The Story of Śvetaketu and Suvarchalā

 

The Story of Śvetaketu and Suvarchalā

There was a great ṛṣi named Devala, renowned for his wisdom, purity, and austerity. He had a beautiful and intelligent daughter named Suvarchalā. When she came of age, Devala desired to find for her a worthy husband—a Brahmana who had studied the Vedas and Śāstras, who followed dharma, spoke sweetly, and was devoted to tapas and spiritual discipline.

One day Suvarchalā said to her father,

“My husband should be blind and yet not blind. Please find such a husband for me.”

Devala was astonished and said,

“How can anyone be blind and not blind at the same time? Are you speaking foolishly?”

Suvarchalā then humbly requested,

“Please invite all the young men whom you consider suitable. Let them assemble here, and I shall choose my husband.”

Devala announced far and wide:

“Anyone who wishes to marry my daughter should come and assemble at my hermitage.”

Many learned Brahmana youths and ṛṣis gathered at Devala’s house. Suvarchalā addressed them and said,

“The one who is blind and yet not blind shall be my husband. If there is such a person among you, please step forward.”

The assembled scholars were perplexed. Thinking the girl was strange and unreasonable, they departed one by one.

All left—except Śvetaketu, the son of Uddālaka Āruṇi.

He stepped forward and said,

“O noble lady, I am blind and yet not blind. Therefore, I am fit to marry you.”

Suvarchalā asked,

“How can that be?”

Śvetaketu replied,

“I am not blind because I possess the eye of Self-knowledge. Through wisdom, I clearly know the truth of the Ātman.
Yet I am blind because I know that I am Brahman, which has no senses—
acakṣuḥ-śrotram tad apāṇipādam—That which has no eyes, no ears, no hands, and no feet.
In the ultimate reality, there is no seer, no hearing, no action—only pure consciousness.”

Suvarchalā was delighted, and Devala joyfully gave her in marriage to Śvetaketu.

After the marriage, Śvetaketu said to Suvarchalā,

“Dear wife, you are my sahadharmacāriṇī. Together we shall perform the duties prescribed in the Vedas. With the knowledge that I am not the doer, we shall burn all karmas in the fire of wisdom. We shall not act for material gain. Our actions should be for purification of the mind (citta-śuddhi) and for showing the right path to the world.”

Suvarchalā asked,

“O husband, you are a jñānī. Why should you perform karma at all?”

Śvetaketu replied,

“People follow the conduct of the great. If I do not perform righteous actions, others will become confused and fall into wrong paths. Therefore, though I have nothing to gain, I perform the duties prescribed by the Śāstras—for the welfare of society and as an example to the world.”