Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c4.2567

c4.2567

When the King heard this verse the memory of his former births revived and he fell down in a swoon. There is a reason why the old Brāhmin recited the verse. The Ruddy geese mentioned before took their next birth as sons of a poor Brāhmin in the same city. They had the memory of their previous births. They were called Dhṛtimān, Sarvadarśi, Vidyācandra and Tapodhika, names suitable to their character. The Brahmin boys decided to go for penance to attain supreme bliss. Then the poor father asked them, "My dear sons, what is this? You are going away leaving your poor and aged father. Is that dutiful? The sons replied, "We will tell you a way to earn wealth. You recite to the King, to-morrow morning this verse, which we will teach you now. You will get plenty of wealth." The boys taught their father this verse and then they went to the forest. Their father, the old Brahmin, came to the gate of the palace at Kāmpilya. The King was Brahmadatta.