Sudama (also known as Kuchela, mostly in South India) was a childhood friend of Hindu deity Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 from Mathura, the story of whose visit to Dwaraka to meet Krishna, is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana

Bhagavata purana

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...

 . He was Narada

Narada

Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...

 born as a poor man in order to enjoy the transcendental pastimes of Lord Krishna.

The story

Sudama was from a poor family, His father's name is Matuka and His mother is Rocana-devi. while Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 was from the royal family. But this difference in social status did not come in the way of their friendship. They lost contact over the years and while Krishna became a military leader and King of great repute at Dwaraka, while Sudama stayed as a humble, and somewhat impoverished person living in a village .

Some time later when Sudama was going through some bad times, not even having enough money to feed his children, his wife Susheela reminded him of his friendship with Krishna.

Though initially reluctant to go to his friend for help, Sudama finally agrees to go. He leaves with nothing but some beaten rice tied in a cloth as a present. He remembers that beaten rice (avalakki in Kannada, aval

Flattened rice

Flattened rice is a dehusked rice which is flattened into flat light dry flakes. These flakes of rice swell when added to liquid, whether hot or cold, as they absorb water, milk or any other liquids...

 in Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 and Malayalam, powa/poha

Poha

Poha may refer to:* Physalis peruviana , species of plant* Poha , food made from rice...

in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, pohe in Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 and atukulu in Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

) is Krishna's favorite and decided to give this as a gift to the Lord.

Krishna is greatly pleased to see his old friend. He treats him royally and with much love. Overwhelmed by all this Sudama forgets to ask for what he actually came to ask. But the Lord realises what His friend needs, and the lord's consort Rukmini

Rukmini

In Hinduism, Rukmini is the principal wife and queen of Krishna at his city of Dwarka. Krishna heroically kidnaps her from an un-wanted marriage at her request . Of Krishna's 16,108 queens, Rukmini is the first and most prominent...

 incarnation of Lakshmi

Lakshmi

Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...

, gifts him with his desires. On his return journey, Sudama ponders his circumstances and is thankful for the great friend he has in Lord Krishna. When Sudama finally returns to his home, he finds a palatial mansion instead of the hut he had left. He also finds his family dressed in extremely nice garb and waiting for him. He lives an austere life after that, always thankful to the Lord.

Lessons

This story is told to illustrate that the Lord does not differentiate between people based on their finances and that he will reward devotion always. Another moral taught by this story is to never expect anything free in life; God will provide for your good deeds.
Another moral is not to trade bhakti for anything in return. Sudama did not ask Krishna for anything. Despite being poor Sudama had given Krishna everything he had (poha) hence in return the Lord gave Sudama everything he needed.

Additionally, the story of Sudama and Krishna contrasts the difference between how Krishna treated Sudama and how Drupada

Drupada

Drupada , also known as Yajnasena, is a character in the Mahābhārata. He is king of the land of Panchala.In his youth he studies with, and becomes a friend of Drona. Drupada makes him promise to share all his fortunes with him. Later, when Drupada becomes king of Panchaladesa, Drona reminds him...

 treated Drona

Drona

In the epic Mahābhārata, Drona or Dronacharya was the royal guru to Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the Devastras. Arjuna was his favorite student. Dronas love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama...

. Drona spent his youth in poverty, but studied religion and military arts together with the then prince of Panchala, Drupada. Drupada and Drona had become close friends as students and Drupada, in his childish playfullness, promised to give Drona half his kingdom on ascending the throne of Panchala. The two students later parted their ways. Drona later married and had a son. For the sake of his wife and son, Drona desired freedom from poverty. Remembering the promise given by Drupada, he decided to approach him to ask for help. However, drunk with power, King Drupada refused to even recognise Drona and humiliated him by calling him an inferior person. By contrast, Krishna never forgot His friend and treated Sudama with utmost respect. By His example, Krishna is teaching us about how to treat one another.

Another important lesson learnt here is about how Krishna rewards true persons. Krishna did not reward Sudama just because he was a friend. Sudama spent all of his time and effort in cultural efforts befitting a true person which explained why he was financially not well off. This included teaching religion, moral duties, and spreading spirituality through society. It is for this effort that Krishna rewards Sudama's family with wealth so that Sudama may continue to do that work. In contrast, Drona does not receive the support that he needs from Drupad. As a result, Drona compromises his principles and accepts refuge from the kingdom of Hastinapur. Eventually, that compromise forces Drona to take the side of evil in the battle of Kurukshetra. So the real lesson learnt here is that when kings (and society at large) does not take care of its poor (true moral and philosophical guides), it may drive them into the hands of evil.

Did Sudama himself lead an austere life after returning from Krishna ? It is said that Sudama continued to lead the life of a hermit while his family enjoyed the generous gifts of wealth from Krishna.
Sudama was Lord Krishna’s classmate and a very intimate friend. Lord Krishna was a king. Sudama was a moneyless, poor Brahmin. This difference did not come in way of their true friendship. Sudhama went to Dwarka to meet Krishna. He carried with him a very very Humble gift to be presentable to Lord Krushna. What did he carry? Some books say he carried Pohe (betten rice.), while some books and movies say he carried sathu powder (peeth). This confusing difference of opinion is because Sudhama carried nither Suttu nor Pohe . He carried with him a peculiar COMBINATION of Sattu and Pohe called as “Sattu-Peeth Pohe” It is an exclusive speciality of Samvadhi Lad Brahmins to which Sudhama belonged. That Sudhama was a Samvadi Lad Brahmin is more or less widely accepted however whether his home town was Bhurgakacha(Bhadoch) or Porbander is a point on which minor difference of opinion exist.
Any way Shrikrushna-Sudama is an immortal example of real, non materialistic friendship. It is a perpetual symbolic definition of real friendship. Sathu-Peet Pohe is a very tasty, ready to serve, easy to carry in journey. In it Poha (betten Rich) is smeared with sathu while it is fried. Suthu Peeth is prepared from Grama (phutana) and wheat flour.

Films

• Shri Krishna Sudama (1920)
• Bhakta Sudama (1927)
• Krishna Sudama (1933)
• Krishna Sudama (1936)
• Krishna Sudama (1945)
• Krishna Sudama (1957)
• Krishna Sudama (1976)

Adaptations

• Kadha Parayumbol (2007)
• Kuselan
  Kuselan
  Kuselan is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by P. Vasu, which was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu . Both remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, the film is directed by P. Vasu and produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages...
  
  (2008)
• Billu (2009)
• Vipul Ahir (2010)
• Dwarkadheesh (2011)

External links

• The story of Sudama.