PINGALA GITA

Contents

. Introduction

. Teachings of Pingala Gita

. Conclusion

Introduction

Pingala Gita exists in the beginning of the Moksha dharma section of the Shanti Parva and is a group of seven verses. The message of this Gita is the enlightenment and wisdom that dawned on a dancing girl(prostitute) named Pingala. She realised that the root cause of all her sorrows was her desire and by giving up her desire for worldly pleasures, she could attain peace of mind and enlightenment.

Teachings of the Pingala Gita

Yudhishthira asked Bhishma what is the knowledge, the learning by acquiring which one does not yield to sorrow.

Bhishma replied that attachment and desire are the root causes of grief. If the consciousness is expanded to include the entire world then attachment cannot linger and it falls away. The mind is the root cause of both joy and sorrow. Ignorance on the true reality of the soul results in attachment to kith and kin and objects of the world. Knowledge of the eternal truth and recognising the unity in all creation removes attachment and bondage from this world of Maya. Whatever acts are done, the consequences have to be reaped by all in this lifetime and in subsequent lifetimes.

The story of Pingala the prostitute is told by Shri Krishna to Uddhava in the Uddhava gita. In the city of Videha there lived a prostitute by name Pingala. She would stand outside her door waiting for her customers judging everyone passing by, studying them closely wondering who would be able to pay maximum price. One night she began to get worried as she was unable to get customers and this was her only means of sustenance so she was unable to sleep the whole night in her anxiety. The night passed by and Pingala was totally disillusioned. She realised how she was unable to control her mind. She realised that it would be better to dwell on the Supreme Lord present in everyone who was the divine lover and she would completely surrender to him. Detachment for the material world and its transitory nature arose in her heart and she was surprised and felt Lord Vishnu was pleased with her in some way in the past as it was only then that such a feeling could have arisen in her and she bowed to the Lord’s compassion with gratitude in her heart. She prayed for the Lord’s mercy and decided that only the Lord would be her eternal benefactor and the real source of her love and happiness.

The real meaning behind this story is that Lord Krishna wants to give the lesson that not only redeeming ordinary materialistic people but as prostitution is considered the lowest and most dishonourable way of earning one’s livelihood, he cares not for class or status only surrender to his lotus feet. Once a person surrenders to him with devotion and sincerity all his evil qualities of millions of lifetimes are forgiven by the Lord. Thus Pingala is a symbol of everyone’s consciousness as each man has some evil quality present which he needs to overcome.

Thus through the grace of the Lord and the frustration of her material endeavour, Pingala became enlightened. Thus the Lord states very clearly that it is not caste, creed, class or gender that determines the quality of a devotee but surrender, devotion and one pointedness.

Thus Pingala the prostitute and fallen woman is said to have become a self realised, pure and enlightened devotee of the Lord in just one night.

Conclusion

Thus the goal of life is to have faith and devotion and surrender to the Lord believing him to be the Sustainer, the provider and protector. External station in life and one’s level in society is not the criteria for judgement on the spiritual path. Pingala’s story is a powerful and inspiring story wherein spiritual unfoldment and enlightenment took place unconsciously due to the grace of the lord and the fruition of her past karma of many lifetimes.