Dharm Kund

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Dharm Kund / धर्म कुण्ड

This Kund lies in the eastern part of Kamyavan. Narayan is present here as Dharm. Nearby is a platform named Visakha Vedi. There is a special rule that one should bathe in this pond on Krishn ashtami (the eighth day of the dark moon) on a Wednesday in the month of Bhadra during the constellation named Sravana. Within the area of Dharm Kund, there are many places one may visit for Sarsana, such as Nara-Narayana Kund, Nila Varaha, Panch Pandav, Hanuman Ji, Panch Pandav Kund (Panch Tirth), Manikarnika and Vigvevara Mahadev.

Story - 1

The five Pandav resided in this attractive Kamyavan for a long time during their exile to the forest. Once,Draupadi and the Pandav felt very thirsty. It was summer and the nearby ponds and other sources of water had dried up. Water was not available anywhere, not even from distant places. Yudhisthir gave one empty pot to his valiant brother Bhimsen and told him to fill it with clean water. The intelligent Bhim saw that birds were flying to and from a particular place, so he headed in that direction. After some time, he came to a beautiful lake full of clean, fragrant water. Being very thirsty, he thought to quench his own thirst first before carrying water back to his brothers. However, as soon as he stepped in the lake, a Yaksh appeared before him and said, "Answer my questions before daring to drink water, otherwise you will die." Ignoring the order of the Yaksh, the great and valiant Bhimsen filled his palms with some water, but upon doing so he immediately fainted to the ground. Noting Bhimsen's delay in returning, Yudhisthir sent his brothers one by one to go and fetch water — first Arjun, then Nakula and then Sahdeva. Upon reaching the lake, however, they all met the same fate as Bhima, having attempted to drink water without following the Yaksh's command. Finally, Yudhisthir went himself and found his brothers all lying on the ground unconscious. He became very worried. He decided to quench his thirst before trying to revive them, but as soon as he went to do so, the Yaksh appeared and told Yudhisthir that he had to correctly answer his questions before he could drink any water. Yudhisthir patiently requested the Yaksh to ask his questions. Yaksh: Who causes the sun to rise?
Yudhisthir: The Supreme Lord causes the sun to rise.
Yaksh: What is weightier than the earth itself? What is higherthan even the sky? What travels faster than the wind?And what is greater in number than blades of grass?
Yudhisthir: One's mother is heavier than the earth. One'sfather is higher than the sky. The mind is swifter than air, and the thoughts that spring from the mind are more numerous than blades of grass.
Yaksh: Which is the best dharm in the world? What is the best kind of forbearance?
Yudhisthir: The best dharm in the world is mercy. To tolerate the dualities of this world – like pleasure and sorrow, profit and loss, and birth and death – is the best kind of forbearance.
Yaksh: Who is the invincible enemy of human beings? What is their endless disease? Who is a saintly person, and who is not a saintly person?
Yudhisthir: Anger is the invincible enemy of human beings. Greed is their endless disease. One who does good to all living entities is a saintly person, and a cruel person who has no control over his senses is not a saintly person.
Yaksh: Who is happy? What is the greatest wonder? What is life's real path? What is newsworthy?
Yudhisthir: He who has no debt, he who is not in a foreign land, and he who is able to eat simply is happy. Every day, living beings make their way to the abode of Yamraj, the god of death, but those who are left behind think they will live forever. There is no greater wonder than this. Argument has no place in determining the correct path. The Srutis are diverse, and the opinions of the sages divided. The truth of Dharm is thus very deep. Therefore, the path that is followed by great personalities is the real path. Time is cooking all living beings in the frying pan of illusion and allurement, which represents this material world. It shuffles them with the ladle of months and seasons, and cooks them in the fire of the sun, which burns up the fuel of day and night. This is the only news in this world.
Yaksh: O King, you have answered all my questions correctly. You may therefore select any one of your brothers and he will return to life.
Yudhisthir: Among all my brothers, let dark-complexioned and very powerful Nakul return to life. Yaksh: King, why do you want Nakul to be brought back to life? Why not Bhima, who has the strength of ten thousand elephants, or the invincible archer Arjun ?
Yudhisthir: I cannot give up virtue. I am of the opinion that the supreme virtue is to have equal feelings for everyone. My father had two wives, Kunti and Madri. In my opinion, both of them should have sons. Kunti and Madri mean the same to me. I want to preserve this equality; therefore, Nakula should return to life.
Yaksh: O topmost devotee, you have more respect for virtue than for time and wealth. Therefore, all your brothers should live again.That Yaksh was none other than Dharmraj Himself, who had desired to test the dharm of his son Yudhisthir. Yudhisthir passed the examination.

