Gunasarma’s Story - Part One

In the city of Ujjain, there lived a man by the name  of Adityasarma. Adityasarma had lost his parents when he was very young and he was brought up by his uncle who lived in the same city.

Adityasarma became proficient in the Vedas and the Shastra and as he grew up he became friends with a parivajraka, who was a wanderer who roamed from one city to another.

Once the wanderer and Adityasarma went to a cremation  ground and performed a sacrifice.

As Adityasarma and the wanderer had performed a perfectly good sacrifice a yakshini or a nymph emerged from the fires on a flying vehicle.

There were many yakshinis attending the main yakshini.

The main yakshini nodded at the wanderer. “By your sacrifice, you now have the power to attract several Yakshinis. You can have one of my attendants for yourself. Choose one.”

The wanderer looked around, and he chose one of the Yakshinis and the main Yakshini left with the others.

Subsequently, Adityasarma spoke with the yakshini who had stayed with the wanderer. “Are there other yakshinis who are available?” 

“Yes,” the yakshini nodded. “There were three other powerful yakshinis - Vidyunmala, Chandralekha and Sulochana and Sulochana was the best among all of them.”

Adityasarma decided to win Soluchana’s attention by performing a better sacrifice.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

The Adventures of the Two Princes - Part Five

Meanwhile, everyone in the palace rejoiced on seeing the princess alive. The king was shocked too. “Is Nyema dead?” 

She shook her head. “No, the Snake God does not want any human sacrifices and he said that the water will always come and never be stopped.” 

The king and his ministers thought that it was miraculous, so they ordered Nyema to be brought before him. 

Then the king saw Nyema, the king had a slight suspicion. “Are you really the son of this hermit?” 

Nyema shook his head. “No, I am the son of king Genchog.  My brother and I ran away from the kingdom fearing my father's wife, who is not my mother.”

The king, having heard everything, realized that Nyema was the perfect match for his daughter and gave his daughter in marriage to Nyema. 

After that the king crowned Nyema as the crown prince because he was growing old.

Nyema had a feast which lasted for seven days and after that, he told Dawa to go back to their original kingdom because it had been ages since they had seen their father.  

The crown prince gave his brother gold, silver and many other ornaments. 

Dawa took yak loads of goods and came back to his kingdom. 

The father learnt that both his sons were alive and well and he was very happy as well. 

As Nyema already had another kingdom to rule, King Genchog handed over his crown to the younger brother, which was what the stepmother wanted.  

After that, the two sons of the king ruled the two kingdoms and lived happily ever after.

Adapted from Tibetan Folk Stories

The Adventure of the Two Princes - Part Four

 

The king had a daughter. She is very beautiful and she fell in love with Nyema the minute she saw him. But at that time, she did not know how she could help Nyema. 

Finally, the day came when Nyema was to be thrown into the lake. 

The king's daughter then went before the king and pleaded before him. “Please do not throw this man in the lake. But if you want to throw him, throw me in too.” 

The king was angry with his daughter because she did not seem to understand that sacrificing Nyema to the lake was the only way to provide water to the Kingdom. So in order to set all this right the king ordered that his daughter also be thrown in the waters along with Nyema. 

When Nyema learned of this, he was very sad. He realized that he was being sacrificed to bring water to the people of the kingdom but he did not understand why the king was willing to sacrifice the princess and why she had to die too. 

The princess loved Nyema so deeply that she felt bad that Nyema had to die for no fault of his other than being born in the year of the tiger.

When the two of them were brought before the Snake God, the Snake God was able to sense the love that the couple had for each other. This moved the Snake God so much that he decided that neither of them had to be sacrificed. Further the Snake God went even a step further and asked the people not to sacrifice any people anymore because he would not affect the water supply anymore.

After this, the princess went back to her palace and told everyone what had happened there. 

Nyema went to the hermit's cave and he told them that he had survived and nothing had happened to him. 

The hermit and the second son, Dawa were very happy seeing Nyema alive and well.

Adapted from Tibetan Folk Stories

The Adventure of the Two Princes - Part Three

Near the cave was a kingdom. There was a king in the kingdom. The king's city was watered by a huge lake. It so happened that every year an offering had to be made to the Snake God who lived in the lake. If this offering was not made the snake god who lived in the lake would get angry and make sure that no water was left in the big lake. 

