Many of you must be wondering what is Kadali Phalam. Many of us know the word at least from the Hindu rituals where we present Kadali Phalam to Bhagwan as Naivedyam. Let’s find out.
This is a story that tells us that excessive anger, short temper and desire never have a good ending.
In ancient days there was a Maharshi called Aurva Maharshi and he had a daughter named Kandali. She was beautiful but was angry, bitter, always quarrelling and damning everyone. She talked badly at anyone and everyone.
One day she expressed her desire to her father that she wanted to marry Durvasa Maharshi. But her father told her that Durvasa Maharshi is short-tempered but she did not care. she was adamant about marrying Durvasa Maharshi.
So helpless father took her to Durvasa Maharshi and told him about his daughter and her desire but he also told him about her anger and bad mouth. Durvasa Maharshi agrees to marry her by sighting her beauty but he says he will only forgive her 100 times.
Both Aurva Maharshi and his daughter Kandali accepted this and the wedding took place.
For a while they were happy but soon Kandali came back into her original character and started quarrelling and bad-mouthing Durvasa Maharshi but he forgave her because of his word. But wasn’t talking to her much to avoid quarrels. Soon his promise of forgiving Kandali 100 mistakes was completed. One day Kandali came when Maharshi was doing a ritual and started damning him and asked whether he would talk to her anymore or not.
Durvasa Maharshi who was already fed up with her got really angry and looked at her with furious eyes and made Kandali into a heap of bhasma. Then Kadali comes back as aatma and asks forgiveness. At the same time, a Brahmin comes and tells him that he had misused his tapas shakti for such a small thing.
Maharshi who was already regretting what he did, realises his mistake. Then he turned her into a Kandali fruit tree that eventually became a Kadali tree.
But what is Kadali? Kadali is a Samskritam word that means Banana.
Are you thinking doesn’t this story have a happy ending? Hmmm..
