Arjuna Thought He Was Closest to Sri Hari and His Best Devotee

त्वष्टा –
There is a class of devas called Tushitas. They assume various forms in various manvantaras.

As we saw before, one kalpa has 14 manvantaras and each manvantara has 71 chaturyugas in it. Brahma appoints a particular Manu in charge of the manvantara and the manvantara is known by his name.

– Svayambhuva, Svaroshisha, Uthama, Tapasa, Raivata, Chakshusha, Vaivasvata (the present Manu is Vaivasvata), Savarni, Daksha Savarni, Brahma Savarni, Rudra Savarni, Deva Savarni and Indra Savarni.

When Vaivasvata manvantara was to start, these Tushitas only entered the womb of Aditi and were born as the 12 Adityas.

One among the 12 Adityas is Tvashta.

Tvasta roopanamadhipati – he is the lord of forms. Like how a sculpture is made out of a log of wood, Tvashta makes various forms for various beings. Hence he is called lord of forms. The sculptor among gods. Tvashta is none other than Sri Hari.

त्वेषति नामरूपयोगं कुर्वन् दीप्यते
He only connects the form to a name, the name to a form. That is how we identify objects and beings because they have a form and a name.

Hence he is Tvashta.

सर्वाणि रूपाणि विचित्य धीरः नामानि कृत्वाऽभिवदन् यदास्ते
रूपाणि and नामानि both are provided by him only as Tvashta.

Sri Hari is known as Tvashta for one more reason. When you make a sculpture you start with a log of wood, go on working on it, chiseling, taking bits away, finally you end up with something much smaller than what you started with. This is called तनूकरणम् अल्पीकरणम्.

संहारसमये सर्वभूततनूकारणत्वात् त्वष्टा – since he reduces everything at the time of annihilation he is called Tvashta. He converts everything into anu roopa or sookshma roopa. Hence he is called Tvashta.

The Lord is very proud of his devotees, at the same time he doesn’t like pride coming to his devotees.

Once he played a leela with Arjuna.

Yudhishthira's Ashwamedha was going on. Arjuna was put in charge of protection of the Yagaswa which was roaming around. As usual, Sri Hari was his sarathi. Pride had gone into Arjuna’s head that there was no one else who was closer to Sri Hari.

There was another king called Mayuradhwaja. He was the ruler of Ratnapuri, very righteous.

He was also conducting Ashwamedha at the same time and his son Tamradhwaja was guarding his horse.

The two Yagaswas came face to face and battle ensued between Arjuna and Tamradhwaja. Sri Hari played a leela.

He made Arjuna to lose the battle. Tamradhwaja made both Sri Hari and Arjuna unconscious and he went away with their Yagaswa.

It was taken to Mayuradhwaja’s yagashala and tied up there.

When Sri Hari and Arjuna woke up, Arjuna somehow wanted to retrieve the horse.

They both disguised as two brahmins and went to Mayuradhwaja’s yagashala.

Mayuradhwaja welcomed them with respect.

Whenever noble brahmins come to a yagashala, the yajamana is duty-bound to give them whatever they ask for, like Mahabali’s yajna.

Mayuradhwaja asked them what he should offer to them.

Sri Hari said, on our way here, a lion attacked us and wanted to eat my companion here.
I tried to talk him out of it.
The lion said, if you can give one half of King Mayuradhwaja in exchange for this man, I would accept.
That’s what we want.

The king readily agreed. The Lord was showing Arjuna how committed his devotees are to dharma.

There was one more condition – the queen and the prince should personally cut the king into two halves.

By this time Mayuradhwaja also realized who was sitting in front of him.

He started smiling.

The queen said, the wife is the left half of the husband, our scriptures say so. I will offer myself to the lion.

The Lord said, but the lion has asked for the right half, you are the left half.

The prince said – आत्मा वै पुत्र नामासि – this is what the Veda says – the son is the father himself, the son is equal to the father, the son is a pratiroopa of the father, not another being.
I will offer myself to the lion.

Sri Hari said, you are supposed to cut him into two halves and offer one half to the lion.
You can’t give yourself.

