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King Janaka And Lord Vishnu – Story On The Limitlessness Of True Self

Once, Lord Vishnu took the form of a Brahmin, and allowed himself to be brought to Janaka’s court as someone who had committed a heinous offence. The appropriate sentence for the offence was exile from the kingdom, and the king pronounced the judgment of exile on the Brahmin.



The Brahmin bowed his head in acceptance of the sentence, and asked the king, “Will you kindly let me know, Your Majesty, how far your kingdom extends?”

Janaka was taken aback. A wise man, he realized that the kingdom which had been ruled by his forefathers, did not really belong to him. Even his body was not his, for it was but an instrument of God! On the other hand, from the point of view of the soul, the vast universe was his! When this realization dawned on him, the king said, “O Brahmin! Endless is the kingdom of my soul! Live happily, anywhere you choose!”

Janaka was truly wise. He realized the immortality, the limitlessness of the true self.

SourceThe Seven Commandments of the Bhagavad Gita by J.P. Vaswani