The Story of Aruni

Long ago in ancient India, there lived a great sage known as Daumya. Daumya was a well read scholar. He had many students living with him in his gurukul ashram. In those days, it was the practice for students to help their master in daily chores as they learnt their lessons from him.

 One day Daumya called his student Aruni, “Can you go to the forest today and get some firewood for the ashram?” Aruni nodded and set off. Nobody disobeyed the master. All the students knew that their teacher was a father-figure and they would never come to any harm by following his instructions. Aruni wandered all about the forest collecting firewood. He paused as he walked past the river. It looked dangerously full. He gave a worried glance at the river and hoped it would not rain that day. But as he started back to the ashram, he saw his worst fears coming true. Dark clouds were gathering in the sky. The banks that separated the river from the fields were mud walls. If they broke, the fields would get flooded and all the crops would get washed away. Even as his thoughts ran thus, the rain started pouring. Aruni dropped the firewood and ran along the banks examining them. He was aghast when he saw a trickle of water flowing through a small crack in the wall. He tried to plaster it with more mud. But the rain kept washing it off. The trickle grew bigger. Aruni looked around in panic. Something had to be done fast. There was no time to go back to the ashram for help.

 Meanwhile, at the ashram, a worried Daumya was going around asking, “Has anyone seen Aruni?”

“We saw him go into the forest for firewood. We haven’t seen him after that” the others answered.

“But that was long back. He should have returned by now,” said Daumya. He called five senior students and set off with them to look for Aruni. It was still raining and there were pools of water everywhere. Branches of trees had fallen all around. When Daumya saw the havoc wrecked by the rain, he was concerned about the crops and Aruni too. He took hurried steps towards the field calling, “Aruni!..Aruni! where are you?” As they reached the field, Daumya noticed something unusual. The water had not entered the field. He directed his students to walk along the bank. He called out to Aruni again. This time he heard a feeble reply. “I’m here, master” It was so faint that he wondered whether he really heard it. The search party moved in the direction of the voice and saw something lying along the bank in the darkness. It was Aruni, soaking wet, stiff and cold. He had stopped the water from entering the fields by lying along the bank. In fact, he had been acting as the bank himself!

 Daumya lifted Aruni. He asked the others to mend the crack in the bank and helped Aruni back to the ashram. He was given fresh clothes and food. The comforting warmth of the ashram and the food slowly brought colour back to Aruni’s face. Daumya then asked him gently, “You were lying in the rain the whole day, thoroughly drenched, cold and hungry. You could have become ill. Why did you not return to the ashram?”

“If I had done so, the fields would be completely destroyed. I could not let you down, master. But, I was not afraid. I knew you would come and rescue me.”

 

Daumya smiled. He was pleased with his student’s unwavering faith. “You are a virtuous and capable young man. You will grow to heights one day,” he said. True to the master’s prediction, Aruni grew up to be a great scholar and became known the world over as Uddalaka pandita.