Why Bhartruhari Relinquished His Throne

Bhartruhari was the king of Ujjayini.
He was a great king.
Anangasena was his wife.
She was as beautiful as an apsara.
Bhartruhari's valorous brother was Vikramaditya or Vikramarka.

In that city, there was a scholar.
He was quite knowledgeable in mantras and shastras.
But he was very poor.
Through pujas and chantings, he propitiated Devi.
Devi appeared before him and told him to ask for boons.
He said, 'I want to be immune to old age and death.'
Devi gave him a divine fruit and said, 'take this fruit, you will never become old or die.'
He thanked the goddess, went home, took a bath, performed puja, sat down and got ready to eat the fruit.
Then he thought - What will I do by living for a long time.
I don't have any money.
I will have to go around begging and that will never end.
I will not be of any use to anyone.
Even if a man lives for a short time, if he is intelligent, famous, and has power and position, then that life is glorious.
Even a crow lives for years.
But doing what?
Eating rotten waste food.
Life is not just for filling your own stomach.
That even a crane sitting by the side of a pond does.
You should be able to support the needy.
Only such life is worth it.
You should live like a leader.
You should be able to understand the needs of others and help them.
Look at the clouds giving rain and relieving heat of the earth.
That's how you should live.
A man who is not of any use to the world, he is like a word without any meaning.
A word made up of jumbled letters without any meaning.
Thinking so he said, 'I think I should give this fruit to the king. If he becomes immune to old age and death, then it's good for everyone.'

He took the fruit to the king and gave it to him.
In return, the king gave the scholar a lot of lands and wealth.

The king thought - What will I do staying alive forever.
Anangasena is so dear to me.
She will have to die anyway.
What is the point in living without her?
Thinking so, the king gave the fruit to his wife.
She had a secret lover.
She didn't want to live without him.
So she gave the fruit to him.
This lover was in love with another girl also.
He gave it to her.
She was in love with a cowherd.
She gave it to him.
The cowherd was in love with another girl.
He gave it to her.
She used to carry cowdung on her head in a basket.
That was her job.
When she got it, she just flung it on top of the cow dung she was carrying on her head.
King Bhartruhari was leaving the palace.
Oh his way, he saw this girl.
And there was this fruit sitting on top of the cow dung.
The king retrieved the fruit and went back to the palace.
He called for the scholar and asked, 'Did you have more fruits like the one you gave it to me?'
'No, that was the only one, in fact, the Goddess gave it to me.'
'But did you have it, my Lord.'
'No, I gave it to the queen.'
'Then please ask her whether she ate it.
The king questioned the queen.
She confessed.
He summoned her lover.
Like that, the whole series of events was exposed.

Bhartruhari was plunged into sorrow.
He loved and trusted his wife so much.
But it was not just his wife.
Every character in this sequence was cheating.
He understood the real nature of the world, how untrustworthy it is.
It was an eye opener for King Bhartruhari.
He decided to relinquish the world.
After establishing Vikramarka as the king, he took up sanyasa and went into the forest.

The moral of this story is that you should never trust someone based solely on how they behave with you. It's important to pay attention to a person's actions.
But it's equally important to take the time to understand their motives and character.
Trust should always be earned through consistent honesty and reliability, not just surface-level charm or flattery.