Having received his teacher's blessings, Aruni departed to pursue his own path in life.
Among the disciples of Ayoda Dhaumya there was another student nad Upamanyu.
One day the sage called him and said,
"My son, take the cows to pasture and watch over them."
Upamanyu bowed respectfully.
"As you command, Master."
From that day onward, he devoted himself to the task.
Each morning he led the herd into the grazing lands, tended them throughout the day, and returned with them safely at sunset. After bringing the cows back, he would go straight to his teacher, bow before him, and await further instructions.
As the days passed, Dhaumya observed sothing curious.
Though Upamanyu spent long hours in the fields and perford his duties diligently, he appeared remarkably healthy and well-fed. His body was strong and robust, showing none of the signs of hardship usually associated with a student's austere life.
One evening, after Upamanyu had returned from the pastures and offered his respects, the sage looked at him thoughtfully.
"My son," Dhaumya asked, "how do you support yourself?"
Upamanyu looked surprised.
"Master?"
"You appear exceedingly well nourished," the sage continued. "Tell , from where do you obtain your food?"
Upamanyu answered honestly.
"Revered Sir, I live by begging for alms."
Dhaumya nodded.
"That is proper for a student. But you should not consu the alms you receive without first offering them to your teacher."
Upamanyu imdiately bowed his head.
"As you command, Master."
From the next day onward, he followed the instruction exactly.
Whatever alms he collected, he brought first to his teacher and surrendered them completely.
Yet so ti later, Dhaumya noticed that Upamanyu still appeared just as healthy and well-fed as before.
The sage called him once again.
"My son, I receive all the alms you collect. Yet you remain as strong and well nourished as ever. How do you now sustain yourself?"
Upamanyu replied without hesitation:
"Master, after offering all my alms to you, I go out once more and beg for a second ti. It is from those additional alms that I maintain myself."
The young disciple spoke with complete innocence, unaware that another test of obedience was about to begin.
Dhaumya listened to Upamanyu's explanation and shook his head.
"My son, that is not the proper way for a disciple to conduct himself.
"When you beg a second ti after already receiving alms, you take away the livelihood of others who depend upon charity. Such behavior springs from attachnt and desire."
Upamanyu bowed respectfully.
"As you command, Master."
From that day forward, he stopped seeking a second round of alms.
Yet he continued tending the cows with the sa diligence as before.
Every morning he led them to pasture. Every evening he returned them safely to the hermitage and presented himself before his teacher.
After so ti, Dhaumya noticed sothing puzzling.
Despite surrendering all his alms and no longer begging a second ti, Upamanyu remained healthy and well-fed.
One evening the sage questioned him again.
"My son, I take all the alms you collect, and you no longer beg a second ti. Yet you remain strong and well nourished. How do you sustain yourself now?"
Upamanyu answered honestly.
"Revered Master, I live on the milk of the cows I tend."
Dhaumya replied at once,
"You have not received permission from to drink that milk. Therefore it is not proper for you to use it."
"As you command, Master," said Upamanyu.
Once again he obeyed without complaint.
Days passed.
Still he carried out his duties faithfully.
Still he returned each evening and bowed before his teacher.
And still, to Dhaumya's surprise, he appeared remarkably healthy.
At last the sage asked him again,
"You no longer eat your alms. You do not beg a second ti. You do not drink the cows' milk. Yet you remain well nourished. Tell , how do you now sustain yourself?"
Upamanyu replied,
"Master, when the calves drink from their mothers, foam gathers around their mouths and falls to the ground. I collect that froth and live on it."
Dhaumya looked at him thoughtfully.
"The calves are generous creatures. Out of kindness, they produce more froth than usual because they sense your hunger.
"But by consuming it, you still take what rightfully belongs to them.
"Even this is not proper."
He paused before continuing.
"You must not drink the froth either."
Without hesitation, Upamanyu bowed.
"As you command, Master."
From that day onward he gave up the froth as well.
He no longer ate alms.
He no longer begged a second ti.
He no longer drank milk.
He no longer consud the foam left by the calves.
Yet each day he continued to herd the cows, enduring his hunger in silence and obeying every instruction his teacher had given him.
Thus the young disciple persisted in his duties, sustained only by his devotion and unwavering faith in his guru.
Days passed, and Upamanyu continued to obey every command his teacher had given him.
He ate no alms.
He begged no second ti.
He drank no milk.
He consud none of the froth left by the calves.
Yet every day he faithfully led the cows into the forest and tended them until evening.
At last, overco by hunger, he found himself unable to endure any longer.
While wandering through the woods with the herd, he ca upon an arka plant.
Desperate for food, he plucked its leaves and ate them.
But the leaves were harsh and poisonous.
Their bitter sap burned within him.
Before long, his vision began to fail.
The world around him blurred.
Darkness spread across his eyes until he could see nothing at all.
Blinded and disoriented, Upamanyu stumbled through the forest, feeling his way forward.
