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Friday, 18 February 2011

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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.

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