Once upon a time, there lived a Brahmin, Kaushik, who studied the Vedas and performed many austerities. One day, when he was sitting under a tree, a female crane on one of the branches pooped. Unfortunately, this excrement fell on Kaushik. He lost his temper and glared at the crane. The poor bird dropped dead. The Brahmin felt sad and guilty for his act. He went into the nearby village to beg for alms. He wandered and reached the last house. The woman at the house asked him to wait as she was cleaning the vessel used to give alms.
However, her husband arrived for lunch. So she stopped doing the dishes and went to take care of him. She gave him water to clean himself and served him food. Midway through, she noticed Kaushik still waiting and rushed outside to give him alms. But Kaushik was angry since she had made him wait too long and she had insulted a Brahmin.
The woman replied that she did not insult him as she was following her dharma of taking care of her family. She also added that she knew about the crane’s death due to Kaushik’s anger and it was Kaushik who didn’t know much about dharma. She asked him to go and meet a butcher (meat seller) in Mithila who knew all about it.
Kaushik was stunned at the woman’s knowledge and power. He went to the city of Mithila. He inquired about the butcher and was pointed in the direction of a slaughterhouse.
The butcher was selling the meat of buffalo and deer. The butcher noticed him and said that he knew about the pious woman and the reason for the Brahmin’s arrival in Mithila. The butcher invited him to his house where he treated Kaushik with respect. He offered him water and a comfortable seat. Kaushik said that being a butcher didn’t seem like an appropriate livelihood for such a good man.
The butcher said it was his family occupation and he was simply following it. He said he didn’t feel it was wrong or incorrect for him. He lived within his means, was respectful to everyone, sold meat only to satisfy the needs of his customers, and didn’t indulge in anything inappropriate. Moreover, he didn’t kill the animals but sourced the dead ones from hunters who went into the forests. He purchased what was necessary, cleaned it, and chopped it up for his customers. He was doing his duty and following his dharma without causing harm to anyone.
Kaushik was so impressed that he asked the butcher many questions about following the right conduct, living a pious life despite the clash with his profession, and so on. The butcher introduced Kaushik to his old parents. Kaushik was surprised and delighted to see how much the butcher cared for his parents and ensured they were comfortable at all times. After all, it was the dharma of a householder to keep his family fed, happy, and healthy.
Pleased with everything, Kaushik said that the butcher was the greatest rishi. The butcher thanked him and said that Kaushik had made a few mistakes in his past, which he needed to correct. Kaushik had slighted his aging mother and father and left home to study Vedas. His parents were suffering from old age. The butcher advised Kaushik to go and take care of them. This would strengthen the power of his austerities. Kaushik said he would do so. He then wondered why he was born in the butcher community when he had such immense knowledge obtained only through intense tapasya and years of training.
The butcher shared the story of his past life. In his previous life, he was a Brahmin, learned in Vedas and Vedangas. He had a friend who was a king and skilled in weaponry. This made the Brahmin also skilled at using arms. One day, the king went on a hunt and killed many deer. The Brahmin also aimed and shot a deer. However, since they were close to an ashram, the arrow mistakenly hit a rishi. The Brahmin pleaded ignorance and asked for forgiveness. But the dying rishi was angry and cursed him to be born as a butcher. The Brahmin requested the rishi once again. This time, he relented and said that though he would be born a butcher, he would retain his knowledge from his birth and live a dharmic life, thus allowing him to attain a place a heaven.
The Brahmin then removed the arrow from the rishi’s body and carried him to his ashram. He even saved the rishi’s life. The rishi assured the Brahmin that he would lead a worthy and noble life and shouldn’t feel bad about his butcher birth.
Hence, the butcher had no worries or doubts and continued to follow his dharma dutifully. He was confident that by fulfilling his family occupation and taking care of his dear ones, he would achieve the desired status and be reborn as a Brahmin in his next life. He said there was no reason for him to wallow in misery. He was content and happy.
Kaushik was impressed by the butcher and bowed to him. He then took leave to go back to the parents he had abandoned and began to care for them.
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