Mayuradhwaja kept on chanting the divya nama with a smile on his face.

What can happen to him when the protector of the universe himself is sitting in front of him?

Keshava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda...

So, finally they tied the limbs of the king to two poles and the queen and the prince started cutting him from the head downwards. They started sawing him like a log of wood.

Tears started flowing out of the king’s left eye.

Sri Hari said, this is not acceptable, any daana given with grief is not acceptable.

The king said, my left eye is shedding tears thinking about its uselessness. Right side of my body is going to be of service to you, that’s why there are tears in my left eye.

Looking at the expression on Arjuna’s face, the Lord realized that his arrogance as closest to the Lord and his best devotee was shattered.

The Lord said stop and assumed his original form.

He touched Mayuradhwaja and his body became as good as ever, even more handsome and healthier than before. Arjuna prostrated at Mayuradhwaja’s feet. Such a great devotee.

Did not deviate one inch from dharma. Not even an iota of doubt about Sri Hari’s omnipotence.

Everybody fell at the Lord’s lotus feet and sought his blessings.

The king said, please don’t put any of your devotees through such hard tests in future.

The Lord just smiled.

• If there is a lord of forms, what does that mean for my identity?
  Your name and body are tools, not the core you. Keep them clean and useful, but anchor your worth in Sri Hari. That cuts comparison and shame.

• How do names and forms shape my daily stress?
  Labels stick to the mind. Repeat Sri Hari’s nama to overwrite noisy labels. Breath settles, blood pressure drops, and focus returns.

• What is the use of knowing time is split into manvantaras and yugas?
  It proves order exists. Live with order at home: fixed prayer time, fixed meals, fixed sleep. Rhythm builds calm and trust.

• If even cosmic roles rotate, how should I hold my job title?
  Serve hard, document well, train a backup. Let the system outlive you. Pride reduces; respect increases.

• What does ‘sculptor of forms’ teach me about self-improvement?
  Remove one flaw at a time, like chiseling. Less anger means more space for bhakti. Subtraction reveals strength.

• Is strict charity always good?
  No. Gift without grief. If the heart resents, pause, purify, then give. Bhakti demands clean intent.

• How do I handle spiritual pride when I think I am the closest to the Lord?
  Do hidden seva, accept correction, and celebrate others’ devotion. Pride cracks; relationship with Sri Hari deepens.

• How do I respond when life humiliates me in public?
  See it as a holy chisel. Keep dignity, speak truth briefly, and return to nama. Let the event cut ego, not your courage.

• What makes a ruler or manager righteous in practical terms?
  Protect the weak, keep promises, pay on time, and stay transparent. Dharma is visible in receivables and rosters.

• How can families build faith without drama?
  Daily lamp, short nama together, a story at dinner, and one weekly act of service. Small, steady, zero theatrics.

• What is the line between bravery and recklessness in devotion?
  Bravery obeys dharma and takes pain on the chest. Recklessness ignores duty and calls it surrender. Test motive, then act.

• How do I turn repetition into growth?
  Keep the practice same, increase the sincerity. Same nama, softer ego, kinder speech. Repetition becomes ascent.

• What does ‘reducing everything at dissolution’ mean for my cluttered life?
  End each day with a short closure: delete, donate, or decide. Withdrawal is a holy act, not laziness.

• How do I teach children real devotion without fear tactics?
  Show courage joined with kindness. Praise honesty instantly. Tell them Sri Hari loves strength with softness.

• How do I support a sick relative and stay sane?
  Rotate duties, keep a prayer micro-routine, and track meds with clarity. Ask for help before burnout. Devotion includes self-care.

• What is the right way to ask the Lord for help in a crisis?
  Admit truth, accept duty, and hold nama steadily. Do the next right action. Expectation turns to trust.

• How do I know my offering is worthy?
  Pure earn, clean intent, no show. If you can smile and sleep after giving, it was worthy.

• What is the single habit that ties all this together in 30 minutes a day?
  5 minutes silence, 10 minutes nama, 10 minutes dharma task done to completion, 5 minutes gratitude. Daily chisel, daily grace.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi