The sage Mandavya was in deep meditation when some thieves entered his house, hoping to escape the soldiers who were chasing them. The soldiers caught them and accused Mandavya of wrongfully sheltering them. The king ordered that Mandavya be impaled. Mandavya wondered why was he suffering for a crime he had not committed. He questioned Yama, the god of death and justice, who said that he was paying the price for torturing insects as a child. ‘But I was an innocent child then!’ he protested. Yama said, ‘The insects did not think so.’ Nevertheless, an angry Mandavya cursed Yama that he would be born as Vidura, who though worthy of being a king, would never wear the crown.

Illustration / Devdutt Pattanaik