The king was very angry and summoned the princess. “Have you chosen a man for yourself and not told us about it?”
The princess however calmly nodded at her father. “I have chosen none other than Lord Vishnu as my husband. If you do not believe me you can come to my apartment at night and hide there and see it for yourself.
That night the king and the Queen came to the princess’s apartment and hid there.
They saw the Weaver disguised as Lord Vishnu and believed that Lord Vishnu himself had become his son-in-law.
They were thrilled.
However, when the king learnt that Lord Vishnu was his own son, he became very proud.
Most of the other times when the neighbouring kingdom attacked the king's kingdom, the king paid tribute to avert the war.
This time the king refused to pay any tribute.
Naturally the neighbouring king declared war on the king.
The king went to the princess and asked her to tell her husband to fight on behalf of the kingdom. The king convinced his daughter that as he was Lord Vishnu's son-in-law and he did not want to pay tribute to other kings.
The weaver was terrified when he heard this.
He knew that if he did not go to the battlefield the king of the neighbouring kingdom would kill the princess and the king. If he went to the battlefield there was a chance he would be killed there.
So the weaver did not know what to do.
Finally, the weaver decided that the only option he had was to disguise himself as Vishnu and go to the battlefield. There was a chance that the neighbouring kingdom's soldiers would see his attire and believe that he was Vishnu and walk away from the battlefield.
Meanwhile in the heavens the real Lord Vishnu and Garuda were looking at the events of this kingdom.
Garuda did not want the weaver to be defeated because Garuda felt that it would show that Lord Vishnu could be defeated by a mere king. So Garuda pleaded with Lord Vishnu to interfere in this war.
Finally the next day when the weaver got himself ready for battle, Lord Vishnu and Garuda entered into the wooden bird.
The weaver confidently sat on the bird and flew to the battlefield on his wooden bird.
The neighbouring king was stunned because the Weaver fought like Lord Vishnu himself.
The few surviving soldiers of the neighbouring kingdom bowed before the weaver believing that they were looking at Lord Vishnu himself.
The weaver won the war.
Then the Weaver came back, married the princess with the permission of the king and eventually ruled the kingdom after the death of the king. The weaver ruled the place wisely and well.
Adapted from the Panchatantra
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