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by TRSIyengar 1.SAGE KOUNDINYA Koundinya was a great sage. He was a master of Vedic knowledge. He was a sage known beyond Bharat. Ashraya was his wife. 1.1 A piece of Durva is having more weight than Kubera’s treasury Gold Kaundinya came to prominence as a youth due to his mastery of the Vedas.He was a great devotee of Lord Ganesha. One day he was explaining the importance of Durva to his wife Ashraya. She did not believe it, so Sage Koundinya told his wife, ‘ if you have any doubts regarding the importance of Durva then you go to God Indra and tell him that I want the gold which weighs exactly as same as a Durva. 1.2 Ashraya goes to Kubera on directions of Indra. Following the instructions of her husband, Ashraya went to God Indra.Having placed a Durva in front of him, she said, ‘My husband has asked you to give him that quantity of gold which weighs exactly the same as a Durva.’ God Indra told her the quantity of gold would be very small, he would give them as much as gold they want. But she said, ‘ I want the gold as I desired.’ Then God Indra sent her to God Kubera along with a messenger and ordered him to give her the gold she desired. 1.3 Kubera exhaust his treasury gold. God Kubera placed the Durva on one pan of the balance and a small piece of gold on the other pan. But to his great surprise, the pan containing the Durva weighed more. Then God Kubera put some more gold into the pan, but still the pan of Durva weighed more. Eventually he put all his gold into the pan but still the weight of the single Durva was more. Then God Kubera sat along with his wife into the pan of gold, but still the weight of one Durva is more. By seeing this all the deities gathered around and eventually they also sat in the pan. But still the weight of a Durva was more! They all along with Ashraya went to Sage Koundinya and said, ‘Today we came to know the importance of a single Durva offered to Lord Ganesha with devotion!’ 1.4Koundinya joins king Suddodana. Later Koundinya got appointed as a royal court scholar of King Suddhodana of the Sakyas in Kapilavastu. There Kaundinya was the only scholar who unequivocally predicted upon the birth of Prince Siddhartha that the prince would become an enlightened Buddha, and vowed to become his disciple. Kaundinya and four colleagues followed Siddhartha in six years of ascetic practice, but abandoned in disgust after Siddhartha gave up the practice of self-mortification. 1.5 Koundinya get Buddaha’s sermon. Upon enlightenment, Siddartha gave his first dharma talk to Kaundinya’s group. Kaundinya was the first to comprehend the teaching and thus became the first bhikkhu and arahant. Following the formation of the sangha, Kaundinya and the other monks travelled with the Buddha by foot through the Gangetic plains area of what is now Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to spread the dharma. 1.6 Sage Koundinya- creation of Parvathi. Alghu Malluru Krishna Swamy temple exists in the Mannarpoluru Village, right from the time of Telugu Chola rulers. The village is close-by to Sullurupet, at a distance of 103 Km. from Nellore. According to a legend, it was here that Lord Sri Krishna defeated Jambavantha in a duel and married his daughter Jambavati. Apart from the idol ofSatyabhama and Jambavati, the two consorts of Lord Krishna, the idol of Jambavantha creating the illusion of shedding tears are bound to amaze the viewers. Legend represents them as having sprung from Koundinya Rishi. There is a version that sage Koundinya himself was created by Parvati for the purpose of extracting and fermenting the sap of the wild date palm and thus supplying the wants of gods and men in the matter of intoxicating drinks. It is said that the gods and demons were so delighted with the pleasant beverage, that they conferred upon him the title of ‘Gouda’ or ‘the head of mankind. 1.7 Gowds in Andhra pradesh -followers of sage Koundinya According to Gowd legend, they have originated from the Great Sage Kaundinya who lived in Kurnool district (around 1300 AD). The community is derived branch of somavamsha kshatriyas who lived at the time of Parashurama. They pray the deity Renuka who is a Kshatriya and mother of Parashurama. She is also wife of jamadagni who is a Brahmin. The members of the community have gothras like(1) Koundinya, (2) Bharadwaja, (3) kashyapa, (4) vasista, (5) Markendeya, (6) Dhanunjaya (7) Datteraya. They are divided into Tirmanidharis and Vibhutidharis, or the worshippers of Vishnu and Shiva, under the guidance of their respective sectarian gurus, Shri Vaishnava and Aradhi Brahmans. The Gouds originally prospered around the Godavari River. Kurdumale Ganesh temple and sage Koundinya. Among the many tourist spots of Kolar district with legendary stories, Kurudumale near Mulbagal is one. Located off the NH4 this place at 105Kms from Bangalore. Kurudumale is popular more because of the temples of Ganesha and Someshewara each with its own story. The only road of the village culminates at the famous Ganesha temple. Long ago the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara came here together and consecrated the temple of Ganesha. As this place was the confluence of Gods, it was named Kudumale, which gradually became Kurudumale. The hill was called Kutadri where sage Koundinya lived as a recluse and hence also called Koundinya Kshetra. During Threthayuga, Lord Ram is believed to have worshipped here after killing Ravana. Sri Krishna who was blamed for having stolen the shyamanthaka Mani in Dwapara Yuga is also believed to have visited this place. In later years, the Vijayanagar rulers reinforced the temple. Kamat community belong to Koundinya Gothra. Kamats community in India belong to the “Koundinya Gotra”, so do several countless Brahmin families, throughout India. Koundinya Kingdoms of South East Asia. If we go through the history of South East Asian Kingdoms, we can find Indian culture had spread since ancient times to them. It is told Koundinya was a different kind of Brahmin. Koundinya showed his valor, became a king, married a local princess and founded a dynasty. Koundinya hailed from Mithila (present day Bihar) and was a Shaiva. Shaivism (worshiping Shiva) became the state religion of Cambuj (ancient name of Cambodia). The royalty of Thailand also claims its origin from Koundinya. They practice many of the rituals laid down in the sastras like that of Manu till date Summary Sage Koundinya was a Vedic scholar. He was a worshipper of Lord Ganesha. He was a valor. Sometimes he was associated with Lord Buddha. His name is famous in Thailand and Kambodia too. In India other than Brahmins , there are Kamaths, Gauds follow Koundinya Gothra. Nothing is known about his children or more about his wife. He has come in the lineage of Parasurama.