Dhruva was a sagacious king, and in his line comes Anga, who is also a righteous king. The elders in his kingdom tell him that although he is of impeccable conduct in this birth, he had sinned in his previous birth. They ask him to worship the Paramatma, to be blessed with a child. The king does as advised, and has a son called Venan. But Venan is cruel, and displays bad qualities even as a child. Venan’s maternal grandfather Mrityu was a wicked man and the child seems to have inherited all his grandfather’s bad qualities.
Venan tortures animals, his playmates and others. Everyone runs away in fright when he approaches. Anga retires to the forest, for he is disgusted with his son’s behaviour. But Anga’s thoughts prior to his departure for the forest are noteworthy, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi, in a discourse.
Anga reasons thus: “He who is blessed with a wicked son must indeed be blessed, for it gives him the mental strength to renounce worldly life, and keep free from attachments. Such parents must have worshipped the Lord in their previous birth. Else they would not be so lucky. If a child happens to be good, then the parents will worry about his welfare. They will seek wealth for him. They will have to find a suitable bride for him. They will be anxious about his health. They will want their son to be blessed with good children. And with all these concerns, how will they ever develop detachment? But will anyone have such concerns about a son with undesirable qualities? If the son is wicked, a parent will not even want to share the same house as his son. He will want to keep his distance from his son. He will, therefore, want to get out of samsaric life.”
Having decided to leave his kingdom, Angan departs from the palace, without taking leave of anyone.
