Sudama, the Childhood Friend

Sudama, the poor brahmin classmate whose handful of flattened rice the Lord of Dvaraka accepted with overflowing love.

Sudama was Shri Krishna's childhood friend. The Shrimad Bhagavatam (Canto 10) calls him simply "a brahmin friend", but in the popular tradition he is known by the name Sudama. Krishna, Balarama and Sudama studied together at the hermitage of their guru Sandipani in Avantipura (Ujjain). Once, sent into the forest to gather firewood for the guru's wife, the two friends were caught all night in a terrible storm; in the morning their guru found them and blessed them from his heart.

Sudama was learned, contented and devoted to the Lord, but extremely poor. His wife urged him to visit his friend, the Lord of Dvaraka. There was nothing in the house to take as a gift, so he begged a few handfuls of flattened rice (poha) from the neighbours and tied them in an old cloth.

In Dvaraka, Krishna saw him from afar, rose at once to embrace him, seated him on his own couch, washed his feet with his own hands, and Rukmini herself fanned him. The two friends talked of their days at the gurukula. Sudama, embarrassed, was hiding the little bundle, but Krishna snatched it and ate a handful with great love. According to tradition, when he reached for a second handful, Rukmini gently held his hand.

Sudama went home without asking for anything, satisfied by the Lord's love alone. When he arrived, he found a splendid palace where his hut had stood. Yet he remained humble and detached all his life. According to tradition, Porbandar in Gujarat is Sudama's town, Sudamapuri. The story brings to life the Gita's promise (9.26) that whatever a devotee offers with love, a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water, the Lord accepts.

Relation

Childhood friend

Source

Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, ch. 80–81