Vikram and friends

Vikram and friends

Vikram was a great soldier in the Kingdom of Panna. He served the king well. But When Vikram, celebrated his 30th birthday, the king told him, “you are of no use to me now. You can go.” Vikram had not earned much money by then. So he decided to travel, get a few servants and earn some money

When Vikram was walking by a road he saw, one man called fatty carrying 100 big tress on his nail. Vikram asked him, “I am going to earn money. If you become my servant and come with me, I will give you a portion of the money that we earn together”. That man agreed and went with Vikram.

When both Vikram and his servant went for some distance they saw a soldier standing and aiming his gun at something. But both of them were not able to see anything. They asked him, “What are you trying to shoot.” He replied, “There is a fly sitting on a Banyan tree five hundred miles away. I am trying to shoot its left eye.” Vikram was impressed with this man. Vikram asked him, “I am going to earn money. If you become my servant and come with me, I will give you a portion of the money that we earn together”. That man agreed and went with Vikram.

When Vikram and both his servants walked further, they saw a man called Nosey who was closing one of his nostrils and blowing at something with the other nostril. They asked him, “What are you trying to do? Is your nose blocked.” Then Nosey laughed aloud and told them, “One thousand miles away there are one hundred wind mills. I am blowing with one nostril, so that they will all rotate.” They were all impressed. Vikram asked him, “I am going to earn money. If you become my servant and come with me, I will give you a portion of the money that we earn together”. That man agreed and went with Vikram.

When all the four of them walked further, they saw a runner who was running fast with one leg. He had tied the other leg. They became curious and asked him, “Why are you running with one leg?” he replied, “I run as fast as a cyclone if I use my two legs. That is why I am running using one leg.” They were all impressed. Vikram asked him, “I am going to earn money. If you become my servant and come with me, I will give you a portion of the money that we earn together”. That man agreed and went with Vikram. When all the five of them, they found a policeman who was wearing his cap upside down. They all laughed and asked the policeman, “Why are you wearing your cap upside down?” .The policeman replied,” If I wear it properly this entire place will become so cold and covered with ice and all of you will shiver.” They were all impressed. Vikram asked him, “I am going to earn money. If you become my servant and come with me, I will give you a portion of the money that we earn together”. That man agreed and went with Vikram.

Walking for a long way they reached another kingdom. In that kingdom, there was a king and a proud princess. The king had put a notice that, any body who wins a race against the princess will marry her. If he is defeated he will be killed. Vikram asked him “Can a servant of mine race against the princess?” The king replied that he does not have any objection. The runner servant of Vikram ran the race against the princess. They both were given a pot each. They were asked to go to the blue well, which was one hundred miles away and bring water from the well. The water of the well was blue. The runner reached the well within no time. By that time the princess had not even reached ten miles. So he returned back to about 50 miles. He thought he had lot of time to take rest. He started sleeping. The princess reached the spot. She saw blue water in the runner’s pot. So she kept her pot there, took the runner’s pot and started returning. The soldier who could see long distances was seeing all this. So he took his gun, put a paper ball in it and shot at the runner. When hit by the ball, the runner woke up. He suddenly understood what the princess has done. So he ran fast to the well and took one more pot of water. He could easily return back before the princess

Seeing that Vikram has won, the king did not want the princess to marry him. So he told Vikram and his friends, “I have arranged meals for you in the steel palace. You can go there and take meals. I will give the princess in marriage to you tomorrow. “ When Vikram and friends went in side the steel palace. It was locked from all sides. Big fire was also put all round. Vikram and friends felt it very hot inside. When they tried to come out, they could not. The policeman asked them not to worry and put his cap properly. The iron palace was now very cold. The friends ate their meals and slept properly. The king then sent his army to attack, Vikram and his friends. Nosey felt amused and started blowing through both his nostrils at the army. The entire army flew thousands of miles away

Then the king met Vikram, and told him “ The princess does not want to marry you. So instead of her I will give as much gold as you can carry.” Vikram told him, “One of my servants will carry the gold.’ Fatty was very much amused. He prepared a bag, which was so big, that it could carry ten mountains. All the gold in the king’s palace was not sufficient even to fill one corner. Then the king took all the gold from every one in his country and gave it to Fatty. Fatty using one finger carried even this. Then the king fell at the feet of Vikram and asked him for pardon. Vikram agreed but wanted all the silver and all the diamonds in his kingdom. All the gold, silver and Diamonds were divided equally between Vikram and his servants. They went back very rich to their homes.

The Twelve Brothers

The Twelve Brothers

King Vishnu Verman had twelve sons. He somehow hated all his sons and wanted only a daughter to rule after him. So he told his queen Latha that as soon as she a daughter was born to her, he will kill all his twelve sons. He also made 12 wells in his garden to throw his sons inside. Asoka was the last among the twelve sons. He was very nice kid and was a darling of his mother. One day, when he saw his mother crying, He asked, her, “Ma, why are you crying?” Queen Lata told that she was expecting to give birth to a girl and when a girl is born, Asoka and all his eleven elder brothers would be put in wells. Then Asoka told the queen that, “I along with my brothers w ill run away to the forest. From there daily I will be watching the palace. If a girl is born, you please fly a red flag on your palace. Then we will go deeper in to the forest and never come back. But if another boy is born, you fly a white flag and we will all come back.’ The queen agreed to Asoka’s plan. Asoka then told his eleven elder brothers about this. That night all of them ran away to the nearby forest. Daily Asoka would climb up a tall tree and look at the palace. One day he saw a red flag. Fearing that their father would kill all of them they all went much deeper in to the forest. There they found a pretty house of a magician. They started living there. Since Asoka was too young to go to hunting, he was made to stay at home and all the eleven elder brothers went for hunting. Their youngest sister was named as Lathika and she grew up in to a fine girl. One day she happened to see in a box, twelve boy’s shirts. She asked Queen Lata, “Mummy, whose dresses are these?” Then Queen Latha told her, “You actually have twelve elder brothers and they are living in the forest because they are afraid of your father.” That night when Queen Latha was asleep, Lathika escaped and went in search of her brothers. She reached the magician’s house only next day noon. Asoka saw her and asked her, “You are very pretty .You actually look like my sister. Can you tell me who you are?” Lathika then told him that she indeed was his sister. She also wanted to stay in the magician’s house along with them. But Asoka felt that his elder brother’s did not like Lathika. So after she cooked their meals, he asked her to hide in one of the bathrooms. When the eleven brothers came, that day, after eating food, they told Asoka,’ Today the food is very tasty? We are sure you have not cooked it. Please tell us who has cooked it” Then Asoka brought Lathika from her hiding. All the brothers liked their youngest sister. By this time Asoka has also grown big. So he also started going for hunting along with his brothers. There was a locked room in their house. One day Lathika became curious and opened it. She heard a voice from nowhere. ”You have opened the magician’s room. So your brothers will all become birds. Lathika cried a lot and asked the magician to pardon her. At last he told her, “You can get back your brothers, if you do not talk, cry and smile for seven years.” Lathika agreed to this condition. Times passed. Lathika was strictly following the words of the magician. One great king came for hunting in the forest and he saw Lathika. He wanted to marry her. But Lathika was not speaking. Then the king thought she was dumb. Then he asked her using signs whether she was willing to marry him. Lathika readily agreed and became the queen of that great king who liked her a lot. After some time a baby boy was born to them. The boy was very charming, One day the boy fell down and was hurt very badly. Seeing their little prince hurt all the people in the palace cried except the queen. Because of this the people started suspecting her. They went and told the king that, the queen was not a good one and should be punished. After a lot of thought the king agreed. He decided to again send her away to the forest. On that day, the seven years was completed. All Lathika’s brothers came back and told the king their story. Lathika was very happy and asked for the pardon of the king. After wards Lathika lived happily for several years. The twelve brothers returned to their hometown. Their father accepted them and made them kings of his country.

The lazy Meera

The lazy Meera

Meera was a very lazy girl. Her mother who was poor, wanted Meera to spin thread from cotton so that she can sell it in the market .But Meera was so lazy that she never did it. One-day Meera’s mother scolded her a lot. Then Meera started crying. At that time the queen of that kingdom Aiswarya , passed by the side of Meera’s house. Hearing Meera’s pitiable weeping she entered her house. She asked Meera’s mother, “Why is this girl crying?” Meera’s mother did not want to tell the truth. So she told, “This girl always wants to spin thread. Since I am poor , where will I go for so much cotton.” The Queen told Meera’s mother who she is and told her, “I will take this girl with me. I have lots of cotton.”

The queen took Meera to her house and showed her three big rooms of cotton. She told her, “I like you so much. Please spin all this cotton in to thread. Then I will make my eldest son marry you.”

Meera did not do anything for three days and kept on simply crying and staring at the cotton. On the third day, the queen came to enquire about what was happening. Meera told her, “Great Queen, I am terribly home-sick. I am always remembering my mother.” The queen consoled Meera and told her to continue spinning. Meera did not know what to do. She was staring out of the window. Then three old women, one who had a flat foot, another with hanging lips and another with a flat finger came towards her. Then they asked her why she was sad. Meera told about her problem. The three old women agreed to help her under one condition, “When you get married to the prince, you should invite us for your wedding. You should tell the queen that we are your aunts. Also you should eat in the same table with us.” Meera readily agreed.

The three old women immediately started the job. The woman with a flat foot, cleaned the cotton with her foot. The Woman with the hanging lip , wetted the cotton with her lips and made it like threads. The woman with a flat finger started spinning the thread with her fingers. Soon they completed spinning the entire cotton. Meera went and told Queen Aiswarya that the job was over. The queen became very happy and arranged for the marriage of Meera with her son. Meera invited those three old women and introduced them to the Queen and the prince as her aunts. She treated them very well and honoured them. They became very happy. When they took leave from the prince, he asked them, “Auntie why is it that the feet of one of you is flat, ones lip is hanging and another’s fingers are flat.” The old woman with flat foot replied, My feet are flat because of cleaning cotton. Her lip is hanging because of wetting the cotton and her finger is flat because she used to spin cotton in to thread.”

Then the prince decided that his wife Meera would not do any spinning because then she will become ugly. Meera lived very happily with the prince.

The golden bird

The golden bird

There was a king in Delhi. He was rich. In his garden there was a tree which yielded golden apples. He used to count all the golden apples daily. One day he found that one apple was missing. He wanted to find out, who stole the apple, He had three sons, Rama, Krishna and Govind. Rama told him that he would find out the thief.

That night he sat below the tree for catching the thief. After some time, he slept. Next day they found that one more golden apple was missing. Next night Krishna promised his father that he would catch the thief. That night he also sat below the apple tree. Unfortunately he also slept. Next day they found that one more apple was missing. Next day, it was the turn of Govind. His father told him, “I do not have any faith in you .You are too small.” That day Govind sat below the tree. He did not sleep at all. When it was 12 Clock at night, a golden bird suddenly flew from no where .It picked one apple and flew back. Govind shot an arrow at the bird. The arrow took out a feather of the bird, which fell down. Next day Govind told his father what happened and gave the feather. The feather was made of Gold. The ministers of the king told him, that the feather was very costly. They said, If we can catch the bird and keep it with us, we will be very lucky,” The king wanted the golden bird.

Rama agreed to bring the golden bird for his father and started his journey. When he came out of the town, there was a big forest. A fox with golden tail was seating in front of the forest. When Rama was about to shoot him, the fox told him, “Do not kill me. I will help you to get the golden bird. You go straight in this road. After some time on the road, two big hotels will come. One will be made of gold and the other will be full of dirt. You go and stay in the dirty hotel. Then I will help you.” Rama did not shoot the fox and went along the road. When he saw the two hotels, he felt that because he was a prince, he should not stay in a dirty hotel. He went and stayed in the golden hotel. Then he completely forgot about the golden bird. One month later when Rama did not come, Krishna started the search of the golden bird. He also met the fox with golden tail, which told the same words. He also left the fox and traveled. He also stayed in the golden hotel with Rama. He also forgot all about the golden bird. After one month Govind followed his brothers. But he followed the advice of the fox

