Lord Indra has gone away from Amaravati, the capital of the Devas. A small misunderstanding with Bruhaspati, the Guru and chief advisor of his clan had brought a chain of bad tidings. After a series of undesirable happenings he was forced to abandon his abode and spend his time sitting in the stem of a lotus in Maanasa Sarovar, a divine lake in the Himalayas. The Devas were left without their leader and captain. This was not acceptable in the order of things. They were constrained to find a temporary substitute. Finding a suitable alternative to Lord Indra was no easy task. The position carried so much of power and responsibilities with it that it was indeed impossible to search for one who filled the gap perfectly. He had to be strong, knowledgeable and capable of controlling and commanding the loyalty of the mighty stalwarts of the upper world. The bigger problem was not in finding a substitute; it was in ensuring that the substitute vacates his position when the original occupant returned in due course.
An acceptable substitute was finally found in King Nahusha, who was the emperor of the middle world, the earth. This King was indeed a perfect fit; he had administrative experience and was a friend of the Devas. There was no possibility of his betraying the trust of the Devas and joining hand with the Asuras, the occupants of the lower world. King Nahusha believed in the rule of righteousness (Dharma), did not believe in sticking to the chair as a limpet, and ever willing to shoulder additional responsibilities of any nature for a good cause. He was not ambitious and yet not shirking in accepting additional duties. When approached to take over the post of Lord Indra, he agreed without much conditions. The only condition he placed was that he should be free to access any source and stream of knowledge he desired that enabled his efficient discharge of his duties. An agreement was reached on seat-sharing and he took over as Lord Indra till the time the original incumbent returned.
King Nahusha entrusted his kingdom on earth to his son King Yayati, and proceeded to the heavens with his wife Virijadevi. As he progressed in his duties, all his ministers and subjects were much impressed by his administrative skills and problem solving techniques. He was an expert in judicious use of the powers vested in him. Agni (Fire God) and Vayu (Wind God), the two senior most ministers started wondering why the previous Indra and they themselves were not aware of their own powers and had not thought of utilising those powers in solving the various issues confronting them. Guru Bruhaspati, who was now back as the chief advisor was also surprised by the way in which Nahusha was able to exercise the powers vested with Lord Indra. Guru Shukracharya, chief advisor of demons and an adversary of Bruhaspati was also dumbstruck at the administrative acumen shown by Nahusha. He was now a made a part of the advisory council of the upper world, which was not even dreamt in the rule of the regular Lord Indra.
Instead of holding on to the powerful chair as long as he could, Nahusha started his pursuit to find the original incumbent and restore the seat to him. He enquired as to the reason for Indra's exile. Having come to know that Indra was hiding to escape from a evil force, he marshalled all resources at his command to get rid of the evil force. That would make way for return of the original Indra.
He chided both Agni and Vayu for not solving this issue earlier. "You are both bestowed with abundant powers for facing such eventualities. Both of you can fall back on your Omnipotent powers (Vishwaroopa dharana) during an emergency and thereby destroying the evil force. Even Indra could have done this. All of you did not use the powers already vested in you. Instead, you were looking for outside force to solve this issue. Now I am commanding you. I am also giving you detailed instructions for action. Go ahead and get Lord Indra released. This is my order!", he thundered.
Agni and Vayu were now transformed by the realisation of their own hidden powers. They succeeded in destroying the evil force. Lord Indra was released. Nahusha did not worry about losing the throne on which he could have had a much longer tenure. The seat was restored to Lord Indra permanently. The Devas also learnt the secret of exercising powers vested in them efficiently and effectively. Exercising powers was totally different now and they were indebted to King Nahusha for this valuable lesson.
An acceptable substitute was finally found in King Nahusha, who was the emperor of the middle world, the earth. This King was indeed a perfect fit; he had administrative experience and was a friend of the Devas. There was no possibility of his betraying the trust of the Devas and joining hand with the Asuras, the occupants of the lower world. King Nahusha believed in the rule of righteousness (Dharma), did not believe in sticking to the chair as a limpet, and ever willing to shoulder additional responsibilities of any nature for a good cause. He was not ambitious and yet not shirking in accepting additional duties. When approached to take over the post of Lord Indra, he agreed without much conditions. The only condition he placed was that he should be free to access any source and stream of knowledge he desired that enabled his efficient discharge of his duties. An agreement was reached on seat-sharing and he took over as Lord Indra till the time the original incumbent returned.
