Wiseman and the rich landowner
In a certain village there lived a wise man. Quite close to his home
lived a rich landowner. The villagers often visited the wise man to get
various advices. He was a person who loved all those villagers and
treated them with food whenever possible. The landowner was also friends
with the wise man. But villagers did not get any advice from him. The
rich man did not want to give food and clothing to those needy villagers
thinking that he would become poor.
Though the rich man was a friend he was sad to see villagers seek
advices from the wise man. Thus his friendship had mixed feelings as a
neighbour and an ill feeling.
It so happened that gradually the wise man became poorer and poorer.
The rich man had a certain sense of pleasure on seeing that. But he did
not express his inner feeling to the wise man. The landowner thought to
himself, ‘This wise man went on helping others and feeding them with his
bare necessities. Let him suffer!’
The wise man thought of leaving the village to earn more wealth and
return to render more help to others. On thinking the wise man left his
home in search of a place to earn a living. He got his family to prepare
a lunch packet. So he was passing through a certain forest. He was
gazing at the beauty of the forest and went on further and further until
he was quite hungry. Then he saw a Nuga tree with spreading branches.
He sat under the Nuga tree, and gradually dozed off.
“I will sleep a while and then get up and have my midday meal,”
thought the wise man.
In this Nuga tree lived a tree God and a Goddess. “Look,” said the
Tree God to Goddess.
“This is a wise man who had gradually become poor, as a result of his
good deeds. We should help him.”
“What shall we do?” Asked the Tree Goddess.
“Let us partake of his poor meal and in place we will give him a rich
meal and some gold as riches.”
The Tree God and the Goddess agreed to do so. They ate the meal of
the wise man and left three caskets. One filled with a rich meal and two
others filled with gold coins. Once it was done the God and the Goddess
went to their abode.
The wise man got up from his sleep. He was feeling hungry. So he
opened his lunch packet to see three caskets.
“This is really surprising.” Said the wise man to himself and ate the
delicious food in the first casket. Then he saw the two caskets with
gold. I know how this has happened.” Thought the wise man.
“There is definitely a Tree God who lives here. I must thank him.” So
he worshipped the tree with some praise utterances.
“I need not go further away. I must now go home and share this wealth
with my family members. I have earned sufficient riches to live and help
the villagers.”
Thinking thus he went home. When he came home and told the family
members as to what had happened they all were simply surprised. The rich
landowner too came to know about it. He approached the wise man and
asked how he got the gold. The wise man who was kind hearted and had no
ill will towards the rich man divulged what really happened. The rich
man nodded his head and felt that he also should do the same. The rich
landowner too did all what the wise man said. He got a lunch packet made
and went in search of the very same Nuga tree. Having seen the Nuga tree
he slept under it to sleep. He too was tired and slept well. When he got
up it was too late.
To his surprise he too saw three caskets. He didn’t wait to open and
see what’s inside. He thanklessly picked up the three cakes and came
home and quickly as possible. He was so happy that he forgot to open a
single casket, and he too forgot to utter single world of thanks to the
Ttree God.
He went on thinking. “I’m richer than the wise man with all these
riches. I can buy many more lands. Perhaps as time goes on I will be the
richest man on earth.” As he arrived home a number of his family members
waited to share his bliss. He placed three caskets. One by one as the
onlookers were gazing. As soon as he opened lid of the caskets there
sprang up three poisonous serpents. The rich man cried in anger: “Oh
god! You have cheated me. You have cheated me. Forgive me. Forgive me.
Don’t allow these serpents to bite me.”
The storyteller did not tell me what happened next. It is left for
you to imagine. |