No crime is unpardonable: Story of Gokarna in Bhagwat Puran

 Shrimad Bhagwat Purana

 Lessons in Sin & Forgiveness

The Story of Gokarna

( Rendering by Kamini)

In the Bhagwat Puran there is a story of two brothers, Gokarna & Dhundhakari in the Fourth chapter of the First Skanda.
In a hamlet on the banks of Tungabhadra river lived a certain Brahmin called Atmadev who was a good soul. However, his wife, Dhundhali, was a tamasic ( ruled by baser instincts). She was lazy, greedy, liar and self-indulgent person. Because of her intrinsic nature all that she touched remained barren. She herself nerver bore a child nor the cows she kept.
When Atmadev was passed his prime life, he was overtaken by an over-powering desire for a child. He did many austerities and rites and rituals to beget a child but nothing worked. Frustrated, he left home one day and went into the jungle. In the afternoon he felt thirsty & went to a lake. Consumed with the grief of not having a child, he had become like a dried up twig, sucked of all desire to live. Despondent he quenched his thirst and sat next to the lake. Just then a Sanyasi came by the lake. He saw the grief stricken Atmadev and asked him the reason for this sorrow. Atmadev told him his intense desire for a child. He asked the Sanyasi to help him or else he would commit suicide by jumping into the lake. The Sanyasi tried to counsel him but Atmadev was inconsolable.
The Sanyasi then said that he had gone into Atmadev's Prarabhdha ( destiny) and found that he would not have a child for the next seven births. Therefore, he should give up this stubborn desire and devote his life to renunciation. He told him that going against what had been written by the Vidhata ( All Mighty) could bring him untold sorrow as had happened to King Chitraketu.
But, Atmadev was resolute.  When would not listen, the Sanyasi then gave him a fruit and told him to give it to his wife to eat. He said she should for a year lead a life of clean habits, honesty, compassion, charity and eat only once a day. Then the son she will beget will be a divine soul.
He went home exuberant. He gave the fruit to his wife with all the instruction to follow that the Sanyasi had told him to tell her.
The wife took the fruit but did not eat it. Given her nature all that the Sanyasi had said was anathema  to her. She related her predicament to her sister who was also of similar vile temperament. She told Dhudhali that she was expecting a baby and that she would give it to her. Till then she should just pretend to be pregnant. She also advised her to give the fruit to her cow. Dhudhali did as her sister advised her.
So Dhundhali took her sister's baby boy, called him Dhundhakari. The cow too gave birth to a boy who had ears like a cow's and was hence named Gokarna ( Cow's ears).
The town was happy with the tidings at Atmadeva's house and there was much celebration and charity to the poor, animals etc.
Both boys grew up to be opposite of eachother like white and black. Gokarna was learned like a Pundit & pure at heart. Dhudhakari was vile & evil. When Gokarna was barely eight years old he left the village for his first thrith yatra (pilgrimage) and in search of truth. Dhundhakari grew to be the terror of the village. He cheated, looted, stole and committed all kinds of evil acts to scare little chidlren, harm animals, hunting, going to prostitutes, etc. In short there was no vice he did not indulge in. He started harassing his parents for money and slowly squandered away all the wealth.
Atmadev was broken-hearted by his sons behaviour and asked Gokarna what to do. Gokarna told him to finally realise that worldly attachment and desire was the cause of all suffering. He told his father to retire to the forests and devote the rest of his life to God. He himself also left for a pilgrimage.
Dhundhakari on his fathers leaving home, started living in the house with five prostitutes. He would beat up his Mother demanding money, etc. Fed-up with his son's torture she finally jumped into the well and took her life.
The prostitutes realised after sometime that Dhundhakari had exhausted all his money, jewellery etc. So they planned to do away with him. When he was sleeping they treid to strangle him to death. When this was unsuccessful, they burnt him alive and buried him in a pit and lived in his house there after.
After his death, Dhundhakari became a frightening evil spirit which kept roaming around with no relief to is body or soul from the continued sufferings.
Gokarna during his Yatras got missives about his brothers doings and his sad death. So wherever he went he would perform Shradh of his brother to liberate his soul.
When he returned to his village one night, he quietly went to his abandoned home and lay down in the verandah & slept. In the middle of the night he was woken by the presence of some dreadful spirit.
When he confronted the spirit, Dhundhakari revealed who he was. Gokarna expressed surprise that he was still wandering around as a spirit when Gokarna had done his shradha in Gaya and other places. Dhundhakari told him that he had led such a bad life that his soul would never find liberation. He related to Gokarna all his devious crimes including driving his own mother to her death. He appealed to Gokarna to find some way to release his soul of the mesh of bad karma and liberate his soul.
" If all the prayers I offered at sacred places like Gaya for your shradha has not liberated your soul, then I don't know what else will." He however told Dhundhakari to go and rest somewhere while he thought out a solution.
Gokarna then got together all the wise, pious and good souls of the village and asked their advice as to what can be done for Dhundhakari's soul. They studied many scriptures and holy books but could find solution. Then it was decided that Gokarna should seek advice of Suryanarayana (Sun God). So Gokarna prayed with all austerity to Suryanarayana. Pleased with him Suryanarayana asked him what was his problem. Gokarna explained to him his predicament about Dhudhakari's soul. Then Suryanarayan told him that a one week Shrimad Bhagwat Katha should be organised and Dhudhakari must only listen to the whole discourse with his heart & soul.
So, Gokarna went about making arrangements for Shrimad Bhagwat discourse. As happens when such a katha is held anywhere it was a grand affair attended by all by Bhulok to Dev lok. Dhudhakari finding no place, hid himself in a pile of 7 bamboos kept in one corner. Being a ghost that is of vayu (air element) tattwa he managed to hid inside the hallow of the bamboo.
One each day as the discourse ended in the evening, the people saw a strange phenomena. One of the pile of bamboos burst open. This went on for the seven days. On the last day, a luminous body dressed in auspicious colours of pitambar (saffron) emerged from the bamboo. It was Dhundhakari who was now cleansed of all his sins & crimes by hearing the Bhagwat with full devotion.
A space craft from the heavens descended and took him away into the skies.
So this the story of hope from which every human can derive succor  inspite of all the sins that he may have committed. Also, it is a story which emphasizes the importance of Bhagwat Puran in Kaliyug.

Om Namah Bhagwate Vasudevaye !!

(Condensed and translated by Kamini Bobde, from the Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran, published by Gtia Press, Gorakhpur, in Sanskrit with Hindi translation, pages 20 to 34)