Sudama's Visit - The Poor Brahmin and his Divine Friend

Dadi: "Guddu, do you think true friendship can survive when one person becomes very rich and the other stays very poor?"

Guddu: "That would be hard. The rich person might forget the poor one."

Dadi: "Or the poor person might be too ashamed to visit. Tonight I'll tell you about a friendship that overcame all those fears - the friendship of Sudama and Krishna."

Guddu: "I know this story! Sudama brought poha!"

Dadi: "But do you know the fear in Sudama's heart as he walked to Dwaraka? Let me show you that journey."

Guddu: "Was he scared?"

Dadi: "Terrified. He and Krishna had been the best of friends at their guru Sandipani's ashram. But that was long ago. Now Krishna was the Lord of the Yadavas, the King of magnificent Dwaraka. And Sudama? He was a poor brahmin whose children had never known full stomachs."

Guddu: "His wife told him to go."

Dadi: "'Go for friendship,' she said. 'Take him a gift. See an old companion.' She gave him beaten rice - all they had - wrapped in a torn cloth."

Guddu: "What was Sudama thinking on the journey?"

Dadi: "*voice thoughtful* Every step brought new fears. 'What if Krishna doesn't remember me? What if the king has no time for a poor brahmin? What if the friend I remember no longer exists behind that crown?'"

Guddu: "Those are sad thoughts."

Dadi: "When he reached Dwaraka, the city overwhelmed him. Golden walls, crystal towers, streets paved with prosperity. Guards and nobles everywhere. He felt like a beggar at a feast."

Guddu: "Did he want to go back?"

Dadi: "Almost! But something pushed him forward - memory, hope, his children's faces. At the palace gates, he whispered his name to a guard, expecting to be turned away."

Guddu: "What happened?"

Dadi: "Suddenly there was commotion! Servants ran. Nobles gasped. The great doors flew open - and Krishna himself came running out!"

Guddu: "RUNNING?!"

Dadi: "'Sudama! My friend!' Krishna embraced him right there, in front of the entire court. He led him inside, seated him on his own throne, washed his feet with his own royal hands!"

Guddu: "The king washed the beggar's feet!"

Dadi: "Rukmini fanned him. Servants brought water and fine food. All the luxury of the richest palace arranged itself around one poor man's comfort. Everyone was stunned - who was this shabby visitor that their Lord treated with such love?"

Guddu: "Did they talk about old times?"

Dadi: "For hours! Krishna reminded him of the storm when they gathered firewood together. Of the night they got lost and huddled in a cave telling stories. Of the time Sudama saved his portion of food for Krishna when he was sick."

Guddu: "'You remember?' Sudama must have said."

Dadi: "'How could I forget?' Krishna replied. 'Those days shaped me as much as anything since.' They talked until Sudama forgot his poverty, forgot his purpose, forgot everything except the joy of being with his friend again."

Guddu: "And the poha stayed hidden."

Dadi: "Until Krishna noticed the bundle. 'What's that?' He unwrapped it himself, found the beaten rice, and his eyes lit up. 'You brought me THIS? From your own home? Made with your wife's hands?' He ate a handful with such joy. 'This is the best food I've tasted in years!'"

Guddu: "Sudama couldn't ask for anything after that."

Dadi: "How could he? His friend valued his humble gift so highly. He stayed the night, left the next morning still poor but filled with something better than wealth - the certainty that true friendship transcends all differences."

Guddu: "But then the miracle!"

Dadi: "When he reached home, he couldn't find his hut. A mansion stood in its place! His wife ran out beautifully dressed, his children playing in a garden, stores of grain that would last years!"

Guddu: "Krishna gave everything without being asked!"

Dadi: "'The love that brought beaten rice has been answered with love that rebuilt a life,' his wife said. Sudama stood in his new home and looked toward Dwaraka. He couldn't see it, but he could feel his friend's presence."

Guddu: "What did he whisper?"

Dadi: "'Thank you.' And somehow, across all those miles, Krishna heard."

Guddu: "Dadi, what's the lesson?"

Dadi: "That true friendship isn't about what you can GET but what you GIVE. Not what you ASK but what you OFFER. Sudama came expecting nothing and received everything - not because he asked cleverly, but because he loved purely."

Guddu: "And Krishna showed that rich people can remember their poor friends."

Dadi: "Better - he showed that to true friends, rich and poor don't matter at all. The boy who shared food in the ashram never forgot, even when he became king of the world. That's real friendship, beta. May you know that kind of love."

Guddu: "*yawning* Goodnight, Dadi. May I be as good a friend as Krishna."

Dadi: "And may your friends be as true as Sudama. Goodnight, my faithful boy."