Nahusha was a great king of yesteryears. He was just and loved by everyone. He regularly helped the Devas in their wars against the Asuras. Once, Nahusha was taken to Swarglok by none other than the King of the Devas, Indra. Nahusha had, in his childhood, heard of a mountain in Swarglok, where the names of the greatest of kings were etched. Nahusha wanted to see the names of his forefathers in the mountain.
Indra took him to the mountain and told him, “Nahusha, this is the mountain. But I do not know where the names of your forefathers are. You have to look for them yourself.” Nahusha agreed and started looking for the names. So many names were etched on the mountain that Nahusha was unable to figure out which one was the name of his ancestor.
After spending some time looking for the name, he reached out to Indradev again and said, “I am not able to find their names. There are so many names that every inch of the mountain has been covered. What happens if another king turns out to be so great, that his name is worthy of being written on this mountain?”
Indradev laughed and said, “Then any one name which has been etched will be erased and the new name will be written on that space. The space in the mountain is limited, but good people will be born in every age. One cannot hope to reserve fame for oneself forever. Man is mortal, then how can fame be immortal? Those who desire fame cannot be worthy of being etched on this mountain.”
Nahusha realized that the people who had their names etched on the mountain were truly those who did work for their people sincerely and without any expectation of rewards or fame. They were immortal in their deeds (good deeds are eternal), not in their desire for fame. He returned to bhoo-lok (earth) a better person.
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