Story - 2

One day, when the Pandav and Draupadi were living here during their exile,Draupadi went alone to take bath in Vimal Kund. Meanwhile, the Pandav were at their residence, free of anxieties and deeply absorbed in narrations about the Supreme Lord. Jayadratha, the brother-in-law of both Duryodhan and the Pandav, was attracted to Draupadi. He was waiting for an opportunity to find Draupadi alone so he could kidnap her easily. In this way, he would dishonour the Pandav. On this day, fate had it that he found Draupadi alone bathing in Vimal Kund away from her residence. Jayadratha tried to take Draupadi with him to his kingdom by threat and guile, but Draupadi, the crest jewel of chaste ladies, firmly refused. This made Jayadratha furious, and he forcefully pulled her up on to his chariot and drove the horses very fast. Draupadi started loudly calling out to Arjuna, Bhim and Krishna for protection. Somehow, her loud cries reached the ears of Arjun and Bhim, and the two mighty warriors immediately ran after the chariot with great speed. The great warrior Arjuna, who single-handedly could face up to ten thousand opponents at one time, stopped Jayadratha’s chariot by shooting arrows of fire at it. Jayadratha jumped from the chariot and fled for his life, but Bhima outran him and caught him. Both brothers submitted Jayadratha before Draupadi and then the three of them went before Yudhisthir. Bhima was furious, "This criminal should be killed immediately." Arjuna supported Bhima. However, Yudhisthir pacified them both. "This degraded person has committed an offence at the feet of Draupadi," he said. "Therefore, she should choose a suitable punishment for him."
Draupadi then gravely spoke, "Needless to say, he has committed a horrible crime, yet he is your sister's husband. I do not want to see my sister-in-law cry for the rest of her life as a widow. It is therefore best to release him." Bhima, however, was intent on having him killed. They finally concluded that for a respectable person dishonour is equal to death, and therefore Jayadratha should have his head shaven clean, but in such a way as to give him five tufts of hair. Similarly, before releasing him, they would shave his face leaving only a beard. Bhim shaved Jayadratha’s head and face as planned, thereby dishonouring him. He then released him. Jayadratha went away greatly insulted and performed severe austerities with the aim of being able to kill the Pandav. However, Arjuna killed him in the Mahabharat War, by following the instructions of Shri Krishna.

