The Gurus would not confer upon this knowledge to their students
easily and would put them to sterner tests before bestowing them
with this valuable wisdom. One such example is the story of Upamanyu
from Mahabharat.
Upamanyu was another favourite disciple of Saint Ayodhdhaumya.
When Upamanyu came to Saint Ayodhdhaumya to become his disciple
the saint wanted to test his thirst for knowledge. So Upamanyu
was assigned the task of looking after the cows. One day when he
returned after his days work, the Guru called him and said, “Son,
you look very healthy and radiant. What do you eat while you are
working?” Upmanyu replied with all humility, “Sire, I eat whatever
I get in alms.” The saint who wanted to test Upmanyu said that from
now on he would not eat anything that he received as alms without
first asking him. Upmanyu agreed and from then on offered all that
he received to his guru. The Guru would take everything and give
Upmanyu nothing.
A few days later, the Guru again asked Upmanyu, “I take away all that
you beg for, so what do you eat?” Upmanyu replied that whatever he
received by begging the first time, he offered it to his Guru and
then went out and begged again a second time. The guru said, “Son,
this conduct is inappropriate for a resident of the hermitage. By
begging twice you hinder the earnings of other pupils as you cut
into their share of alms. Besides this also proves your greed.”
Upmanyu listened to the guru and agreed not to do so again. A few
days later, the guru again asked Upmanyu how he still looked so
robust when he had stooped him from eating anything. To which
Upmanyu replied that he drank a little of the cow’s milk while
he took them out to graze. The guru forbade him to do that without
his permission. A few days later, on seeing Upmanyu still looking
healthy, the guru again called him and asked how he was surviving.
This time Upmanyu said that he drank the foam that the calves drooled
while feeding on their mother’s milk. The guru again forbade Upmanyu
to do so and said that this would affect the health of the calves as
they would drop more and more foam for Upmanyu to feed out of the
kindness of their heart.
Upmanyu agreed to this too and went back to graze the cows as was his
duty. Now that all avenues of getting food were closed, Upmanyu felt
really hungry. When he could not tolerate the intensity of hunger he
went and ate the leaves of a plant called `Aak’, the leaves of which
produce a bitter, sour, acidic and poisonous juice. Due to the effect
of this juice Upmanyu was instantly blinded. He kept wandering in the
woods and fell into a dry well.
After sunset, when Upmanyu did not return to the hermitage, the saint
started worrying about him. He said to his other pupils, “I have closed
all avenues for Upmanyu to get food. He is probably angry at this and
hence has not returned, so let us all go and look for him.” So they
went to the woods to look for Upmanyu. They called out for him and
heard a feeble voice from the well. They hurries to the well and when
they peeped inside they saw Upmanyu. They asked Upmanyu how he fell
inside the well. Upmanyu said, “I was so hungry that I ate the leaves of
the Aak plant. I then became blind and while I was trying to find my way
home I fell into the the well.” After hearing his story they pulled him
out of the well and his Guru told him to pray to the physicians of the
Gods, Ashwini Kumar, so that his eyes would be healed. Upmanyu did as he
was told and and Ashwini Kumars (twins who are the Physicians of Gods)
appeared before him. They said, “Upmanyu, eat this sweet that we have
brought you and you shall be healed.” Upmanyu declined and said that he
cannot eat anything without the permission of his guru. The gods then
told him that they had offered his guru some sweet and he ate it without
asking the permission of his own Guru. So if it is okay for your Guru to
eat without first asking permission from his own guru then it is okay
for you too.
But Upmanyu again declined and this devotion and obedience of Upmanyu
towards his guru pleased the gods. They blessed him and Upamnyu’s eyes
were healed and all his teeth turned into gold. Upmanyu then went to his
guru and was blessed by him. His guru was so pleased with him that he
blessed him with instant memory and told him that he will know the Vedas
and Dharamshashtras (other religious texts) automatically without any
effort.