The people in the kingdom were required to sacrifice a human who was born in the year of the tiger to the Snake God. 

But it so happened that it had gone too far and there were no people left in the kingdom who were born in the year of the tiger. 

In the kingdom, the king looked at his subjects and decided to look around for other options. That was when he came to know that in the mountains nearby there was a hermit who had two sons and of whom the older son was born in the year of the tiger.

Then the people from the kingdom knocked on the door of the cave. 

The hermit opened the door and the hermit was asked about whether he had any sons. 

The hermit denied it saying that he was a hermit and could not have any song. After saying this the hermit shut the door rudely on the soldiers of the king.  

Then, the hermit cleverly hid both his sons inside huge casks and waited. 

The soldiers on whom the door had been shut were furious with the behaviour of the hermit and they broke the door down. 

They came inside the cave and looked around the cave inch by inch, but could not find anyone else there. 

In anger they started beating the old hermit. 

The two boys could not stand this and they came out of their hiding place. 

The soldiers of the king tied the older son and took him to the king. 

The hermit and the younger Dawa were very sad after Nyema was gone but they did not know what to do.

Adapted from the Tibetan Folk Stories

The Adventure of the Two Princes - Part Two

Nyema desired to run away from the palace to keep himself safe from his stepmother. Dawa being a devoted brother decided to go with his brother. 

So the two of them arranged to slip away by midnight and make sure that no one else knew about their plans.  

They took some supplies to last them for a few days. 

They traveled over day and night for the next few days, and all the supplies that they had bought were finished. 

They were very hungry and thirsty. They came to a village, but unfortunately there was no water in the entire village. 

Dawa was getting very weak.  

Nyema asked Dawa to lay down under the shade of a tree, and he decided to go further to the next village or anywhere around this place to see if he could get some water. He searched for water in the entire mountain but found none.

Nyema came back to the place where he had left his younger brother and saw that Dawa was dead.

Nyema was numb with shock and did not know what to do. 

He built a tomb for his younger sick brother and went further away from this place.

He crossed two mountain ranges and came onto a cliff there. 

He saw a big door on a cave there and knocked on it. 

He found an old hermit inside.  

The hermit looked at Nyema and instantly felt that he was waiting for this boy to come here. 

When Nyema told the hermit about why he had come, the hermit prayed to the gods with all his power and to bring the younger Dawa back to life.

Dava came back to life and followed his older brother's tracks and came to the old hermit's house, and the two step brothers lived in the cave as the old hermit's son

Adapted from Tibetan Folk Stories

The Adventure of the Two Princes - Part One

On the tip of a big flat mountain, King Gencho ruled a kingdom there. He and his wife had a son whom they named as Nyema.

Unfortunately, the king's wife died immediately after giving birth to her only son. 

So the king married another wife and the king and his second wife had another son by the name Dawa.

The second wife, however, realized that as long as the oldest son was alive, her son never stood a chance to rule this kingdom. She decided to come up with a plan to get rid of the first son. 

A few days later, she pretended to be very ill and rolled on the floor groaning in agony. 

The king saw this and was very worried. “What is the matter with you?”

Between her painful groans she answered. “I have had this sickness since I was little. But now it has hit me very hard.”

The king was even more worried. “Is there any way to heal you? Please tell me. I will do what I can.” 

On hearing this the wife pretended to be silent for some time. But finally she gave in and told the king about what could cure her.

“I must eat the heart of one of your sons. If that happens, then this illness would be gone.” The king's wife however, hurriedly shook her head. “I cannot eat my own son's heart. He's my own flesh and blood. I could not do that even if it were to save my life. And I will not eat the heart of the older son who is the crown prince of the kingdom.”

The king wondered about the words of his wife. 

It so happened that the younger son Dawa also heard the words of his mother and decided to do something about it. 

Unlike his mother, Dawa loved his older stepbrother. He saw through the plan of his mother and realized that his mother did not like the older son. Dawa did not support his mother's plan of getting rid of the older son.  

So he went and told his elder brother everything that he had heard.

