After the great war ended, Yudhishtra crowned as King of Hastinapur. He ruled it with great devotion to values and maintained high standard in governance. Daily tens and thousands used to come to his palace and have food there.
As time progressed, the high quality of his governance got into King Yudhishtra’s mind. He was so proud of himself. As usual, Sri Krishna decided to bring the feet of his devotee back to ground.
Sri Krishna made a casual visit to Hastinapur and after sometime he invited Yudhishtra to visit his old friend King Mahabali who is ruling the Patala, the lower region of the universe.
Once they reached the Patala, King Yudhishtra was thirsty. He knocked the doors of nearby house and asked for some water. The lady brought the water in a golden vessel. After quenching his thirst Yudhishtra thanked her and returned the vessel. The lady told him “In Patala nobody will take back what they have given once… Please accept the vessel as our gift…”. Yudhishtra surprised but moved on to the palace. Sri Krishna and Yudhishtra met King Mahabali in the palace.
Sri Krishna exchanged pleasantries with his old friend. Then introduced Yudhishtra to Mahabali, “O Mahabali, meet the great king of Hastinapur, Yudhishtra… He is a very just ruler. He treats all his citizens as his own children. Everyday tens and thousands people are fed in his palace… He is the model for any governance…”
“Stop Sri Krishna…” shouted Mahabali. “It is a shame that tens and thousands of people are depending on the government for their daily meals… It shows how pathetic the state of governance is… And you are praising the king very highly… It is a shame on King Yudhishtra that he cannot create opportunities to his citizens to make a livelihood and they have to depend on him for their food.”
King Yudhishtra realized his mistake and thanked Sri Krishna and Mahabali for pointing it out.
Incidentally the present government is trying to do exactly the same mistake by providing “Food Security Bill” instead of opportunities to the citizens to make their livelihood. Of course, it will be a great sin to compare King Yudhishtra and this government. King Yudhishtra never need to worry about vote bank and he did that out of sympathy.
But not only the central government but all the state governments must realize anything given free will loose its value. Instead of giving freebies, we should ensure that all the citizens are provided with opportunities to grow.
Jai Hind
Vande Mataram
