The Decision of Victory and Defeat

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This is a story from long ago.
A spiritual debate (Shastrarth) was taking place between Adi Shankaracharya and Mandan Mishra, which continued for sixteen days straight. The judge of this debate was none other than Mandan Mishra’s learned wife, Devi Bharati.

The debate had not yet reached its conclusion when Devi Bharati had to leave briefly to attend to an important task.

Before leaving, she placed a garland of fresh flowers around the neck of each scholar and said,
“These garlands will decide the outcome of this debate in my absence.” Saying this, she left.

The debate between the two scholars continued as before.

After some time, Devi Bharati returned and, with her keen eyes, observed both Shankaracharya and Mandan Mishra. She then calmly announced her verdict: Adi Shankaracharya had won, and her husband, Mandan Mishra, had lost.

Everyone present was shocked. How could she declare a decision without hearing the entire debate? And that too against her own husband?

One of the scholars respectfully asked,
“O Devi, you left the debate midway. Then how could you determine the result upon returning?”

Smiling, Devi Bharati replied,
“Whenever a scholar begins to lose an argument, and senses defeat approaching, he often becomes angry. The garland around my husband’s neck has withered due to the heat of his anger.

But the garland around Shankaracharya’s neck remains as fresh as it was. This clearly shows that Shankaracharya remained calm and composed, while my husband allowed anger to affect him. Thus, the victory goes to Shankaracharya.”

Everyone was amazed by her wisdom and praised her intelligence and fairness.

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Moral:
Friends, anger is a state of mind that opens the door to defeat, even when one is close to winning.
Not only does it lead to failure, but it also causes cracks in relationships.

So never let the heat of your anger wither away the flower-like qualities within you.

Always stay content—what you have is enough.
He who is joyful in heart, possesses everything.