Adapted from the Tibetan Folk Stories

The Little Bird and the Rich Man - Part Two

 

The rich man was annoyed when he heard the bird’s laughter. “Why are you laughing?”

“You are supposed to be a smart man, but you are so foolish.” The bird’s voice sounded from the tree.

The rich man was stunned. “What do you mean?”

The bird answered. “If instead of giving me my freedom, you had kept me you would have been a very rich man because in my body I have a diamond the size of a hen's egg.” 

The man was shocked for a second and then he berated himself for letting the bird go. 

Then the man caught himself and turned his attention to the tree, trying to focus on the bird. He could not find it, but he tried to speak in a reasonable voice. “Nature around you will be harsh. But if you come to my cage I will always give you a warm place and give you enough time to fly around freely. And I will give you as much water and bread as you want. Come with me and you will be better off with me than being free.”

The bird laughed louder on hearing the words of the rich man. “You are foolish, because you have not learned anything from my words. I told you that you should not grieve over things that have already happened. But you are still grieving that you gave me my freedom. I told you that you should not wish for things that you cannot obtain. And yet you think that you can get me to voluntarily enter a prison.” The bird laughed again. “And how can you be so foolish to believe that my little body can carry a diamond the size of an egg?” 

The bird flew away from the tree. “You are the most foolish man ever.” 

The rich man realized his mistake and the wise bird flew away from there.

Adapted from Polish Fairy Tales

The Little Bird and the Rich Man - Part One

 

Once a rich man was walking down a garden. He saw a little bird in a net. He decided to keep the bird for himself and removed the bird from the net and caught it tightly. He was stunned when the bird spoke in human language. “Please give me my freedom.”

The man was shocked as he stared at the talking bird. 

The bird continued. “I am too small for you. I cannot sing like other birds. And I do not have beautiful feathers either.  I am too small to provide you with nourishment. So please let me go and if you do so I will teach you three wise teachings."

The rich man decided to let the bird go but with a caveat. “Let me hear your words of wisdom and if it teaches me anything, I will give you your freedom.”

The little bird nodded. “First, do not grieve over things that have already happened. Second, do not wish for something that cannot be attained and third, do not believe in that which is not possible.” 

The rich man was shocked when he heard the words of the bird. “You have taught me something important today. And I will give you your freedom.”

As soon as the rich man let the bird go, the bird flew as far away from the merchant and settled on a nearby tree with thick branches, from where it could not be seen.

That was when the merchant heard wild laughter from the bird.

Adapted from Polish Fairy Tales

Samudrasura’s Strange Luck - Part Three

When the robbers attacked the merchant group, Samudrasura, woke up all of a sudden. 

During the attack, Samudrasura climbed a tree and stayed there. 

Throughout the night he stayed on the tree and watched the robbers down. 

The robbers took all they could from the group and left the place. 

Samudrasura who was up all night on the tree could not sleep.

He looked around as the sun was coming up and he was stunned. 

On the very branch that he was sitting, there was a nest and in the nest there were a few precious jewels. One of the precious jewels was a necklace that was carried away by the kite from the princess.

In the morning, Samudrasura took the necklace and came down the tree.  

After that, he thanked Lord Shiva and went back to Harsapura and spent the rest of his life safe at home, satisfied with the riches that he had heard he had earned.

Adapted from Katha Sarith Sagara

Samudrasura’s Strange Luck - Part Two

The merchant was in prison and he did not know what to do. So he prayed to Lord Shiva to protect him. 

At that time, a voice was heard by the king in the court. “This merchant has not done anything wrong. He is not a thief. The thief who stole the jewel out of the fear of the guards ran towards the sea and fell into the sea waters he met his death. This merchant was shipwrecked at the same time and he came across the dead body and took the jewel from it.  So killing this man would be killing an innocent man.” 

The king heard the voice when he was about to give the jewel to his daughter, who had lost it.

Strangely, at that time, a kite swooped down and flew away with the jewel. 

The king realized his mistake and he sent Samudrasura away with lots of wealth for the mistake committed by him. 

Samudrasura brought the wealth from the king and went back to his city.

After some time, Samudrasura traveled again and crossed the ocean. This time, Samudrasura joined a group of merchants and traveled with them.

