Who was Chandrahans? His name has appeared in Siri Guru Granth Sahib jee at least once. Following is the pankiti where his name appears:
ਸਭੁ ਹੈ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਹੈ ਪਸਰਿਆ ਮਨਿ ਬੀਜਿਆ ਖਾਵਾਰੇ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਨ ਚੰਦ੍ਰਹਾਂਸੁ ਦੁਖਿਆ ਧ੍ਰਿਸਟਬੁਧੀ ਅਪੁਨਾ ਘਰੁ ਲੂਕੀ ਜਾਰੇ ॥੬॥
In everything is Vaheguru and Vaheguru is everywhere i.e. he pervades everywhere. Whatever one sows one has to reap, just like, the evil Dhrishtbudhee tormented and hurt Chandrahans but in the end he burned his own house.
Here is a brief account of Chandrahans and Dhrishtbudhi.
Chandrahans was born to a king of a small kingdom. Soon after his birth, the king, his father lost battle to the neighbouring king. The king and queen both died in this battle. Chandrahans was saved by his governess who took him to another kingdom.
Chandrahans who was born a prince, started growing up in poverty and living in a slum. Close to his house there was a temple where the king of this land and other noblemen used to come to worship. Chandrahans who was about 5 years old at that time used to play in the outskirts of the mandir.
Chandrahans was a gifted child who from birth had love for Vaheguru. He had not read about him but due to his previous karams he had a propensity towards Vaheguru. One day as he was playing outside the temple, Dhrishtbudhi the PM of the kingdom, came to worship in the mandir. A holy man was also present in the temple at that time. The holy man and Dhrishtbudhi started talking. The holy man noticed Chandrahans and asked Dhrishtbudhi who the child was. Dhrishtbudhi denied any knowledge of this child. The holy man predicted that this child – Chandrahans – would become the king of this land.
Dhrishtbudhi got very upset when he heard this from the holy man. He had plans for his son Madan to become the king, since the king had no son of his own. He immediately went back to his palace, hired some thugs and contracted them to murder Chandrahans. Though the killers were surprised to hear of this contract, they nevertheless agreed to carry out the killing.
They took the child to a jungle nearby and told the crying child that they were going to kill him. Chandrahans was visibly shaken and scared but did not lose his senses. Just when they were about to kill Chandrahans, he requested that he be given some time to pray to Vaheguru before his death. Who could deny such a reasonable request? He was allowed to offer his prayers to God. Chandrahans started singing praises of Vaheguru that he had learned from his governess. He prayed to Vaheguru to save him. Vaheguru did mercy and the killers were given some mercy by Vaheguru.
The killers looked at the child’s face and could not kill him. Their stone hearts melted and they decided not to kill the child. They noticed that the child had an extra toe finger. They cut that finger off and took it to Dhrishtbudhi as a proof of their assignment done. Chandrahans was left in the jungle alone. Chandrahans did not get scared of any animal and stayed there for few days, surviving on wild fruits and vegetables.
One day, a king of some other land was passing by the jungle after hunting that he noticed Chandrahans sitting and praying to Vaheguru. The king was very surprised to see this sweet and beautiful child alone in the jungle. He asked him who he was. The child told him that he had no relatives and his parents had died. The child had a noble and royal mien that convinced the king to adopt the child since he had no son of his own. He brought the child to his palace, and the child started living a life of a prince again.
Chandrahans grew up to be a very handsome young man adept in warfare, martial arts, and other studies of that time. Around that time, Dhrishtbudhi, who was the PM of the neighbouring kingdom, came to visit Chandrahans’ kingdom. He saw Chandrahans and felt that he looked familiar. He asked the king who this young man was, and the king told Dhrishtbudhi the whole story. Dhrishtbudhi was very surprised to know that Chandrahans had survived a previous attempt on his life, but he now resolved more than ever to kill Chandrahans.
