National Integration Through Thirukkural And Sanskrit
Destiny
Yama (the king of Death) once went to a function. At the entrance of the function hall, he saw a rat which was running here and there. He was a little surprised and asked the rat, ’How come you are here?’ and then went inside the function hall.
The rat got very scared about the enquiry and started weeping. An eagle which flew that way saw the rat weeping and enquired about the cause of the same. The rat narrated about the enquiry by Yama. The eagle wanted to help the rat. With the concurrence of the rat, it picked it up and flew thousands of miles away and lodged it in a cave and came back to the function hall.
After couple of hours, Yama came out and was looking for the rat. Seeing this, the eagle asked Yama what he was searching for. Yama said, he was searching for a rat, which was loitering there couple of hours back. Eagle laughed and said that, it had taken it to a safe place thousands of miles away from that place. Yama looked relieved. Eagle got curious about Yama’s reaction and enquired with him. Yama laughed and said, “The destiny of the rat is to get killed by a rolling stone in that cave by now. I was just wondering, how come it was still here, when, in fact, it should be around 1000 miles from this place. Now your act once again proves that DESTINY IS POWERFUL AND IT CANNOT BE OVERCOME BY HUMAN INTELLIGENCE”.
Saint Thiruvalluvar echoes the above in the Thirukkural Couplet 380. Destiny is supreme, because its intended consummation will surely come about, even if planned efforts are made to overcome it.
ஊழிற் பெருவலி யாவுள மற்றஒன்று
சூழினும் தான்முந்து உறும்
Oozhir Peruvali Yaavula Matra-ondru
Soozhinum Thaan-mundhu urum
பரிமேலழகர் உரை:
மற்ற ஒன்று சூழினும் தான் முந்துறும் – தன்னை விலக்குதற் பொருட்டுத் தனக்கு மறுதலையாவதோர் உபாயத்தைச் சூழினும், தான் அவ்வுபாயமேயானும் பிறிதொன்றானும் வழியாக வந்து அச்சூழ்ச்சியின் முற்பட்டு நிற்கும், ஊழின் பெருவழி யா உள – அதனால் ஊழ்போல மிக்க வலியுடையன யாஉள – அதனால் ஊழ்போல மிக்க வலியுடையன யாவை உள?
Sanskrit Translation by Shri S.N. Srirama Desikan
விதி⁴னா து ஸமம் வஸ்து ப³லவன்னேஹ வித்³யதே |
வினாஸ்²ய மானுஷம் யத்னம் விதி⁴ரேவ ஜயேத் ஸதா³ ||
sanskritroots.com 