34. तुङ्गास्नानसमुत्सुकः Tuṅgā-snāna-samutsukaḥ

One who was extremely enthusiastic about bathing in River Tuṅgā

The river Tuṅgā originates from a spot called the Gaṅgā-mūla situated on a hill called Varāha-parvata of the Western Ghats. The sacred river is famous

98 34. Tuṅgā-snāna-samutsukaḥ for the sweetness of its water, and as per the popular saying, “Tuṅgā-pāna, Gaṅgā-snāna,” drinking from the Tuṅgā produces as lofty a result as bathing in the Gaṅgā. The Tuṅgā beautifully meanders through the valleys as she flows through Sringeri, which is not far from her place of origin. The Sringeri Math is located on both banks of this river.

When His Holiness first came to Sringeri in 1930 as a brahmacārin of twelve years, He did not know swimming, but gradually mastered it to the extent that He was as much at home in water as on land. He swam with the grace of a fish and the more torrential the current, the greater was His affinity to the flow. Even into His sixties, He never let go of an opportunity to plunge into the Tuṅgā, especially when it was in spate. He is therefore spoken of here as sam-utsukah, One who was extremely enthusiastic, about Tuṅgā-snāna, bathing in the Tuṅgā.

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His Holiness used to jump into the Tuṅgā from high trees and swim long distances even when the river was swollen because of rains. Years later, when He went on tours as the pontiff, He did not let slip the opportunity to swim in various mighty rivers such as the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Godāvarī, Narmadā and Kāverī, as well as the ocean in many places.

The 33^rd pontiff, Jagadguru Śrī Sacchidānanda Śivābhinava Narasiṁha Bhāratī Mahāsvāmin, was an expert swimmer. Any stretch of water, dangerous though it be, was an irresistible invitation to Him. He had the ability to hold His breath for a protracted period of time and, on occasions, used to frighten His attendants by diving under water and remaining there for a long time. His Holiness was like Him.

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Perhaps because of His ignorance of swimming and His intense love for His Holiness, the senior Jagadguru used to become jittery whenever His Holiness plunged into the river. He did not expressly forbid His pupil from having the Tuṅgā for His companion but was heard remarking when His Holiness swam in the swollen Tuṅgā, “Oh! What is he up to? How dangerous all this is. I really hope nothing untoward happens.”

His Holiness once told a disciple, “Barring three things, I do not remember having done, even in a dream, on even one occasion, anything that did not meet with my Guru’s approval. The three things were swimming, climbing trees and going for long walks in the forests. I requested Him in person on two occasions to kindly forgive me for these three irresistible transgressions, and sought pardon once in writing, referring implicitly to these three acts.

“The first time I sought His forgiveness was in the early part of 1936, before I went to Bengaluru. He just smiled and patted me on the cheek. I did so the second time in a letter from Bengaluru. He did not write back anything about this point. The second time I apologised in person was a year after His return from Kalady (that is, in 1941). In response to this, He told me, ‘I cannot even imagine them to be transgressions, for these are exactly the three things my Guru Himself could not resist. Hence, what is there to forgive? Just as fire cannot give up its heat, you cannot give up these, at least for the present. Therefore, it is I who must learn not to worry about what cannot be changed.’ I did not apologise to Him about these thereafter.”

The written apology alluded to by His Holiness was in the form of a verse in a letter penned by Him on 19th September, 1937. The verse carries the meaning, “Because of childishness or fickleness, I have, knowingly or unknowingly, committed transgressions. May the revered Guru deign to forgive them.”⁹⁵

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