The Akshaya Patra and endless meals

 

pic courtesy Yilmaz Fatih - Pixabay

In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas are exiled from their kingdom for 13 years. The five brothers and their wife Draupadi have to live in the forest and survive several hardships. Knowing that the years ahead would be extremely challenging the eldest of the brothers Yudhishthira obtains a boon from Lord Surya (the Sun God). He is given an inexhaustible vessel. This pot, called the ‘Akshaya Patra’ provides endless food, but it would stop producing for the day as soon as Draupadi finished her meal.

In the legend, Duryodhana, a cousin and an arch enemy of the Pandavas is envious of the Pandavas' ability to feed people despite their being exiled. So, he plots to have the quick-tempered Sage Durvasa and his horde of disciples visit the Pandavas for a meal,making sure they reach much after Draupadi had eaten for the day.

When the sage and his disciples reach the abode of the Pandavas, a distraught Draupadi tries to buy time by asking them to go to the river and wash up before their meal. As they leave, Draupadi calls out to Lord Krishna for divine intervention. Krishna miraculously appears and asks for the washed 'Akshaya Patra' in which he finds a small grain of rice and eats it with much gusto. This act is said to have filled his stomach and simultaneously satiated the hunger of all hungry sages. Sage Durvasa who is still washing up realises that he cannot eat a proper meal anymore and leaves with his disciples without returning for the meal. As a result, no curse was uttered, no insult was felt and no cycle of punishment was launched by a 'hangry' sage.

This story makes me think of the most common but humble meal eaten in India, 'dal' or lentils cooked in any vessel. I would say the dal gives the vessel its glory of being an ‘Akshaya Patra’. 

Add too much lentil and too little water to cook it, the dal coagulates and becomes thick like a paste. Some people love thick dal mixed with rice. This to me is a true comfort food ‘à l’Indien’ or as per an acquired Indian taste. For me, thick 'dal' and rice brings to mind the little ‘urlas’ or ‘rolled balls’ of food my mother used to make and place on my plate when I was a toddler. I remember being fed one 'urla' at a time while looking at a crow on a nearby coconut tree who I thought was eyeing my delicious morsel of food. 

Some people, on the other hand, love the dal to be thinner and adding water to it can feed several more people in an instant. A truly magical meal. The humble ‘dal’ is underrated and overlooked on our plates and I for one give it its due credit. After a fever for e.g., I want nothing but rice and dal to make me feel whole again. This meal makes me feel grounded, rooted and home again. However varied my food intake may be, lentils win my trust and taste over and over again.

#akshayapatra #mahabharata #draupadi #dalrice #tastydal #indianfood 

Did you like this story? 

You will surely like this one too 

The mystery of the pink curry

or 

The Chronicles of the youngest Child - Part 1