The debt of devotion – The Hindu

People experience difficulties and problems in one form or the other throughout life. From dawn to dusk, every individual yearns for something or the other in their material existence. Addressing the question of what truly constitutes sorrow, Sri Adi Shankara explains that sorrow arises from the absence of contentment — when a person is not satisfied or complacent with what he already possesses.

Poor Kuchela was sent by his wife to meet Lord Krishna, his childhood friend, in the hope that Krishna would remove his extreme poverty. But did Lord Krishna not already know Kuchela’s miserable condition?

Kuchela undertook the long journey on foot, indifferent to hunger and fatigue, and unmindful of the thorns that pierced his feet along the way. Later, when Rukmini, the consort of Lord Krishna, washed His feet, she noticed the very same thorn marks on them— marks borne by Krishna Himself, sharing the suffering endured by Kuchela during his arduous walk.

A subtle question arises here: Why did Kuchela bring only pounded rice and nothing else? And should Lord Krishna bestow prosperity only after receiving that humble offering?

In a discourse, Trichy Kalyanaraman explained this profound truth. When Kuchela and Krishna were students at the Sandheepini Gurukul, the acharya’s wife once gave each of them a handful of pounded rice before sending them into the forest to collect twigs. Tormented by severe hunger, Kuchela consumed not only his share but also asked Krishna to part with His.

From that moment, Kuchela became indebted — not to Krishna the friend, but to Krishna the Lord. By offering the same pounded rice on this occasion, Kuchela symbolically repaid that sacred debt.

Deeply pleased with Kuchela’s humility, gratitude, and unwavering devotion, Lord Krishna then showered him with immeasurable prosperity — without Kuchela ever asking for it.