Circle of Karma

Once, there lived a humble vegetable seller who, out of pure devotion, offered one bottle gourd each day to a wandering monk .
He gave not for reward, but from a heart filled with quiet faith and joy.

When his life ended, his soul was brought before Lord Yama, the ruler of dharma, and his divine scribe Chitragupta, who records the deeds of every being.

Chitragupta opened the scroll and said,

“O Lord, this man lived simply, but gave daily with sincerity and love.”

Yama smiled and said,

“Even a small act done with a pure heart shines brighter than a thousand rituals done in pride.
Let him be reborn as a king, for he has earned greatness through selfless and consistent giving.”

By Yama’s decree, Lord Brahma shaped his next birth — and the vegetable seller was reborn as a noble king.

He ruled wisely, spreading peace and prosperity.
Yet one day, curiosity stirred in him —

“What did I do in my past life to deserve this fortune?”

An astrologer revealed,

“Your Majesty, you were once a poor vegetable seller who offered a bottle gourd each day to a Brahmin.
That act of devotion has borne this royal destiny.”

The king rejoiced and thought,

“If one gourd made me king, a thousand will make me divine!”

He ordered every bottle gourd in the kingdom to be offered daily to Brahmins.
The markets overflowed; farmers grew nothing else.
But the purity of his offering faded —
for now, he gave not from love, but from desire for reward.

When his time came again, his soul stood once more before Lord Yama.
Chitragupta read aloud,

“In his first life, he gave little but with devotion.
In this life, he gave much, but with expectation.”

Yama said with compassion,

“In your first birth, you gave what you had — that was true charity.
As a king, you could have done far greater good, yet you repeated the same act.
Giving must rise with one’s means, and the heart must remain pure.”

Then Yama turned to Brahma and said,

“O Creator, let this soul return to where he began — not as a king, but as a seller of snake gourds.
There he shall learn once more that the worth of giving lies not in quantity, but in sincerity.”

Brahma nodded, and the king’s next birth was written.
Thus, the soul returned to earth — to the same marketplace

Divine Reflection: The Voice of the Saints

As the wind of karma stilled, a divine whisper echoed from the heavens —
the same truth sung by Appar Swamigal in his Thirumurai (6.215.3):

“சிறியனேன் எனினும் சிந்தை யினால் செய்கின்றேன்,
பெரிதெனப் பிரிய மாகப் பெற்றருளும் பெருமானே.”

“Though I am small and lowly, what I offer is with a sincere heart,
O Lord, You accept it as something great.”

Appar’s words illuminate what Yama revealed —
that the smallest act, done with devotion, outweighs a mountain of hollow gifts.

And as sung in the Periyapuranam, when Siruthondar Nayanar offered even his beloved son in obedience to Shiva’s will,
it was not the offering’s measure, but the purity of surrender, that made him immortal in grace.

So too, the soul of the gourd-seller learned — that the Circle of Karma ends not by wealth or ritual,
but by the selfless love that expects nothing in return.