Kahor's curse⁹

There was a great sage named Uddalaka. He had a disciple named Kahor whom he was very fond of. Kahor was not only very spiritual but he also had a great knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads.

After Kahor had been studying spirituality for a long time, Uddalaka asked him to marry his daughter, Sujata. Kahor happily married his teacher’s daughter, and they lived together quite happily.

Every day Kahor would recite from the Vedas. He was very conversant with the Vedas and everybody admired his Vedic knowledge.

One day, while he was reciting, he heard someone say to him, “You are wrong. You are wrong.”

He looked around to see where the message was coming from. He found that it was coming from inside his wife. At this time his wife was pregnant, and a human voice was coming from the child that was inside her.

Kahor said, “Who dares to correct me? I know the Vedas extremely well. I am an authority! You fool, you are inside my wife, and yet you dare to correct me? Alright! I curse you! When you are born, you will not have a proper body! Your body will be twisted in eight places!”

Sujata was shocked and so sad. She cried, “What have you done? What have you done?”

Kahor said, “What have I done? How could anyone dare to correct me in the Vedas?”

Sujata said, “But is he not to be your son? What will people think of you and what will people think of me?”

“I am so sorry. Anger is such. I have knowledge. I have wisdom. Everything I have. But when the time comes, the undivine forces eclipse our vision. I am really sorry. But what can I do? I have already cursed the child.”

Sujata said, “O God, You have given my husband the Vedic knowledge, but You have not given him the heart’s wisdom. Now both of us will suffer.”

In due course the child was born and, in accord with Kahor’s curse, his limbs were twisted in eight different places. His name was Ashtabakra. When Ashtabakra was born his father was not at home. Sujata was very sad. She was swimming in the sea of tears.

For many years Ashtabakra did not meet his father, who had cursed him, as Kahor had left home while Sujata was still pregnant. He had gone to another kingdom to try to gain wealth by defeating another sage in a contest of Vedic knowledge. Kahor lost and was held there.