Story - 3

The wicked Duryodhan was always anxious to destroy the Pandav completely. Once, while the Pandav and Draupadi were living here during their exile, he invited Maharishi Durvasa and fed him a sumptuous, delicious meal with great honour. Durvasa was satisfied and requested Duryodhan to ask for a boon. With folded hands, Duryodhan said, Yudhisthir is my elder brother. Please accept his hospitality and go to his residence with your sixty thousand disciples, but go in the afternoon. The Pandav are currently living in Kamyavan." Duryodhan knew well that the Pandav served their guests with extreme care. Draupadi had a pot that had been given to her by Suryadev. The cooking done in that one pot could feed innumerable persons to their satisfaction, but as soon as Draupadi had eaten and cleaned the pot, it could provide no more food until she cooked again. Draupadi would feed any guests as well as the Pandav, and then clean the pot without fail before the afternoon. Durvasa and his sixty thousand disciples were to arrive there in the afternoon, so the Pandav would not be able to feed them. Duryodhan hoped that the very hot-tempered Durvasa Rishi would curse the Pandav and thus burn them to ashes.
Durvasa was fully aware of the glories of the Pandav, who were devotees of Shri Krishna. However, it is difficult for even the demigods to understand his contrary activities. Only he knows what, when and why he does what he does. Thus, he and sixty thousand sages reached the residence of the Pandav in Kamyavan in the afternoon. Upon seeing him, the Pandav became very happy. Yudhisthir worshipped him and requested him to accept his hospitality. Maharishi said, "We are now going to bathe in Vimal Kund and will come back very soon. You should arrange for our meals. We will eat here." Saying this, Durvasa left to bathe together with his whole entourage. The Pandav now became very concerned. What arrangement could be made to feed these sages? They called Draupadi and asked her if she could arrange to feed a gathering of sixty thousand, but her pot had already been cleaned and turned upside down. She considered hard what to do to save the Pandav but could not think of a plan. At last, she began calling out to her dear friend Shri Krishna in a voice filled with distress. How could Dvarakanath not come upon hearing her call? He immediately appeared in front of Draupadi and said, "Sakhi, I am very hungry. Give Me something to eat." Draupadi answered, "You are hungry and I have nothing at home. My pot has been cleaned and is lying upside down. The extremely hot-tempered Maharishi Durvasa together with his sixty thousand disciples are about to come to take their meal. When he finds that there is nothing to eat, he will definitely annihilate the Pandav. Therefore, first please arrange for them to be fed."
Shri Krishna said, "I cannot do anything without eating and drinking, so please bring your pot."
In a sad voice Draupadi said, "There is nothing in the pot. I have cleaned it very thoroughly."
"Still, you please bring it. I want to see."
Draupadi brought the pot and put it in Krishna's hands. Krishna looked into it and became joyful. A very tiny piece of leafy vegetable was stuck to the side of the pot. Shri Krishna scraped it off with His nail and put in His mouth. He then filled His stomach with water poured by Draupadi's hands. "Trpto 'smi, trpto 'smi! – I am satisfied, I am satisfied!" he exclaimed, and he began to pat His stomach with His hand. He even belched in satisfaction. Shri Krishna then sent Bhimsen to quickly go and call the sages. The great warrior Bhim, club in hand, started towards Vimal Kund.Durvasa and his disciples had been bathing in Vimal Kund when suddenly their stomachs felt completely full. They all started belching as if they had eaten a meal. When Durvasa saw Bhim coming towards them, the memory of the incident with Ambarish Maharaj entered his mind and he became frightened. He and his sixty thousand disciples quickly fled to Maharishi-loka through the celestial pathways. Upon arriving at Vimal Kund, Bhim could not find the sages anywhere. He returned and told Yudhisthir and Shri Krishna, "I searched everywhere but could not find them."After learning what had happened from Shri Krishna, Draupadi and the Pandav became free from anxiety. If Shri Krishna is satisfied, then the whole universe is satisfied. This is indeed this episode's message to the world. This pastime of Shri Krishna took place here at Kamyavan.

Story - 4

Another time, while the Pandav were residing here, the wicked Duryodhan discovered their whereabouts and descended upon Kamyavan with all his brothers, associates like Karna and Shakuni, relatives, friends, and an army of four divisions. For some days, he set up a very festive camp on the bank of Vimal Kund just to humiliate the Pandav. When Indra came to know of this, he ordered his general Chitrasen to arrest Duryodhan. Chitrasen defeated Duryodhan's entire army, arrested him and took him to Indra by the aerial pathways, Duryodhan loudly shouting and screaming all the while.Yudhisthir heard his crying and ordered Bhimsen to rescue him. But Bhimsen objected, "Duryodhan wanted to harm us, which is why our best well-wisher Chitrasen has caught him and is taking him away. It is best if we remain quiet." Yudhisthir could not tolerate this. He looked at Arjuna and said, "Brother Arjuna, our brother Suyodhana [a name of Duryodhan used by Yudhisthir is in danger, and it is our duty to rescue him. We can quarrel and fight among ourselves over some issue, but when it comes to others we one hundred five brothers are one. Quickly rescue Suyodhana." The mighty warrior Arjuna easily released Duryodhan from the hands of Chitrasen, the general of the demigods, and with his arrows brought him down to stand before Yudhisthir. He met Duryodhan very affectionately and respectfully sent him back to his place of residence. But the blackness of coal does not go away even if the coal is washed millions of times with soap. The affectionate behaviour of Yudhisthir pierced Duryodhan's heart like a sharp iron rod. He considered himself dishonoured, and returned to Hastinapur highly agitated. Whoever God protects, no one can harm. Indeed, no one can so much as twist a single hair of someone who is under Shri Krishna's shelter. Nearby, at Panch Tirth Sarovar, were some amazing deities of the Pandav and Draupadi. This place is uninhabited, and therefore a thief was able to steal a few of the deities here some time ago, while others were broken. Since then, the remaining deities have been kept in the nearby temple of Kameshvar Mahadev, where they are neglected.