AṆIMĀṆḌAVYA .
1)
General. How he got the name Aṇimāṇḍavya. Once
there was a famous Brahmin named Māṇḍavya. He did
Tapas (penance) for many years standing silent in
front of his Āśrama, under a tree, raising his hands in
prayer. At that time some thieves happened to pass by
that place, with stolen property belonging to the King.
Finding that the King's men were pursuing them, the
thieves fled away after leaving their stolen property in
Māṇḍavya's Āśrama. The King's men seized Māṇḍavya
with the king's property. Even prolonged and repeated
questionings did not bring out a single word from
Māṇḍavya. At last the thieves were caught. Mistaking
him as one of the thieves, the King's men produced
Māṇḍavya also along with the thieves before the King.
The thieves were all condemned to death. The royal
executioners took all of them to the place of execution
and stuck them up at the tip of a trident (Śūla). The
thieves died, but even after a long time Māṇḍavya did
not die. In Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Verses 46-
51, it is said that at this stage Śiva appeared and blessed
him with longevity and then vanished. Several Munis in
the shape of birds came near Māṇḍavya who was lying
on the trident and made enquiries about him. The King
came to know of all these stories. Full of repentance, he
went and begged pardon of Māṇḍavya. The attempt
to pull out the trident from Māṇḍavya's body failed. At
last it was removed by cutting it off. Since the tip (Aṇi)
of the trident was left behind in his body he was there-
after known as “Aṇi Māṇḍavya”. (M.B., Ādi Parva,
Chapter 107).
2)
Curse on Dharma. After going about in the world
for many years with the tip of the trident in his body,
Aṇi Māṇḍavya once asked Dharma: “Oh! Lord, why
is it that an innocent man like me is afflicted with the
trident?”. Dharma answered: “In your boyhood
you once caught small birds and pierced them with
a grass reed. It is a result of that sin that you have been
pierced with the trident.” Māṇḍavya replied: “The
Śāstras ordain that there shall be no punishment for
sins committed till the age of twelve. Therefore the
punishment inflicted on me is wrong. As the murder
of a Brahmin is a greater sin than any other murder,
may you be born as a man in the ‘Śūdra Caste’.”
By the above curse of Māṇḍavya, Dharma was born a
son of a Śūdra woman. It was this child who later on
became the renowned Vidura of the Mahābhārata.
(M.B., Ādi Parva, Chapter 107).
3)
The story of how the Sun did not rise. When Aṇi
Māṇḍavya lay on the tip of the trident another event
happened. Atri Muni's son Ugraśravas was the husband
of Śīlavatī. No other woman had so far surpassed
Śīlavatī in her fidelity to her husband. Once Ugraśravas
happened to fall ill. He expressed his desire to visit a
prostitute's house. As he was too weak he could not walk.
The devoted wife Śīlavatī carried him on her own
shoulders and took him to the prostitute's house. They
were passing near the place where Aṇi Māṇḍavya was
lying on the trident. Coming to know of the matter,
Māṇḍavya pronounced a curse that Ugraśravas should
die before sunrise. Śīlavatī shuddered on hearing this.
Fearing that she would be widowed by the death of
Ugraśravas, she, in her turn, pronounced a curse that
the Sun should not rise again.
Next day the sun did not rise. All activities came to a
standstill. At last the gods approached Atri Muni. They
induced Anasūyā, Atri's wife to persuade Śīlavatī to
withdraw her curse. Then the sun rose again and
Ugraśravas died. (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Chapter 42).
4)
Other details. When the Pāṇḍavas were living in
Hastināpura, Śrī Kṛṣṇa once paid a visit to them. On
his way he met with certain munis. Among them was
Aṇi Māṇḍavya also. (M.B., Udyoga Parva, Chapter 83).
5) Once the King of Videha told Māṇḍavya that the
world is transient and advised him to strive for spiritual
peace. Aṇi Māṇḍavya who was pleased with the
King's advice attained mokṣa (salvation) at once. (M.B.,
Śānti Parva, Chapter 276, Verses 3-14).