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The story of the Chanda-Koushika serpent and its awakening and its equality
The first light of the Yoga Shastra, verse 1-2, says that it remains like a snake. There, no animal, bird, human or any creature can go safe. Therefore, you should leave this path and go by this slightly winding path. The proverb says, "What is the use of wearing gold that cuts the ears?" The Lord, diving into his self-knowledge, knew that the serpent was none other than the ascetic sage of his previous birth, who was going for alms, when his foot fell on a frog, killing it. A small sage asked him to criticize his fault and also showed him the dead frog. But instead of criticizing his mistake, the ascetic sage started telling the dead frogs by saying, "Oh! Wicked, insignificant Muni! Tell me, did I kill all these frogs?" The pure-minded, young Muni did not answer anything and assumed that even if this great man does not accept it now, he will surely take atonement by criticizing it in the evening. But in the evening, at the time of Pratikraman, the Muni sat down without criticizing and taking atonement. Then the young Muni thought that he seems to have forgotten the matter of the frog's contradiction. To remind him of this matter, he said, "Muni! Why don't you criticize and atone for the contradiction of that frog?" As soon as he said this, the ascetic sage, filled with anger, ran to kill the young Muni. Due to extreme anger, the ascetic sage collided with the pillar and died there. Due to the contradiction of Sadhutva, he was born in the Jyotishka Devaloka. From there, he was born as a son named Koushika from the wife of the head of the five hundred tapaswis in the Kanakakhal ashram. There were many other sages living there who belonged to the Koushika gotra. But this Koushika was very angry, so people named him Chanda-Koushika. After the death of his father, Chanda-Koushika became the head. This head used to roam in the forest day and night due to his attachment to the forest. And he did not allow anyone to take flowers, fruits, roots, leaves etc. from this forest. If anyone took even the destroyed useless fruits etc., he would beat him with wood, stone, stone, axe etc. Therefore, the tapaswis started getting very sad due to not getting fruits etc. Just as crows fly away when stones are thrown, similarly those tapaswis, tired of the atrocities of this Koushika, went in different directions.
One day this Chanda-Koushika went out of the ashram to take thorny bushes. From behind, many princes from the Shwetaambari city came and destroyed his ashram and garden. Koushika was returning with thorns when the cowherds told him, "Today someone is destroying your garden! Go quickly and take care of it!" Just as fire flares up with ghee, similarly, he became extremely angry with anger and ran to kill them with a sharp-edged axe. Just as other birds flee in fear of the hawk, similarly, those princes also ran away seeing Chanda-Koushika coming with an axe. The ascetic was running wildly when, due to not being aware in anger, he suddenly fell into a deep well, like the mouth of Yama. While falling, the axe he was holding in his hand came in front of his face and its edge got stuck in his head and his head burst. It is true, "The fruits of the deeds done have to be enjoyed!" The same Chanda-Koushika ascetic died and became a very angry, vision-poisoning serpent in this forest. In fact, intense, endless anger goes with you in other births as well. But 'he will surely attain enlightenment.' Thinking this, the world-loving Lord, not considering his suffering as suffering, went on the same path to alleviate the suffering of the serpent's birth-wandering. The forest was rough and desolate due to the lack of human traffic. The water of the small river there became sandy and muddy due to not being drunk. The trees there had become stumps, their leaves had dried up. Termites had built their mounds on the trees at various places. The huts were deserted. The world-loving Lord entered this desolate forest. And in the pavilion of the dilapidated temple of the Yaksha, he stood in Kayotsarga (meditation) with his gaze fixed on the front of his nose. The arrogant Chanda-Koushika serpent, like the night of Kali, came out of his den with his tongue licking. He was roaming in the forest, writing the script of his command with the line of his body as it passed through the sand. As soon as he saw the mighty Lord, he considered it a challenge to his ego and thought, 'Who is this stump-like person who is coming to me without fear?'