In his childhood Manduka Muni was playing with an ant, piercing the rectum with a thorn. That is also taken account, "All right. You will be punished." Just see how finer laws are there in nature

Expressions researched:
"ant" |"rectum"

SB Canto 1

Yamarāja, being questioned by the muni, replied that the muni in his childhood pierced an ant with a sharpened straw, and for that reason he was put into difficulty.

SB 1.13.1, Purport:

Once upon a time the state police caught some thieves who had concealed themselves in the hermitage of Maṇḍūka Muni. The police constables, as usual, arrested all the thieves and Maṇḍūka Muni along with them. The magistrate specifically punished the muni to death by being pierced with a lance. When he was just to be pierced, the news reached the king, and he at once stopped the act on consideration of his being a great muni. The king personally begged the muni's pardon for the mistake of his men, and the saint at once went to Yamarāja, who prescribes the destiny of the living beings. Yamarāja, being questioned by the muni, replied that the muni in his childhood pierced an ant with a sharpened straw, and for that reason he was put into difficulty. The muni thought it unwise on the part of Yamarāja that he was punished for his childish innocence, and thus the muni cursed Yamarāja to become a śūdra, and this śūdra incarnation of Yamarāja was known as Vidura, the śūdra brother of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Mahārāja Pāṇḍu.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

In his childhood he was playing with an ant, piercing the rectum with a thorn. That is also taken account, "All right. You will be punished." Just see how finer laws are there in nature. So the Maṇḍūka Muni did that. Therefore it was recorded he should be punished like that.

Lecture on SB 1.13.15 -- Geneva, June 4, 1974:

Prabhupāda: So Vidura is Yamarāja, the superintendent of death. After our death, we are brought before the justice Yamarāja, what kind of next birth I may have. So Yamarāja is not śūdra. He is devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, although he has the duty to punish the criminals. Just like a magistrate is always punishing the criminals. That is his business, but he is not criminal. He is giving judgment to the criminals. Similarly, Yamarāja is the appointed magistrate, superintendent. After death, one has to go before him and take the judgment of his next life. This is the process.

So Vidura was cursed by Maṇḍūka Muni, Maṇḍūka Muni. He was a great sage, but sometimes in his āśrama, some thieves were caught, so police arrested both the Maṇḍūka Muni and the thieves, and later on Maṇḍūka Muni was chastised to be punished by śūla. There was a system of punishment. I do not whether (it is) still existing. The śūla means one lance, lancer. Lancer, it is called?

Devotee: Yes.

Prabhupāda: It was to be pierced through the rectum and it will go through the head and the man will die. The pierce was standing, and he was to sit down. What is this punishment? Is there any mention?

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: I never heard of anything.

Guru-gaurāṅga: Arabians have this. It is called pala(?).

Prabhupāda: Śūla punishment. So when he was condemned to the śūla punishment, then the king heard that "Maṇḍūka Muni, the great sage, he is punished like that?" Immediately he stopped. "What is this nonsense that Maṇḍūka Muni has been punished? He is a great sage." So the king stopped the punishment and immediately came to see what has happened. Then he was immediately released. But he was very sorry, that "Why the judge Yamarāja punished him like that?" So he asked Yamarāja, "Why you have punished me like this?" "Now, in your childhood you pierced the rectum of an ant with a...," what is called?

Devotees: Pin, straw.

Prabhupāda: No, not straw. Prick, pricking?

Devotee: Pin.

Prabhupāda: Kāṇṭā, kāṇṭā. We say kāṇṭā, that pricks. What is called?

Devotees: Thorn.

Prabhupāda: Ah, thorn, yes. So therefore he was punished. Now just see. In his childhood he was playing with an ant, piercing the rectum with a thorn. That is also taken account, "All right. You will be punished." Just see how finer laws are there in nature. So the Maṇḍūka Muni did that. Therefore it was recorded he should be punished like that.

This is our position. Anything... If you are walking on the street, if you kill an ant by walking, you will be punished. This is nature's law. We are in such a dangerous position. In every movement there is punishment. Now, if you believe the śāstras, that is different thing. If you don't believe, then do anything you like. But from śāstra we can understand the laws of nature, or God, is very, very strict, very, very strict. So Maṇḍūka Muni also chastised Yamarāja, that "In my childhood, without any knowledge I did something and for which you have given me so great punishment. So you are not fit for becoming a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya. You become śūdra." So he was cursed to become śūdra. Therefore Yamarāja took his birth as Vidura and was born in the womb of a śūdra mother. This is the history of Vidura's birth.

When the saintly person inquired from Yamarāja, that "I am... I don't remember that I have committed in my life any sin. Why I have been brought here for judgment?" So Yamarāja said that "You do not remember. In your childhood you pricked one ant with a needle through the rectum, and she died. Therefore you have to be punished." Just see.