He came up with a plan. He asked Chandrahans to deliver a letter of great importance to his son Madan. Chandrahans, who was an unsuspecting and humble prince, did not have any double thoughts and immediately got on his horse and set out for the neighbouring kingdom, where Dhrishtbudhi was the PM (prime minister). He came near the palace of Dhrishtbudhi and saw a very beautiful garden. He decided to rest under the shadow of a tree there. Soon, he fell asleep.
As he was asleep, Vishya, the daughter of Dhrishtbudhi, came with her friends to play in the garden. She saw a handsome prince sleeping under a tree and just kept looking at him. She noticed a letter sticking out of his turban and, out of curiosity, took out the letter. She was pleasantly surprised to see that the letter had a message to her own brother Madan, as follows:
“This boy is destined to become the king of our kingdom. Give him Vish immediately.”
Vish means Poison, and Dhrishtbudhee’s daughter’s name was Vishya, which means an emotion. Vishya was very pleased reading her father’s letter and thought that instead of writing “Vishya” her father had accidentally written “Vish” which meant poison. She was pleased that her father had chosen such a handsome prince for her. She took a kalam (thin wooden straw) and, using the surmaa of her eyes as ink, she added “ya” to “Vish”. The note now read as follows:
“This boy is destined to become the king of our kingdom. Give him Vishya immediately.”
After changing the note and placing it back in Chandrahans’ turban, Vishya quietly left the garden. Chandrahans woke up after some time and took the letter to Madan, Dhrishtbudhee’s son. Madan read the letter and very pleasingly acquiesced to his father’s request in the letter. Immediately, Chandrahans was married off to Vishya, Madan’s daughter.
In a couple of days, Dhrishtbudhi came back to his kingdom and was shocked to see Chandrahans not only alive but also married to his daughter. Dhrishtbudhi was greatly enraged and was banging his head against the walls. He got very upset at his son for committing this stupidity. His son showed him the letter he had sent, and the letter clearly said that Madan was to give Vishya to Chandrahans. Dhrishtbudhi was greatly upset, but he kept quiet.
He now more resolved than ever to kill Chandrahans at any cost, even at the cost of making his daughter a widow. He made another plan. He hired killers for the second time and told them to hide in the temple on the outskirts of the city. He told them to kill anyone who came to this temple at 6pm in the evening. The killers hid themselves in the bushes of the deserted temple on the outskirts of the city, waiting for their victim to come.
Dhrishtbudhi asked Chandrahans to go and perform a pooja in that temple as per some family tradition. The unsuspecting Chandrahans nodded and took a shower, and started getting ready for the pooja at the temple. As he was about to leave, the king of this kingdom had a heart attack. Madan, who was present with the king, sat by him as he was being treated by doctors. The king worried about his successor and decided to leave his kingdom for Chandrahans, whom he had found to be a very worthy successor. He immediately decided to test him and declare him his successor if he passed away.
The king immediately dispatched Madan to go and get Chandrahans by his bedside. Madan found Chandrahans walking towards the mandir. Madan told Chandrahans about the king’s order to see him immediately. Chandrahans told him of Dhrishtbudhee’s, his father-in-law’s, wish to have pooja done at the mandir. Madan took the pooja stuff from Chandrahans and told him to go to the king, and that he, in the meanwhile, would perform pooja on Chandrahans’s behalf.
Madan went to the temple, whereas Chandrahans went to see the king. By then, Dhrishtbudhee too had arrived by the bedside of the king and was surprised to see Chandrahans there. The king asked him questions to test him and Chandrahans answered all of them successfully. The king declared him the king. Dhrishtbudhi asked Chandrahans where Madan was and Chandrahans told him that Madan had gone to the temple to perform pooja.
Hearing this, Dhrishtbudhi went pale. He immediately rushed out towards the mandir, fearing the worst. To his horror, he saw the blood-soaked, dead body of his son Madan there. Madan had been murdered mercilessly. Dhrishtbudhi’s third attempt on Chandrahans’s life had turned futile and actually had harmed him again. Not being able to sustain the sorrow of the death of his only son, Madan, Dhrishtbudhi took out his dagger and stabbed himself to death.
If we try to do evil to others, only bad can happen to us as a result of this.
Written By: Bhai Kulbir Singh Ji