It was explained to the brothers that they were warriors, unlike the Brahmins or the merchants or manual workers. So, they would have to prove their strength through a combat. The brothers agreed to a trial of strength. They began a duel that ended very soon. They were so violent that they killed each other […]
Lord Shiva was, of course, furious, but having agreed to grant the boon they asked for, he was helpless. He had to gift them goddess Parvati. The two demons were completely infatuated with the beauty of the Parvati. The brothers were competing with each other to impress her. Therefore, very soon they began to quarrel
It was clear that Doordarshi had a story ready. So, Jewel Plume asked him what it was. Long, long ago there lived two brothers named Sunda and Upasunda who were rakshasas (demons). They wished to gain enough power to rule the three worlds, so they began to worship Lord Shiva. In order to prove that
“How can we just leave Karpuradweepa without anyone in charge of it?” asked the King. “Sir, we have won the battle. Was it by our strength or by our clever trick that we did so?” asked the vulture. “By the clever plan that you suggested, of course,” said Jewel Plume. “we have thus shown the
Once, a partridge lived under a tree in a beautiful house. One day, while searching for food, he found a field full of grains. He stayed there eating to his heart’s content, and returned after a few weeks. While the partridge was away, a hare had occupied his house. The partridge asked him to go
Deep in the jungle, a jackal found a dead elephant. But he could not pierce the elephant’s thick skin and eat it. Soon, a lion walked by. The jackal said, “Your Majesty, I have been guarding your meal.” The lion replied, “I do not eat animals killed by others. Feast on it.” The lion went
Once, a group of monkeys lived near a temple in a village. One day, a carpenter was busy splitting wooden logs outside the temple.A young monkey was intrigued by the carpenter’s work. When the carpenter went for lunch, the young monkey wanted to split the wooden logs. His friends said, “Those tools look dangerous. Keep
A group of monkeys was relaxing in a forest, when they saw a woodcutter cutting a tree with an axe. After a while, the woodcutter went to have lunch. He covered his axe with a piece of green cloth and left it under the tree. Soon, a naughty monkey came there. He removed the cloth
In a forest, there lived four friends – a deer, a mouse, a turtle and a crow. Every day, they would meet by the lake. One day, the deer did not come. When the crow flew over the forest, he found the deer trapped in a hunter’s net. He came back and told the mouse
“Therefore, Sir, let us not imagine that Meghavarna, the Crow King, will be more loyal to you than he has been to King Silver Plume and the kingdom of Karpuradweepa,” said the wise old vulture, Doordarshi. “I think you are right, Doordarshi,” said the King, thinking over everything that he had heard, “I had thought
‘I will love the youngest and most beautiful one more than my other wives,’ he dreamt, ‘They will be jealous of one another and will try to please me. They will want me to love each of them more, so each one will try to do something special to look after me! I shall be
He dreamt that he was selling the pot of barley in the market and got ten cowries for it! Then he was buying more earthenware and selling them. He was getting richer with each new dream. The dreams got bigger and bigger. When the Brahmin had dreamt that he had sold the pots, then he
There was a poor farmer. Although he worked hard, his fields were barren. One day, while resting under a tree, he saw a snake in a hole in the tree. He thought, ‘This snake must be the guardian of the field. If I serve him, my field will become fertile.’ The next day, he brought
Devasharma was a Brahmin who lived in a town called Devakota. It was the custom among prosperous families to invite Brahmins on festive days for a feast and then give them gifts–sometimes grain, sometimes a goat or a cow. Once, Devasharma was invited during the festival of Maha-Sankranti for a feast. After the festivities and
“So you see, Sir, even if we were to make Meghavarna a viceroy, we should not expect that he will send us the taxes we demand. After all, he did deceive King Jewel Plume, posing as his friend,” said Doordarshi. “It is no use dreaming of what will happen in the future as we will