Lecture on SB 1.15.49 -- Los Angeles, December 26, 1973:

Vidura was Yamarāja. So a saintly person was brought before Yamarāja for punishment. So when the saintly person inquired from Yamarāja, that "I am... I don't remember that I have committed in my life any sin. Why I have been brought here for judgment?" So Yamarāja said that "You do not remember. In your childhood you pricked one ant with a needle through the rectum, and she died. Therefore you have to be punished." Just see. In childhood, in ignorance, because he committed some sin, he has to be punished. And we are willingly, against the principle of religion that "Thou shalt not kill," we have opened so many thousands of slaughterhouse, giving a nonsense theory the the animal has no soul. Just see the fun. And this is going on. And we want to be in peace.

The muni asked Yamarāja that "Why you have put me into this tribulation, this punishment? What is my fault?" The Yamarāja explained that "In your childhood you pierced with a nail through the rectum of an ant. Therefore you must be punished like this." Just see. In childhood playing he pierced. Sometimes we have seen, the children do that. That is also counted. You cannot do any harm to any animal, any living being.

Lecture on SB 5.5.16 -- Vrndavana, November 4, 1976:

So many sufferings. Illegal—now they are giving opportunity, abortion, killing the child, and so on, go to the hospital. That is also. And behind that, the killing the child, a very sinful, he has to suffer. He does not know. Ananta-duḥkhaṁ ca na veda mūḍhaḥ. He's taking the risk of suffering life after life. Those who are killing the child within the womb, they will be punished. They will also enter within the womb of the mother, and somebody will kill, and again he will enter another mother's womb; again he'll be killed. So as many child he has killed, he has to go to the womb of the mother to another womb, another. He will never see the light of the world. He'll be killed. This is the punishment. This is the punishment. But he does not know. Ananta-duḥkhaṁ ca na veda mūḍhaḥ. He does not know how the laws of nature is working, life for life. You have no right to kill any life. Even an ant you cannot kill even. You cannot kill even. If you kill, then you have to suffer.

These are not stories. These are not stories. There are many incidences in the śāstra. Just like Vidura. He was Yamarāja, incarnation of Yamarāja, but he was cursed by a muni to become a śūdra. Why? Now, one muni was brought in the court of Yamarāja, and he was to be punished by like punishment, sula, piercing the lancet through the rectum and it will come out. So the muni asked Yamarāja that "Why you have put me into this tribulation, this punishment? What is my fault?" The Yamarāja explained that "In your childhood you pierced with a nail through the rectum of an ant. Therefore you must be punished like this." Just see. In childhood playing he pierced. Sometimes we have seen, the children do that. That is also counted. You cannot do any harm to any animal, any living being. You cannot do. But these rascals are regularly killing. Although they have got this human form of body, although they have got intelligence, scientific intelligence, and so-called, but they do not know how nature's law is working. They do not care to know. They say these are all mythology. But not mythology. It is not mythology. Na veda mūḍhaḥ. They do not know what is the law of nature, that ananta-duḥkham.

He was a sage, muni. So he asked the Yamarāja that "Throughout my whole life, I never did any wrong. Why you are punishing me in this way?" So Yamarāja replied that "You have forgotten. In your childhood you pierced one ant with a needle. You have forgotten. Therefore you are being punished."

Lecture on SB 7.6.3 -- Toronto, June 19, 1976:

Sinful activity means do irresponsibly anything we like, and we become entrapped in sinful activities. But as we have got experience in our ordinary life that ignorance is no excuse... Suppose a child touches fire. The fire will not excuse because it is a child. No. Either you are a child or grown-up man, when you touch the fire it will act. There is no excuse. Similarly, knowingly or unknowingly, if we do something wrong, we have to be punished. This is the law of nature. There was an instance, one muni, he was brought to Yamarāja's court and he was..., judgment was given that this man should be punished by śūla. Śūla means one iron rod pushed through the rectum and it will pierce through the head. But the man was condemned to death, and this is the punishment. So the, he was a sage, muni. So he asked the Yamarāja that "Throughout my whole life, I never did any wrong. Why you are punishing me in this way?" So Yamarāja replied that "You have forgotten. In your childhood you pierced one ant with a needle. You have forgotten. Therefore you are being punished." So of course, he became..., Yamarāja became Vidura because the sage also punished him, that "For my childhood criminality you are punishing me in this way. So I also punish you, that you have no sense, you have to take birth in a śūdra family." Anyway, either in childhood, or knowingly or unknowingly, if we do something wrong... There are many other instances. Just like some contaminous disease: either a child or a grown-up man, if he infects himself with that contaminous disease, some way or other, the disease will manifest and he has to suffer.