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Sage Naradha
 The greatness of
Naradha can be proved by the fact that Valmiki, in the first sloka of
Ramayana, has referred to the sage as
'Munipungavar' which means 'the supreme of all sages'. In the Bhagvad Gita ( chapter 10, sloka 26)
Lord Krishna says 'Devarsheenamsanaaradhaha'. Two facts are clear from this i.e,
Naradha was a Devarishi and since he is superior among the Devarishis, Krishna says that he is the
Naradha among the Devarishis. The problems that he created always ended up well.
Naradha was the son of Bramha,
born from his lap. Brahma advised him to get married and raise progeny. But
Naradha did not show interest in marriage and so Brahma cursed him which resulted in
a few births for Naradha. Chithrakethu, a Gandharva, was childless. Wishing for an issue, he did penance, praying to
Lord Siva.
 By the
Lord's grace, Naradha was born as his son. The child was named Upaharnan and he grew up to be a devotee of Vishnu. Once Upaharnan was involved in intense contemplation. Fifty Gandharva girls, who were passing that way, fell in love with him. Upaharnan opened his eyes and saw them standing before him with folded hands. He too fell in love with them and married them. He lived with them for a long time, raised children and
grandchildren and breathed his last at the end.
Emperor Thurumilan and his wife Kalavathy prayed for an issue. By the grace of
God, Kalavathy conceived. Meanwhile, the emperor gifted away all his wealth to the needy and died a pauper. Kalavathy,
ready to commit 'Sati', was stopped from doing so by a voice from the heavens.
Kalavathy went to a nearby village and started working in a
Bramhin's house as a servant. The village was hit by a drought then and people were suffering without water. Meanwhile, Kalavathy gave birth to a son and as soon as the child was born, heavy rains lashed the village and so the Brahmin named the child as
Naradha (Naaram - water), meaning one who brings rain.
Once Naradha and his mother Kalavathy served the
sadhus who were the guests of the Brahmin. When it was time for the sadhus to leave, they communicated a mantra 'Om Namo Baghavathe Vaasudevaya' to
Naradha and asked him to chant the mantra daily. Naradha did penance by chanting the mantra and died doing so.
(Bhagavatham - 7th Skandham)
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