It is the full moon night of Karthika.
A group of sages sit inside a temple, reading the Karthika Purana aloud. Outside, facing the temple door, a tall wooden pillar holds a lamp high in the night sky.
And then… a crack.
A loud, splitting sound. The pillar bursts apart. The lamp falls and goes out.
And out of the broken wood… steps a man.
Who was he? And how long had he been trapped in there?
Today, the story of a man who was a tree for more lives than anyone could count. Vasishtha told it to King Janaka.
Lamps at Sage Matanga's Ashram
There was a great sage named Matanga. In his ashram stood a temple of Lord Vishnu, and he worshipped there every day.
When Karthika came, sages from the ashrams nearby came to join him. Every day they worshipped the Lord together. And every evening they set rows of lamps at the doorways of the temple. Among them was a sage named Angirasa. Keep his name in mind. We will need him.
One day, an elderly sage among them said, "The full moon of Karthika is here. A lamp raised high on a pillar before the Lord on this night leads to Vaikuntha. Let us raise one."
So they went into the forest. They found a tall, straight tree, cut it at the root, and stripped it bare. They brought it back and planted it in front of the temple, facing the Lord. On top they placed grain, and a lamp of cow's ghee. And they lit it.
Then they went back inside, and sat down to read the Purana.
The Pillar Splits Open
And that's when they heard it. A crackling. Then a crash.
The pillar had split into pieces. The lamp had fallen. And standing among the broken wood was a man. A real man, with a human body. He folded his hands and bowed to them.
The sages were stunned. "Who are you? What did you do, to be trapped inside a tree?"
And the man told them.
"I was a brahmin," he said. "And I was rich. Very rich. And my wealth made me blind."
"I gave up my studies. I gave up my daily prayers. I never bathed in a holy river. I never gave anything to anyone. I never worshipped the Lord."
"When learned men came to my house, good men, scholars, I did not rise to greet them. I sat on a high seat, and I made them sit on the floor at my feet. I stretched my feet toward them. Whatever they asked for, I refused. I promised help, and never gave it."
He lowered his head.
"When I died, I suffered for all of it. And then the births began. Fifty-two thousand times, I was born a dog. Ten thousand times, a crow. Ten thousand times, a lizard. Ten thousand times, a worm."
"And then… a tree. Life after life, standing in one place. Unable to move. Unable to speak. For more lives than anyone could count."
"Tonight, you cut me down and raised a lamp on me, on the full moon of Karthika. And seeing holy people like you, I remembered everything. Every life. And I was free."
The sages looked at each other in wonder.
"Such is the power of Karthika's full moon," they said. "Even a stone, even a block of wood, finds freedom. Even a piece of wood that only carries a lamp lit by others, Lord Damodara sets free."
Notice something. This man once made scholars sit at his feet. Tonight, he is the one bowing at theirs.
But the man was not finished. Being free of the tree was not enough for him. He wanted to understand.
"Great ones," he said, "is there a way for me to be truly free? Not just free of the tree, but of all of it? How does karma bind a soul? And how is that bond broken?"
The sages turned to one among them. To the sage Angirasa. "You answer him."
And Angirasa agreed.
The Merit of the Raised Lamp
Vasishtha said to the king, "Janaka, a lamp raised on a pillar before the Lord on Karthika's full moon leads to Vaikuntha. And even seeing such a lamp destroys sins, the way the dawn destroys darkness."
"And through this whole month, give tambula, betel leaves and nuts, every day. Light a lamp every day before the Lord, or at the tulasi. Do this, and the soul reaches Vaikuntha."
What This Chapter Asks of Us
The full moon has just passed. But the lamps of Karthika go on. If your temple raises a lamp high on a pole, an akasha deepa, a lamp in the sky, stop tonight and bow to it. And if you can, light your own lamp somewhere high.
Read next
- Karthika Puranam – all 30 days
- Previous chapter: Karthika Puranam Day 15: The Mouse That Lit a Lamp
- Start from Day 1: Karthika Puranam Day 1: The River in Every Well
- Why Karthika Masam Is So Sacred: Meaning and Key Days
- Why We Light a Lamp (Deepam): Meaning, Oil, Wicks and Rules
- How to Do Tulasi Puja at Home: Method and Rules