It is midnight. The full moon of Karthika hangs over an old, crumbling temple of Lord Shiva.
Two people slip inside. A young prince… and a woman who is not his wife.
It is dark in there. "A little light would be nice," says the prince. So the woman tears a strip from the border of her sari. She twists it into a wick. And she lights a lamp.
They do not know that someone else is already in the temple. Hiding in the inner shrine… is her husband. With a knife in his hand.
Before that night is over, all three of them are dead.
And then the messengers of Shiva arrive, to take the prince and the woman to Kailasa. And the messengers of Yama arrive, to drag the husband to hell.
The husband who kept every rule… goes to hell. The two who broke them… go to Shiva. How could that be?
Today's chapter is about the gift of a lamp.
Janaka Asks About the Greatest Gift
King Janaka asked Vasishtha a simple question. "Swami, in this month, of all the things a person can give, which gift is the best?"
"Every gift is good in Karthika," said Vasishtha. "But the greatest of them all is the gift of a lamp. Listen to what one lamp can do."
A Childless King and a Wayward Prince
Long ago, the kingdom of Panchala had a king so rich that people compared him to Kubera, the lord of wealth. But all that wealth could not give him the one thing he wanted. He had no child.
So the king went to the banks of the Godavari and began a hard penance.
One day, the sage Pippalada came that way. "King, why are you doing such a severe penance?"
"For a son, swami."
"Then go home," said the sage. "Ask the learned men what pleases Lord Shiva, and do it. You will have a son."
The king went home and asked. And the learned brahmins told him, "In the month of Karthika, light lamps with devotion in a temple of Shiva."
He did exactly that. And in time, the queen gave birth to a son. A boy so radiant, he looked like a second sun.
The king was overjoyed. He named the boy Shatrujit. And he gave an order to his whole kingdom: "In Karthika, let everyone give lamps."
Shatrujit grew up. He was taught everything a prince should know. But he fell into bad company. And his parents looked the other way.
He went after other men's wives, and won them over with money. When good people objected, he insulted them. He carried a knife, and threatened anyone who stood in his way.
Then he saw the wife of a brahmin. She was very beautiful. And the two of them were drawn to each other.
Every night, while her husband slept, she slipped out of the house. She met the prince in a secret place. And she was back home before dawn. This went on for many days.
Her husband was a good man. A learned man. He kept the sacred fire every day. He knew the Vedas.
And one day… he found out.
He said nothing. He kept a knife ready. And he waited for his chance.
Full Moon Night in the Old Temple
Then came the full moon night of Karthika. That year, it fell on a Monday. The two lovers had agreed to meet in an old Shiva temple. Her husband came to know of it. He reached the temple first, and hid in the inner shrine.
They came in. The prince wanted light. She tore the border of her sari, made a wick, and lit a lamp.
And that is where her husband found them. He rushed out and struck them both down. The dying prince, with the last of his strength, struck back.
All three died there, in the temple.
At once, the messengers of Shiva came for the prince and the woman, to carry them to Kailasa. And the messengers of Yama came for the husband, with their nooses.
The brahmin could not believe it.
"Wait! I kept the sacred fire every single day. I know the Vedas. These two forgot every duty. They betrayed me. Why do they go to Kailasa… and I go to hell?"
Yama's messengers answered him.
"Knowingly or not, these two lit a lamp in a temple of Shiva, on the full moon of Karthika. That lamp has washed away their sins. But you took two lives, on a holy day. That is a great sin."
The brahmin stood there, shaken. "Is there no way out for me?"
"There is one," they said. "If these two give you a share of the merit of that lamp, your sin will go. And you can go to Kailasa too."
The prince heard this. And he did not hesitate.
"It was because of me that he did this," he said. "The three of us died together, in one place. Let us share one fate."
And he gave the brahmin a part of the merit of that lamp.
Yama's messengers turned and left. A divine chariot came down for the brahmin. And all three of them went to Kailasa.
What a Single Lamp Can Do
Vasishtha turned to the king.
"Janaka, that lamp was not lit in worship. It was lit for no holy reason at all. And still, because it burned in Shiva's temple on that night, it opened the gates of Kailasa. Now think what a lamp lit with devotion can do."
And notice what saved the husband in the end. Not his learning. Not his rituals. It was the gift of the very man he had killed.
Then Vasishtha gave the rules of the lamp gift.
"Light it at sunset, in a temple of Shiva or of Vishnu. Place it at the temple's gateway tower, at its door, or in its hall. Use cow's ghee if you can, or oil. If you have nothing else, even castor oil will do. And whether you light it with devotion, or with some wish in your heart, or with neither… the lamp still gives its fruit."
"Light rows of lamps in the temples of Shiva and Vishnu. Whoever lights a lamp every day in such a temple in this month gains wisdom… and is not born again."
What This Chapter Asks of Us
So this evening, at sunset, take one lamp to a temple of Shiva or Vishnu, and light it there. Ghee or oil, whatever you have. That is the gift this chapter asks for.
Read next
- Karthika Puranam – all 30 days
- Previous chapter: Karthika Puranam Day 3: Three Demons in a Tree
- 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