Vyadha Gita

Vyadha Gita was the name of an excellent piece of wisdom appearing in Mahabharata, Vana parva, that was given by a vyadha (fowler) to a Brahmin who went to learn from him as requested by a housewife.age Markandeya had narrated to Yudhisthira and other Pandavas, in front of Krishna, this story. The story also appears, albeit briefly in one of the lectures of Swami Vivekananda. The story goes like this. There was one Brahmin named Kaushika who after being well versed in Vedas acquired some special power. One day he was meditating under a tree and a crane sitting on the top of that tree and its dropping fell on the Brahmin, who instantly looked up and the crane fell dead. The Brahmin was astonished by the display of this power and also was sad that he killed a creature through his anger. He reproached himself and went to beg in a nearby village. There he begged for alms from a housewife who was busy serving her husband. she told him to wait and served her husband to her heart's content. The delay was too much for the Brahmin to bear and he thought of displaying his power but the housewife, as if reading his mind, said that he should wait patiently till she served her husband because to her the husband was god incarnate. She also said that it was not easy to chastise her like he had done earlier with a crane. At this the Brahmin was filled with wonder and with reverence asked her some questions. She replied that she was just an ordinary housewife who gained extra ordinary wisdom by her sincere and devoted service to her house, particularly to her husband. However if the Brahmin wished to gain more wisdon he should go to Mithila to meet a vyadha who can provide him more information. The Brahmin went to Mithila and met the fowler who despite his profession, possessed profound wisdom. The vyadha surprised the Brahmin saying that he knew that he came from the chaste woman who sent him to the vyadha for gaining wisdom. Understanding the Brahmin's revulsion towards his profession, the vyadha said that he had done his duty to the best possible extent with detachment and devotion. He did not kill any creature but only sold the meat and this was because his duty was to sell meat. His karma was responsible for the environment and he performed his duty to the best of his ability with dignity and sraddha. He was truthful and virtuous and served everybody well. He particularly performed the household duties with utmost devotion, looked after his aged father, mother as God, looked after his children and wife and their needs to the best of his abilities, always followed the highest degree of morality in his profession and treated everybody with kindness and respect. He advised the Brahmin that one should be always truthful, should not injure any creature and should follow one's duty as laid down by the scriptures. These and many other things were taught by the fowler to that Brahmin. He made him aware that ways of righteousness are subtle and there is no absolute non injury as even high souled rishis can cause injuries to others by thought or action. He laid great emphasis on karma and the fruits of it, saying that every event is driven by past karma and therefore one should be particularly careful about one's actions and constantly strive to be virtuous. Then he spoke about the immortality of soul, the senses and their subjugation as the principal way of attaining the highest, the qualities of nature and their influence on human beings, the life forces and the means (Yoga) by which they can be controlled and other such means of liberation.
In the end he could instill good sense in the Brahmin who returned wiser to serve his aged parents and follow the path of truth and virtue. This discourse is one of the many gems in Mahabharata.