Sudama

Sudama (Sanskrit सुदामा IAST Sudāmā also known as Kuchela, mostly in South India) was a Brahmin childhood friend of Hindu deity Krishna from Mathura, the story of whose visit to Dwaraka to meet Krishna is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana. He was born as a poor man in order to enjoy the transcendental pastimes.

Sudama was from a poor family. His father's name was Matuka and his mother was 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 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 Sushila 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 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 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 as 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.

Sudama is not mentioned anywhere in the very ancient scriptures Mahabharata, Harivamsa or Vishnu Purana. The story of Sudama is very popular in Bhagavata.

In Sai Satcharitra book it is mentioned in one story that Sai baba preaches his followers about not to be greedy and always remember Lord before having food. He then tells the story of Lord Krishna and his friend Sudama. Lord Sri krishna and Sudama (Kuchela) studied together at Acharya Sandipan's ashram (hermitage). Krishna and Sudama once went to the forest to gather brushwood. They stayed in forest for long, walking and chatting with each other, while also enjoying the beauty of their environment. It started getting quite late and Krishna got hungry. Sudama, in the meantime, had some beaten rice (atukulu) with him, which was given by Sandipan's wife before they leave and she asked to share the food with Krishna. However, Sudama didn't offer this food to his friend. Krishna kept telling him how hungry he was and asked his friend if he had anything at all to eat. Sudama denied taking along anything to eat. A while later Krishna laid down on Sudama's lap, after which Sudama took the beaten rice and started eating. Lord Krishna though his eyes are closed, he knew what's going on and asked Sudama what was he eating. Sudama said, "nothing, it was due to cold you hear my teeth biting". Then Krishna tells Sudama a story in which there were two friends and one of them ate food without offering to other. When the friend asked what was he eating, he says "what is there to eat, except mud". Then the friend says " Tadhastu ( Let it happen that way)". Krishna adds, the friend in this story is greedy and not as good as you. So it happens to you only if you are greedy too. This explains why Sudama experienced extreme poverty and he gained wealth only after offering Lord Krishna's share of beaten rice. The moral of the story is to offer food to hungry people or animals ( Seeing God in all creatures) around you before you eat.

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Wikipedia