13 - Maandavya Rishi Who Cursed Yam Raaj

One day lots of wealth was stolen from a wealthy man from the kingdom where Rishi Maandavya lived. The King ordered his night guards to search for thieves. When the guards were searching for thieves, they happened to come to a forest where Maandavya Rishi was busy in Samaadhi. The guards thought, "This is the thief who is pretending to be a Saadhu. Let us take him to the King." So they tied him and took him to the King. The King didn't know that he was a great Rishi, he gave him usual punishment. The guards took him to the path and put his body on a lance which was standing there for this purpose. Since Maandavya Rishi was in Samaadhi, he did not feel any pain.

At that time, at midnight, by chance a woman was taking her husband somewhere on her back. While going, the man hit the Rishi. This woke up Rishi and Rishi felt pain. He cursed - "Whoever has touched me, will die in the morning." As he said this, the man fell on the road. The woman lifted him again and took him to her home.

When Maandavya Rishi went to Yam Raaj, he asked him - "What was my crime that I had to suffer the pain on lance?" Yam Raaj asked his Accountant Chitragupt, he reported that he inserted a straw in the anus of an insect. Although he didn't have the knowledge of Dharm at that time, still because of that fault he had to be on that lance for one day and one night.. Maandavya Rishi said - "It might be before the age of 12 when a child doesn't have the idea of sins." Then he cursed Yam Raaj - "From today I increase the age limit of children for doing such things that they will not be sinner up to the age of 15 and I curse you that you should be born on Prithvi as a Shoodra and live there for 100 years."

According to this curse, Yam Raaj was born as Vidur Jee in Mahaabhaarat times.

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