There was a great king names Bhartruhari who renounced the world. He renounced the world because he had lived in it totally and he had come to realize that it was futile. It was not a doctrine to him, it was a lived reality. He had come to the conclusion through his own life. He was a man of strong desire, he had indulged in life as much as possible, then suddenly he realized it was useless, futile. So he left the world, he renounced it, and he went to a forest. One day he was meditating under a tree. The sun was rising. Suddenly he became aware that just on the road, the small road which passed nearby the tree, lay a very big diamond. As the sun was rising, it was reflecting the rays. Even Bhartruhari, had not seen such a big diamond before. Suddenly, in a moment of unawareness, a desire arose to possess it. The body remained unmoved, but the mind moved. The body was in the posture of meditation, Padmásana, but the meditation was no longer there. Only the dead body was there, the mind had moved – it had gone to the diamond. Before the king could move, two men came from different directions on their horses and simultaneously they became aware of the diamond lying on the street. They pulled out their swords, each one claiming that he had seen the diamond first. There was no other way to decide so they had to fight. They fought and killed each other. Within moments two dead bodies were lying there next to the diamond. Bhartruhari, laughed, closed his eyes, and went into meditation again. What happened? He again realized the futility. And what happened to these two men? The diamond became more meaningful than their whole life. This is what possession means: they threw away their life just for a stone. When desire is there, you are no more – desire can lead you to suicide. Really, every desire is leading you to suicide. When you are in the power of a desire, you are not in your senses, you are just mad. The desire to possess arose in Bhartruhari’s mind also; in a fragment of a moment the desire arose. And he might have moved to get it but before he could, the other two persons came and fought, and there were two dead bodies lying on the road with the stone there in its own place. Bhartruhari, laughed, closed his eyes, and went into his meditation again. For a single moment his subjectivity was lost. A stone, a diamond, the object, became more powerful. But again the subjectivity was regained. Without the diamond the whole world disappeared, and he closed his eyes.
King Bhartruhari who became saint Bhartruhari ---There was a king ruling the city of Ujjaini, situated in the middle of present day India. BhartruHari was a wise and loving ruler, but his mind was always on Love and Romance, he had around 100 beautiful women for his wives as stories say, obviously there wasn't much time left for him to look after the Kingdom, his younger step-brother Vikramaditya (who is famously known, Indian calendar system which is still used was found during his era) was looking after the whole of kingdom, and was unhappy with his brother for not taking responsibilities. Bhartruhari was so much immersed in romance and sex, that he wrote 100 stanzas on 'the art of romance and sex', now famously called 'Shrungara Shataka'. All the stanzas are on sensuality and sexual pleasure. King Bhartruhari was obsessed with his youngest wife Pingala, she was beautiful and charming. Once king's brother complained to the king about the affair of queen with king's charioteer and advised him to banish her for the sake of the kingdom. King was too obsessed with her to heed to his brother, in fact when the queen heard of this from her sources, she manipulated the king and banished his brother from the kingdom One day a yogi came to his court and presented the king with an apple, which he said would bless one with 'youth and longevity' on eating (stories say that the ascetic got the apple as a boon from the gods and that the apple was from the Kalpavruksha- 'wish fulfilling tree'). The king wanted queen Pingala to have the apple, so that she would always look young for him. Queen Pingala gave the apple to the charioteer. She wanted him to be young and strong. The charioteer was in love with a prostitute, he gave her the apple to eat. The prostitute thought 'it would be better if someone deserving ate this', she always liked the king, he was noble and pious, his long living also meant the peace and stability of her kingdom, so she took the apple to the king and give it to him. King Bhartuhari was surprised to see the apple with her, and enquired how she got it. She told him how she got it from the charioteer, king sent men to bring the charioteer, he told the king that he got it from the queen, and confessed of his affair with the queen. Bhartruhari realized the fleeting nature of the pleasure from worldly objects, he wrote a poem about the incident which changed him in his Niti Shataka. (100 stanzas on Moral conduct) "(She) whom on I contemplate, is not passionate for me, she loves another; that whom she loves, loves another; One whom he loves, loves another. Refuse (disdain to) that woman, that man, Cupid, me." Deep Vairagya (dispassion) arose in him, he gave up the desire for his wife, realizing his mistake he brought his brother back and crowned him, renouncing the world he lived rest of his life as an ascetic. Bhartruhari wrote Niti-Shataka and Vairagya Shataka during his later years.