Mayurdhwaja – Why His Left Eye Wept!

The King of Ratna Nagar, Mayurdhaja, decided to perform a Yajna. He sent his son, Tamradhwaja, with a horse. The Yajna was to take place only after the horse returned, wandering through all the kingdoms. Should anyone stop the horse, Tamradhwaja and his soldiers were instructed to engage in battle.

Meanwhile, Krishna and Arjuna were also out with Yudhisthira’s horse, as Yudhisthira wished to perform a similar Yajna. Surprisingly, the young Tamradhwaja succeeded in snatching Yudhisthira’s horse from the custody of Krishna and Arjuna.

Krishna and Arjuna, disguised as Brahmins, reached the court of King Mayurdhaja. Krishna said, “A lion carried away my son while we were crossing the forest. In response to my request to release my son, it declared that it will do so only if it receives half of your body!”

The king was ready to sacrifice half of his body for the sake of the stranger’s son. The queen stepped forward and said, “A wife is Ardhangini, or half of her husband’s body. Hence, take me instead of the half of the King’s own body!”
“You are your husband’s left half. The lion demands his right half!” replied Krishna.

The king then said, “Take my right half and get back your son.” But Krishna noticed a drop of tear in the king’s left eye. “I cannot deprive you of half of your body since you are weeping over it!” commented Krishna.

“Brahmin,” explained the king, “the tear you see has a different meaning. My left eye is weeping because the left part of my body is deprived of the chance to sacrifice itself for a noble cause!”

At this, Krishna at once embraced the king and revealed to him who he and his companion were. The king was overwhelmed with joy. After he had performed his Yajna, he led Yudhisthira’s horse to Hastinapura himself.