One noon, a tired Parshurama asked his disciple Karna to bring him a roll of deerskin that he could use as a pillow to sleep on. Karna offered his thighs instead, which Parshurama accepted.
While Parshurama slept, a boar-like insect cut through Karna’s thigh. “If I want to stop it,” he thought, “I will have to move my leg, which will disturb my guru’s sleep.” So he sat through the unbearable pain. The insect continued cutting into Karna’s skin and the blood spread, eventually touching Parshurama’s face and waking him up.
Parshurama was furious. A Brahmin could not bear so much pain, only a Kshatriya could, and Karna had posed as a Brahmin to learn from Parshurama. So he cursed Karna that his memory would fail him when he desperately needed an astra. That’s what happened during the Kurukshetra war, leading to Karna’s death.
We often use this episode to teach the importance of telling the truth and the inevitability of karma. But I want to focus on two other aspects: bhakti (devotion) and shakti (strength).
Karna didn’t use Parshurama to learn military science; he was devoted to his guru and everyone else in the ashrama, so much so that Parshurama grew fond of his disciple. And it was Karna’s mental fortitude that made him sit through unbearable pain so that his guru wasn’t disturbed.
Today, our egos get hurt at the drop of a hat, and we seem to take offense even when there is none. To the extent that our species should be renamed from Homo Sapiens to Homo Offendus.
Our partner didn’t treat us like royalty. A random person trolled us on social media. Our manager humiliated us when all she did was reject our idea. Come on! Are we so fragile that we will break at the slightest sign of things not going our way? Should we have to be handled with care because of the attention it gets us?
No! You need to imbibe the warrior traits of bhakti and shakti. Devote yourself to the larger cause of dharma and be willing to do what it takes to uphold.
Be sturdy, not fragile. Let no storm keep you down, even if it does knock you down. Give your all to whatever you do. Such a life will never have regrets.