The rich Qasim and the poor Ali Baba were brothers. Ali Baba earned through cutting wood. One day, he saw forty robbers opening a rock saying “Open Sesame” and for coming out, saying “Close Sesame”. When they left, he did the same and inside the rock saw gold and silver. He filled the bags on […]
Mitravinda was the princess of the kingdom of Avanti. Rajadhidevi, Vasudeva’s sister, was her mother. Mitravinda was deeply in love with Lord Krishna, but was scared of her brothers Vinda and Anuvinda. They arranged a Swayamvar or a ceremony of choosing a husband for Mitravinda. Her father had called an assembly of kings at his
Princess Parizade set out herself to find the talking bird, the singing tree and the golden water and also her brothers. With the dervish’s advice, she found the talking bird in a cage and collected the golden water in a flask. As the singing tree was big, she took a branch of the tree. After
Sultan Khusrau Shah of Persia had the habit of going about town incognito to see how his subjects lived. One day, he overheard a conversation among three sisters. While the first and second sisters expressed their desire to marry the baker, the youngest one willed to become the wife of the Sultan himself. The next
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One day, Lord Krishna and Arjun went to hunt in the nearby forests of Indraprastha, accompanied by an army. They reached the banks of River Yamuna to quench their thirst. Suddenly, they saw a very pretty girl walking by. Curious to know more about her, Krishna sent Arjun to talk to her. Arjun asked her,
On the New Year eve, the King of Persia was made acquainted to a horse led by an Indian that could travel miles within minutes. The Prince, taking only half of the instructions of operating the horse from the Indian, set off his journey without knowing how to touch down the earth. The furious yet
Lord Krishna’s third wife, Satyabhama, was known for her strong will and tantrums. She had suffered a lot in her previous life. After her death, she had sought shelter in Lord Vishnu’s celestial abode or Vaikunth. While she was there, she tirelessly served Lord Vishnu. He was so pleased with her services that he promised
Ali Cogia, a merchant made his way to Mecca, after being continuously prodded by an old man in his dream. He disposed of all belongings except one thousand pieces of gold hidden in a vase full of olives and kept them in his friend’s house. But he subsequently forgot about where he kept them after
After hearing the story of the blind man and the dervish, the Caliph enquired the horse-beater, Sidi Nouman, for his cruel behaviour, who defended him-self with a reason. Sidi Nouman had married Amina, who, though was beautiful yet held a strange habit of eating rice with a needle. One night, she got dressed up and
The existence of the Syamantak gem spread like wildfire. A lot of people desired to own the gem. One of Satyabhama’s suitors, Shatadhanwa, also wanted to own the gem. He was also angry that Satrajit had married Satyabhama to Krishna. So, one night, he broke into Satrajit’s chamber to steal the Syamantak gem. When Satrajit
Lord Krishna found Jambavan’s son playing with the Syamantak gem inside the cave. Seeing Krishna, Jambavan’s son let out a wail that alerted Jambavan. Jambavan thought Krishna was attacking his son and fought with Krishna. This fierce fight lasted for twenty-eight days! Finally, Krishna appeared as Lord Ram. Jambavan immediately recognised Him and fell at
The lion that had killed Prasena was attracted to the glow of the Syamantak gem. As the lion was walking away with the gem, Jambavan, the king of the bears, saw him. He killed the lion and took the gem to his cave as a gift to his son. When Prasena did not return to
A nobleman of Dwarka, Satrajit, was a devotee of Surya, the Sun-god. Pleased with Satrajit’s devotion, Surya gifted him the Syamantak gem. This gem could magically produce eight measures of gold a day. Thus, Satrajit suddenly became a very wealthy man. Lord Krishna approached Satrajit and asked him to share the gem with the other
Lord Krishna’s wife Rukmini was His main consort or Patrani. She was also very humble and pious. Rukmini’s father, King Bhishmaka and brother, Rukmi wanted her to marry Shishupal. However, she was so in love with Krishna, and He with her that He stole her away on her wedding day and took her to Dwarka
Lord Krishna’s palace in Dwarka was adorned with the presence of His several wives. Among them, eight were His chief wives or Ashta-Bharyas. They were Rukmini, Jambavati, Satyabhama, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana. The remaining women belonged to a demon king named Naraka (Bhaumasur). He had held them captive until Lord Krishna killed him.