A Brahmin's inner fire⁵

Dangsha was a great demon who was very, very undivine. One day he stole the wife of the great sage Brighu. When Brighu discovered this, he cursed Dangsha, turning him into an insect. “You will be a most powerful insect. You will no longer be a demon,” he said.

The demon became a most destructive insect and his name was Alarka. This insect used to bite people and cause them tremendous, tremendous suffering.

Parashuram, the great hero, taught his student Karna how to fight. One day, after instructing Karna for a long time, Parashuram was resting on the ground. Karna placed his teacher’s head on his lap and said, “You should have some comfort. You are so kind to me. It is a great honour for me to place your head on my lap.”

Parashuram was resting peacefully on Karna’s lap when suddenly this insect, Alarka, bit Karna most powerfully. His thigh began to bleed profusely, but he remained silent because he did not want to disturb his master’s peace. Still, the bite was very painful.

After some time Parashuram awakened and saw that Karna’s thigh was bleeding profusely. He said, “What happened? What happened, my boy?”

“Master, while you were sleeping an insect bit me. But it is nothing. It doesn’t matter at all. I am so happy that you were able to take rest for as long as you wanted to. You are always so kind to me. It gives me so much joy when I am able to serve you. You are teaching me to become a great hero, so I am so grateful to you. This small insect bite doesn’t bother me at all.”

“Karna, you are so good and divine. I will destroy this insect.”

In a fleeting second Parashuram destroyed Alarka. Then he said, “I am grateful to you because you are really kind to me, but I am mad at you because you have deceived me.”

“How? How have I deceived you?”

“Karna, you cannot be a Brahmin. You came to me as a Brahmin and that is why I taught you. But if you had been a Brahmin, you would not have tolerated this. A Brahmin’s inner fire comes to the fore whenever there is any injustice. A Brahmin will not attack anybody, but when there is an injustice, a Brahmin will not tolerate it. When this insect bit you, it was a terrible injustice; yet you tolerated it. A Kshatriya can tolerate many things. Although Kshatriyas are heroes of the highest order, they have the slave mentality and, when necessary, they can tolerate anything. In your case, you have tolerated this. So from today I will not keep you as my student. You have to leave my house.”

After some time, Karna did become a very great hero who played a significant role in the Mahabharata.