Story of Sukumāra

A Sanskrit poet. There is a story about the devotion of Sukumāra to his teacher. Though Sukumāra was a dutiful student his teacher used to scold him always. Consequently Sukumāra harboured malice in his heart against his teacher. One night Sukumāra got on the upper attic of the house of the teacher with a big stone. His aim was to drop the stone on the head of the teacher. But that night the conversation of the teacher and his wife was about Sukumāra. The wife asked the teacher why he was scolding his disciple so often, when he was so dutiful and righteous. The teacher said that he loved him most and that the chastisement was meant to make him better and better. When Sukumāra heard this his heart was broken. With tears in his eyes, he got down with the stone and disappeared in darkness.

Next morning Sukumāra had no peace of mind. He approached the teacher. He asked the teacher "What is the punishment destined for him who had tried to kill his teacher?" The teacher replied that he should die a slow death in the fire made by the husk of paddy. Instantly Sukumāra made a pit and stood in it and filled the pit with husk up to his neck and set fire to the pile. When the teacher knew that the culprit was Sukumāra, he was filled with grief. He tried his best to dissuade his beloved disciple from his attempt. But it was in vain. While he was slowly burning in the fire he composed and sang the great poem 'Śrī Kṛṣṇa Vilāsa'. The poet was not able to complete the twelfth Sarga of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Vilāsa.

The sixtysixth stanza was the last one he sang. Śrī Kṛṣṇa was showing Satyabhāmā, the various countries and describing the prominence of each, when they had reached the earth after obtaining the Pārijāta flowers from the world of the gods. After having described the kingdoms of Pāṇḍya and Cola, the poet was beginning to describe the natural beauty of 'Saptakoṅkaṇas' (the seven Koṅkaṇa countries). The story says that when he had sung the last line of that stanza his tongue was burnt and he could not proceed with the rest of the poem.