They went to a city in a strange land and there they came across a forest. 

It was night time so the merchants decided to stay in a thick grove in the middle of the forest which they had reached at that time. 

A gang of robbers fell on the group of merchants and began to attack all those who opposed them.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

Samudrasura's Strange Luck - Part One

In the Kingdom of Harsapura, there was a merchant by the name of Samudrasura. He was very noble and charitable too.

One day the merchant left his city and went to the island of Savrnadvipa to do business.

Samudrasura made enormous wealth on the island that he had gone to and after that, Samudrasura decided to return home.

Unfortunately, while returning home, Samudrasura's ship was wrecked in a storm. 

However the shipwreck was not very far away from the shore, and Samudrasura was able to swim to the shore of the place nearby.

When Samudrasura reached the shore he found a corpse there. The man, whoever it had been, had died in the same storm because of which Samudrasura’s ship had been wrecked.

Samudrasura found a knot around a pouch in the waist of the dead man and loosened it. 

In the pouch, Samudrasura found a diamond necklace. 

Samudrasura was shocked and a second later Samudrasura realized that this was a way of making up for the loss that had occurred because of the storm.

Samudrasura kept the jewel with him and went to the nearest city to the shore.

The merchant was exhausted and slept near a tree outside the city.

A city guard came up to the place where Samandrasura was sleeping and the guard found the diamond necklace on the merchant.

Within a few minutes the city guard realized that the necklace belonged to princess Chakrasena.

Thinking that they had caught the thief, the city guard led Samudrasura to the king of the place.  

The king of the place looked at the jewel and did not listen to any of the explanations of the merchant and sentenced the merchant to the gallows.

Adapted from the Katha Sarith Sagara

The Son of the Thunder God - Part Two

 

“Can I choose any place that I wish to go to? Rai-Taro asked.

Rai-Den nodded.

Rai-Taro frowned. “I will not go to the warriors and the lords because fighting makes me ill.” 

“Will you go to the rooms of the princesses?” 

“No!” Rai-Taro was very firm. “I will not go there. And I do not want to live the life of a priest.”

Rai-Den was surprised. “Do you wish to live with a poor peasant and his wife? That is a very hard life, and you will have very little money with you.” 

Rai-Taro shrugged. “The peasant and his wife do not have any children.  They will probably love me.”

Rai-Den nodded. “Then you will go as their son and you have chosen very wisely.” 

The poor peasant toiled in his rice field, which was at the foot of a mountain.

The rice field was dry and the poor peasant cried. “What will I do if my crop fails? May the gods have mercy on us.” 

He sat on a Stone at the edge of the rice field and looked very weary and tired. 

Suddenly, the sky was black with clouds. There was a storm and also rains. 

When that happened a bright lightning flashed in the sky and a ball of fire fell on the Earth. 

The peasant man ran towards the place. That is when the peasant was even more shocked. 

The ball of fire was gone, but a baby lay on the wet Earth. 

The peasant man was stunned and he picked up the little baby and carried it to his home. 

The peasant came to his cottage door and called his wife and showed her the baby. 

The man was sure that this baby was Rai-Taro, the first son of the Thunder God. 

So they named the boy as Rai-Taro. 

Rai-Taro grew up to be strong and he was always happy. 

He was the delight of his parents and the neighbours loved him. Since the time he had been raised by the peasant and his wife, the peasant always had good fortune and all his work prospered.

When Rai-Taro was 18 years old, all the neighbours came to his birthday feast. 

However Rai-Taro was silent and sad. 

The foster mother looked worriedly at her son. “Usually you are the happiest of everyone. Why are you now silent and sad?”

Rai-Taro sighed to himself. “That is because I must leave you now.” 

A foster mother worriedly shook her head. “Why do you have to leave us? You have given us good fortune since you have come. What can I give you in return if you leave us?” 

The son shook his head. “You have taught me to labour, to suffer and to love. And because of that I am more learned than all the Immortals.”

Saying this, Rai-Taro left the house. 

In a white cloud, he went to the heavens. 

The peasant and his wife wept bitterly, but the husband held her hand and comforted her. “When we grow old and after that we shall meet our son again.”

Adapted from Japanese Folklore