Jaratkaru
A long time ago, a great hermit named Jaratkaru lived. He did lot of goodness. He was a good hermit since he never forgot about his responsibility as a hermit. Alas, he was too firm of his conviction that he would not marry any women. When he graduated from ascetic academy he became the best hermit. What he did everyday in his simple life was praying and japa (belt out a religious song) and doing some other religious activities. He understood clearly all the function of mantra. Those things engrossed him. As a consequence, he had no desire to have a woman beside him.
His great attention in asceticism led him to get more and more abilities. One day, he could reach the junction between hell and heaven. At there, he saw decrepit man hung on brittle bamboo which was being bitten by the rats. If the bamboo was not strong anymore then apparently the man would fall down; to the hell. The man looked very hurt and tired. Jaratkaru was very sad and thought that the man must be has many sins to be paid.
Then he offered to give him half of his merit he got from his good deed in the earth in order to pay a half sin of that man. Unpredictably that man refused it. The man asked Jaratkaru to tell his son which was still alive to get marry since all the man’s agonies occurred because his son did not want to marry. Jaratkaru promised help him and forward a question about his son’s name. Jaratkaru was very surprised when he knew that the man’s son was Jaratkaru himself.
Jaratkaru cried and felt regret; looking at his father was suffered because of his conviction which was considered as the right one. He was a firm man that he felt it was so hard to break his conviction. But his father’s spirit would be painful forever if he did not break it. His mind was mixed-up. But then he decided to go back to the earth to fulfill his responsibility as a human being; marry a woman and got children. Not just any woman. He would marry a woman who had the same name with his. And finally he got a woman named Jaratkaru. This woman actually was a female dragon yet she had transformed into a woman.
Jaratkaru cried and felt regret; looking at his father was suffered because of his conviction which was considered as the right one. He was a firm man that he felt it was so hard to break his conviction. But his father’s spirit would be painful forever if he did not break it. His mind was mixed-up. But then he decided to go back to the earth to fulfill his responsibility as a human being; marry a woman and got children. Not just any woman. He would marry a woman who had the same name with his. And finally he got a woman named Jaratkaru. This woman actually was a female dragon yet she had transformed into a woman.
Jaratkaru had accomplished his responsibility. And his father succeeded to be freed from the agonies.
That story above taken from Adiparwa scripture prove that as human being, people are responsible to get marry and have children in order to create their successors. Balinese assure that the ancestor will be in trouble if the children who are still alive do not want to accomplish their responsibility.
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