9. mUnRezhuththuch sonnEnO kshathrabandhuvaip pOlE
Kshathrabandhu was the son of King Vishvaratha. His real name is not known. Kshathrabandhu means the lowest person amongst the Kshatriyas. Because of his lowly character, he was called Kshathrabandhu. Kshathrabandhu, being a prince of a Kingdom, never treated people with care or responsibility. Right from his childhood, he was so mischievous, disobedient and at times, rebellious. The King and the Queen, out of their love for their son, failed to teach him good manners or correct him when he does something mischievous. Years passed on but the prince’s naughtiness only increased. Unable to tolerate his behaviour, the people of the kingdom chased him into the forest. Even in the forest he continued in torturing others.
One time, a Rishi came into the forest where Kshathrabandhu was staying. Due to the extreme heat, he became very thirsty. Seeing a pond he went there to drink the water, slipped and fell into the pond. When Kshathrabandhu saw this, though he laughed at him at first, somehow he felt pity on the Rishi and pulled him out of the pond. He took care of the Rishi until he regained his conscious and also gave him fruits to eat.
The Rishi, pleased on the care of Kshathrabandhu, asked him about his story and why he was living alone in a forest. Kshathrabandhu told him his entire history without hiding anything. Wishing to correct him, the Rishi gave him some very good advice.
Kshathrabandhu replied "O Rishi! My bad nature was born with me and will not leave me. There is no point trying to make me a better person". The Rishi then taught him the Lord's divine name “Govinda” which is made of three aksharas (in Sanskrit). He then told Kshathrabandhu to chant the name “Govinda”, before starting and after finishing his work, be it anything, even if it is bad or mischievous.
From that day onward, Kshathrabandhu started repeating the Lord's name all the time. Because of that, after his death, he was reborn as a Brahmin and became an ardent devotee of the Lord. After that, he attained the Lord's feet. His story has been sung by Thondaradippodi Azhvar in his Thirumaalai.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I spend my time saying the Lord's name in everything I did, like Kshathrabandhu?"
