धर्मशर्मा

{ dharmaśarmā }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

See under Śivaśarmā.
DHARMAŚARMĀ I   A brahmin who was born a parrot named Kañjala in his rebirth. Dharmaśarmā was one of the three sons of an eminent Brahmin called Vidyādhara. His other two sons were Vasuśarmā and Nāmaśarmā. While both his brothers became great scholars Dharmaśarmā never studied anything and became a muff. His father was greatly worried on account of this. Dharmaśarmā never heeded the advice of his father and went about in bad company ruining himself. Years went by and Dharmaśarmā became old. One day Dharmaśarmā was sitting repentant in a temple sadly pondering over his past when a siddha came to the temple. Watching him Dharmaśarmā saw him go and sit in a lonely place for meditation with his eyes shut. Dharmaśarmā went and stood near him very respectfully. When the Siddha opened his eyes after some time he saw Dharmaśarmā standing before him and then the Siddha made enquiries about Dharmaśarmā. The latter then requested the Siddha to give him instructions to acquire the supreme knowledge. The Siddha then gave him Jñānopadeśa (advice on knowledge) and Dharmaśarmā soon became a Siddha himself. He then started on a pilgrimage and on the way he got a parrot. He took care of the bird just like his son and loved it very affectionately. One day when Dharmaśarmā was away from the place to collect fruits for his food a cat caught and ate the parrot. Greatly grief-stricken Dharmaśarmā wept bitterly and ran about like a mad man. After some days he died and because at the time of death he was thinking about the parrot he was born a parrot in his next birth. The jñānopadeśa of the siddha was still lingering in him while he died and so even in his life as a parro the never lost the jñāna he had acquired in his previous life. [Chapter 122, Padma Purāṇa] .