Bhartrihari, the ancient ascetic wrote several compendiums of hundred verses each on subjects such as Shringar, Nature etc. Pleased, Yama offered him 100 years of fruitful life in the form an ‘Apple’ to be eaten. Bhartrihari loved his wife very much and therefore the Shringar verses. So instead of eating the fruit he offered it to his wife. Now wife loved somebody else; a General in the kings court. So she offered it to the General. Again, the General in turn was infatuated to a maid in the court and naturally offered the fruit to her. As is predictable, the story doesn’t end here, the maid obviously was in awe of the king therefore the fruit went to the King.
King naturally wasn’t impressed so called for a thorough enquiry to get to the bottom of the truth. When the truth was revealed, Bhartrihari was completely devastated and took vairaagya and eventually ended up writing hundred verses on Vairaagya.
What happened to the Apple?
