The Story
Sudama was from a poor family. His father's name is Matuka and His mother is Rocana-devi. Krishna 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, Sudama stayed as a humble and somewhat impoverished villager.
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 (Chirha/Chirhe in Bengali, avalakki in Kannada, aval in Tamil and Malayalam, powa/poha/Chewda in Hindi, pohe in Marathi and atukulu in Telugu) 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 for. But the Lord realises what His friend needs, and the Lord's consort Rukmini, incarnation of Lakshmi, 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.
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