Mudgala’s Compassionate Visit
Once a great Brahmana and a devotee of the Lord named Mudgala traveled to the abode of Yamaraj to meet him. When he saw the torturous punishments inflicted by the Yamadutas on the sinful living entities, he looked at them with compassion and they saw him. At once they became purified and felt momentary bliss and relief from their hellish suffering.
Yamaraj’s Explanation
Yamaraj explained to Mudgala that this was possible because of his glory of worshipping the Supreme Lord in his third previous life, and offering charity made along with chanting the Lord’s names along with ‘namah’ such as ‘krishnaaya namah’, ‘vasudevaaya namah’. Yamaraj also said, “Those who remember Lord Krishna, bow down to Him, take shelter of Him, and worship Him by chanting mantras like krishnaaya namah, vaasudevaaya namah, they are not under my jurisdiction.”
The Power of Chanting
Hearing this, the living entities who were suffering in hell started chanting, “krishnaya namah, govindaya namah, vasudevaya namah,” etc. Though they could not bow down because they were being tied up and punished, they verbally offered obeisances by saying namah. Because of the potency of the names coupled with namah, all the devices in hell used to torture them stopped working; all the weapons in the hands of the Yamadutas became blunt; the fire burning in hell became extinguished and all the Yamadutas diminished in their strength and could not exert any further punishment on the residents of hell.
Transformation of Hell
As the chanting continued more and more, a fragrant and cool breeze started flowing in that hell; everyone started hearing pleasing musical instruments like the flute and vina; they became free of their hellish coverings and became endowed with heavenly dress and ornaments. Understanding the purifying effect of their chanting, Yamaraj immediately got up from his seat and started worshipping those residents of hells by offering water at their feet and said, “Those who bow down to Lord Vishnu, who is known as Yajnavaraha and who is the Lord of all gods, I bow down to them again and again. Even those who say ‘vishnave namah, krishnaaya namah,’ to them I bow again and again.” As he was saying this, a heavenly plane came there and all the residents boarded into that plane and were transferred to the heavenly planets. Their punishment was severely reduced by their offering obeisances to the Lord with words by uttering His names joined with namah.
(Story is from Vishnu Dharma Purana)
Moral of the Story
Let us all offer our namaha to the Lord following examples of great devotees.
Kuntidevi’s Prayers in Srimad Bhagavatam
Kuntidevi says in Srimad Bhagavatam:
namaha pankaja naabhaaya
namaha pankaja maaline
namaha pankaja netraaya
namaste pankajaanghraye
"My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses."
The Glory of Uttering Namah in the Vedas
The Vedas state the glory of uttering namah before the Lord (or chanting His names along with namah) as follows:
yo devebhya atapati yo devanam purohitah
purvo yo devebhyo jato namo rucaya brahmaye
rucam brahmam janayanto deva agre tad abruvan
yas tvaivam brahmano vidyat tasya deva asan vase
"Obeisances (namah) to that Supreme Lord who is ever shining who shines for the sake of all the gods, who benefits the gods from time immemorial, who is the foremost of the gods. The gods uttered this word "namah" which generates love for the Supreme Absolute Truth, in front of the Supreme Lord for His pleasure. One who understands the Lord in this way (adored by namah), will be liked by the devatas and they will love to be under his control."
Bhagavata Purana
Suta Goswami says to Parikshit Maharaj in verse 12.12.
patitah skhalitash caartah
kshuttvaa vaa vivasho grnan
haraye nama ity uccair
mucyate sarva paatakaat
"If when falling, slipping, feeling pain, or sneezing one involuntarily cries out in a loud voice, 'Obeisances to Lord Hari!' one will be automatically freed from all his sinful reactions."
Prayer in Isopanishad (Mantra 18)
agne naya supathaa raaye asmaan
vishvaani deva vayunaani vidvaan
yuyodhy asmaj juhuraanam eno
bhuyisthaam te nama-uktim vidhema
"O my Lord, as powerful as fire, O omnipotent one, now I offer You all obeisances, falling on the ground at Your feet. O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach You, and since You know all that I have done in the past, please free me from the reactions to my past sins so that there will be no hindrance to my progress."
Let us all offer respect to Lord Krishna by uttering mantras:
om keshavaya namah
om narayanaya namah
om madhavaya namah
om govindaya namah
om vishnave namah
om madhusudanaya namah
om trivikramaya namah
om vamanaya namah
om sridharaya namah
om hrishikeshaya namah
om padmanabhaya namah
om damodaraya namah
om vasudevaya namaha
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share this moral/instructive story so that everyone can benefit by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.