King Nahusha entrusted his kingdom on earth to his son King Yayati, and proceeded to the heavens with his wife Virijadevi. As he progressed in his duties, all his ministers and subjects were much impressed by his administrative skills and problem solving techniques. He was an expert in judicious use of the powers vested in him. Agni (Fire God) and Vayu (Wind God), the two senior most ministers started wondering why the previous Indra and they themselves were not aware of their own powers and had not thought of utilising those powers in solving the various issues confronting them. Guru Bruhaspati, who was now back as the chief advisor was also surprised by the way in which Nahusha was able to exercise the powers vested with Lord Indra. Guru Shukracharya, chief advisor of demons and an adversary of Bruhaspati was also dumbstruck at the administrative acumen shown by Nahusha. He was now a made a part of the advisory council of the upper world, which was not even dreamt in the rule of the regular Lord Indra.
Instead of holding on to the powerful chair as long as he could, Nahusha started his pursuit to find the original incumbent and restore the seat to him. He enquired as to the reason for Indra's exile. Having come to know that Indra was hiding to escape from a evil force, he marshalled all resources at his command to get rid of the evil force. That would make way for return of the original Indra.
He chided both Agni and Vayu for not solving this issue earlier. "You are both bestowed with abundant powers for facing such eventualities. Both of you can fall back on your Omnipotent powers (Vishwaroopa dharana) during an emergency and thereby destroying the evil force. Even Indra could have done this. All of you did not use the powers already vested in you. Instead, you were looking for outside force to solve this issue. Now I am commanding you. I am also giving you detailed instructions for action. Go ahead and get Lord Indra released. This is my order!", he thundered.
Agni and Vayu were now transformed by the realisation of their own hidden powers. They succeeded in destroying the evil force. Lord Indra was released. Nahusha did not worry about losing the throne on which he could have had a much longer tenure. The seat was restored to Lord Indra permanently. The Devas also learnt the secret of exercising powers vested in them efficiently and effectively. Exercising powers was totally different now and they were indebted to King Nahusha for this valuable lesson.
*****
We often hear the words use, misuse and abuse in the context of exercise of powers by various public authorities and private enterprise. Some are unable to exercise powers vested in them. There are others who misuse the powers given to them. There are many others who go much forward and abuse the powers that are given to them by gross exceeding of their contours.
What do these three words actually mean? When does use of a power become misuse? When does that cross even that border and turnout to be abuse of powers? In the context of what is happening around us in these times, it is indeed time to understand the real import of these three phrases of use of powers, misuse of powers and abuse of powers.
The word "Use" is so common that it is defined as "Making use of" or "Put into use". It denotes positive exercise of powers as it ought to be. Not using of one's powers is indeed a failing in discharge of one's duties. Many functionaries at all levels fail to exercise their powers. Some are not even aware of their powers. Some others do not know how to use them. Many are afraid to use them! All of them have wonderful arguments justifying their positions. Nevertheless, they cause irreparable damage by not using their powers. The real tragedy is that not exercising powers takes a back seat due to misuse and abuse of powers in the surroundings.
The word "Misuse" denotes wrong or improper use of anything. It is use of power for a purpose other than what is prescribed by law or rules. It often goes unnoticed and may not be harmful to others. It may not even be treated as an omission. The nature of misuse is such that many authorities consider it as normal use and others also consider it as a normal or routine thing.
The word "Abuse" represents unrestrained exercise of one's powers and authority with intention. Here the person abusing the powers is well aware of the actions and their impact on others. It encroaches on the area of others and denies what is rightly due to others. The element of "Mens rea" associated with criminal jurisprudence is present here. Abuse often brings personal gratification to the person exercising powers or his associates. Arrogance is its hallmark and preparedness to further abuse the powers to meet the consequences its main feature. Abuse is immensely harmful to the society and the institutions that they represent.
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Devudu Narasimha Sastry (1895-1962), popularly known as Devudu, was a scholar par excellence and well known literary figure. He was known for his mastery in Sanskrit, English and Kannada literature. He was an actor, journalist and novelist as well. He was also associated with film world and stage plays. He was an expert in various facets of vedic knowledge and revered for his good qualities. His commentary on Mimamsa, "Mimamsa Darpana" is a highly acclaimed work in that field. He had the fantastic ability to bring out the hidden knowledge in ancient works through novels couched in simple language and yet profound in their meaning and impact. His trilogy of works "Mahabrahmana", "Mahakshatriya" and "Mahadarshana" are masterpieces and won critical acclaim and awards. His short novel "Mayura" deals with the life of King Mayuravrama of Kadamba dynasty. Mayura was made into a film with Dr Rajkumar in lead role. The film is very popular and is considered as a milestone in Kannada cinema as well as Rajkumar's career.
Devudu's novel "Mahakshatriya" deals with King Nahusha's life and his tenure as Lord Indra. Devudu has made some subtle changes in the original story from Mahabharata and transformed Nahusha into a great character. The various aspects of use, misuse and abuse of powers are dealt in this novel in a simple and yet effective way. It is a book that all those who exercise powers ought to read and appreciate, especially in the present times.
