment of Kamadhenu.  He wants to take possession of Jamadagni’s  attainment,  without any care about what happens to Jamadagni himself. 

On his part,  the sage wants to  impress the king about his attainment.  This seeking of recognition from a fellow human being (regardless that he is a king),   backfires. There is nothing as worthless and as dangerous as performing action for the “reward” of recognition.

Kartheveeryarjuna and Viswamitra,  wanted the Kamadenu,  so they could exploit the tapas of the sage for their own personal,  well being and prosperity, without making any effort.  Katharveeryarjuna and Viswamitra did not need Kamadenu. They could feed themselves and their people very well by the bounties of nature that was already available in abundance.  When greed takes over,  nothing can be done to control evil events from happening.

This slokam brings out the  essence of human relationships.  We are only oriented towards what we can get out of every situation for ourselves. People to people relationships are based only on self interest,  regardless of whether it is a family or a social relationship.  All our “connections”  with this world should have the Paramathma as the intermediary. We should perceive all manifestations, including our “own” inner self as the emergence of the ultimate reality,  which is the Paramathma.

When we see all manifestation as the Paramathma and also see the Paramathma as the cause of all our actions,  there will be no need to seek recognition,  rewards or solace from fellow creatures.  We will be relieved of all dependencies and attachments.

May we desist from consuming the products derived from the immense suffering of the cow.   May we perform tapas to grant liberation from captivity for this celestial being.  May we ever see only the hand of the Paramathma in every breath that we take.