Unable to see where he was going, he wandered aimlessly until suddenly the ground vanished beneath his feet.
He fell into a deep well.
anwhile, evening ca and passed.
The cows returned to the hermitage, but Upamanyu did not.
When his disciple failed to appear, Dhaumya grew concerned.
Turning to the other students, he said,
"I have forbidden Upamanyu every ans of sustaining himself.
"Perhaps he has beco angry with .
"Or perhaps so misfortune has befallen him.
"He has been gone far too long."
Unable to rest, the sage went into the forest to search for him.
As he walked among the trees, he called out loudly:
"Upamanyu! Where are you, my son? Co to !"
From deep within the forest ca a faint reply.
"Master! I am here!"
Dhaumya stopped and listened.
"Where are you, Upamanyu?"
The voice answered from below:
"I have fallen into a well."
The sage hurried toward the sound and stood beside the well.
"My son," he called down, "how did this happen?"
Upamanyu replied,
"Tornted by hunger, I ate the leaves of the arka plant.
"Their poison destroyed my sight.
"Blind, I wandered through the forest and fell into this well."
Dhaumya understood at once.
The disciple had obeyed every instruction so completely that hunger had driven him to desperation.
Yet even now he uttered no complaint.
The sage spoke kindly.
"Upamanyu, the divine Ashvins are the physicians of the gods.
"Offer them your praises.
"Worship them with sincere devotion.
"They will restore your sight."
Hearing his teacher's command, Upamanyu imdiately obeyed.
Though trapped in darkness at the bottom of the well, he gathered his thoughts and began to chant ancient hymns from the Rig Veda.
His voice rose from the depths of the earth:
"O radiant twins, first-born before creation itself,
"I praise you, shining ones of endless splendor.
"You are divine birds of celestial beauty, stainless and imasurable.
"You move through all the worlds.
"You dwell within all beings.
"You illuminate the universe with your presence."
Thus, from the darkness of the well, the devoted disciple began his hymn to the Ashvin twins, trusting completely in the words of his teacher.
From the depths of the well, Upamanyu continued his hymn to the divine Ashvin twins.
His voice echoed against the stone walls as he praised the celestial physicians who moved through heaven and earth, restoring what had been lost and healing what had been broken.
“O Ashvins,” he prayed, “you are radiant as gold and swift as heavenly birds.
“You are untouched by falsehood and free from decay.
“Ever victorious, you weave the fabric of existence itself, creating the alternating patterns of day and night as a weaver works black and white threads upon a loom.
“You rescue life when it is seized by the forces of destruction.
“You free the soul from bondage and guide it toward good fortune.
“Though people, deceived by the senses, imagine you in material forms, your true nature lies beyond all such limitations.
“You are eternal and beyond the grasp of ordinary perception.”
The hymn grew deeper and more mysterious.
Upamanyu praised the Ashvins as masters of cosmic order, describing the hidden workings of ti itself.
“The three hundred and sixty days of the year,” he chanted, “are like milking cows that nourish a single calf—the eternal cycle from which all seasons arise and into which all seasons return.
“The wise draw knowledge from this cycle as milk is drawn from a sacred cow.”
He spoke of the great wheel of ti.
“There are seven hundred and twenty spokes within that wheel—the days and nights that turn endlessly through the year.
“It revolves forever without aging.
“It moves all creatures through birth, growth, decline, and renewal.
“O Ashvins, sustain this wheel and preserve the order of the world.”
Then he described another wheel.
“A wheel with twelve divisions turns ceaselessly through the heavens.
“It bears the nectar of immortality and governs the passage of months and seasons.
“All gods and all beings are bound to its movent.
“O divine healers, release from sorrow and despair just as you release the world from chaos.”
His prayer flowed onward like a sacred river.
He praised the Ashvins as the creators of the directions, the regulators of the sun and moon, and the guardians of the harmony by which gods, sages, and mortals perform their duties.
“At the dawn of creation,” he sang, “you established the ten directions.
“You set the heavenly lights upon their paths.
“The sages follow those paths in their sacrifices.
“The gods follow them in their divine functions.
“Human beings follow them in the conduct of their lives.”
He praised them as the source of diversity throughout creation.
“You fashioned the countless forms and colors that fill the worlds.
“From your power arose the variety of life itself.
“Everything that exists moves according to the order you established.”
Though blind, hungry, and trapped within a dark well, Upamanyu's faith never wavered.
His voice remained steady.
“O Ashvins, I worship you alone.
“You are beyond decay.
“You uphold the cosmic order to which even the gods are subject.
“You are the hidden force within every living being.
“You are present in birth and growth.
“You are the nourishnt of the infant and the life that flows through every creature.
“You sustain all existence.
“Therefore, O divine physicians, look upon with compassion.
“As you have healed countless beings before, heal now.”
Thus the devoted disciple continued his hymn, pouring out his faith and devotion from the darkness of the well, trusting completely in the wisdom of his teacher and in the rcy of the divine Ashvins.
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