Next day morning the fox came to Govind and told him, “You go straight by this road. Then you will come to a big house. This house will have ten watch men. They will all be sleeping. Enter the house. Inside you will find the golden bird in a wooden cage. Another golden cage also will be kept nearby. Bring the golden bird in the wooden cage and do not use the golden cage,” Govind agreed to this and followed the road and found out the house. As the fox had told, ten watchmen were sleeping. He entered the house and found the golden bird. But he felt bad that the golden bird should be in a wooden cage. So he tried to shift the golden bird in to the wooden cage. The bird shrieked and all the watchmen got up and caught hold of Govind. Next day they took him before their master. Their master told Govind, “I will give you the golden bird but you have to bring me the golden horse. “ Govind started blinking and started walking. The fox with the golden tail came before him and told him, “You did not obey me. That is why you are suffering. Now I will help you to get the golden horse. I will show you a road. Walk straight on that road. After some time you will see a silver palace. There would be hundred watchmen guarding the palace. All of them would be sleeping. Enter the silver palace and go to its stables. The golden horse will be there. But it would have a wooden saddle. Use that and come back. Please do not use the golden saddle, which would be kept nearby.” Govind agreed and followed the advice of the fox with golden tail. He came to the silver palace. One hundred watchmen were sleeping. He did not bother about them and went to he stable. When he was about to start, he suddenly removed the wooden saddle and put the golden saddle as he thought a golden horse should have a golden saddle. The horse started making big noise and all watchmen woke up. They caught Govind and took him before their king. After hearing the story of Govind, the king told him, “I will give you the golden horse but you should bring me the golden princess.” Govind agreed and started his search for the golden princess. The fox with the golden tail came again and told, “Govind you are a good boy. But you are not obeying me. This time I will show you a road. If you go straight by that road, a golden palace will come. This will have one thousand watchmen. All of them will be sleeping. You enter the palace and go to the princess’ room. And ask her, “Will you come with me?’ She will come but ask her to wear a cotton dress not the golden dress. Govind obeyed the fox and found the golden princess, She agreed to come with him. . When she was leaving, he felt bad that she was wearing the cotton dress. So he asked her to change to golden dress. Then she started shouting and all the watchmen woke up. They caught hold of Govind and took him before their king. That king after hearing the story of Govind told him, “In front of my house there is a iron mountain. I do not like it. If you remove the Iron Mountain with in seven days, I will give you the golden princes. Other wise, I will kill you.” Govind agreed. For the next 6 days, he could break only a small piece of the mountain. Then the fox again came before him and told, “Govind, you are a good boy. I will help you.” Then it simply waved its tail at the mountain. There was a big storm and the mountain disappeared. The king gave the golden princess to Govind.

Govind, the fox and the princess started towards the silver palace. The fox told Govind, “Tell the king that you will give him the golden princess but before that she should ride with you on the golden horse .He will agree. As soon as both of you are on the horse. Ride fast. Nobody can catch you.” Govind obeyed the fox and got to the big house of the golden bird safely along with the golden princess on a golden horse.” When Govind wanted to give the golden horse and get the golden bird, the fox told him, “Do not do that. Ask them to hand over the golden bird to you, when you both are on the golden horse. Then they will give it to you. As soon as you get the golden bird start riding fast.” Govind obeyed the fox and he got the golden bird also. When they reached near their home, the fox told Govind, “Please cut off my tail.” Govind hesitated a lot. Then he cut the tail of the fox. The fox became a prince. In fact he was the brother of the golden princess. All of them went to Govind’s house and lived forever happily

Sathya the liar

Sathya the liar

There was a girl caused Sathya in a poor but honest family. One day when her father took Sathya for a walk, The goddess Indu came near them in person. She asked Sathya’s father, ”would you give Sathya to me. I want to bring her up in heaven.”

Sathya’s father was extremely glad and sent Sathya along with goddess Indu The goddess took her to her palace in Vaikunta. She looked after her well. Taught her everything. Gave her everything she wanted but she also punished her when she committed mistakes.

After 14 years, one day the Goddess had to go urgently to earth. She gave Sathya, 14 keys and told her, “These are the keys of 14 rooms. You can go to any room but not to Room no.1. “ Sathya opened all the rooms except Room no.1. Along with her the servants of Goddess Indu also were there. Then Sathya wanted to open Room no.1. All the servants cried and asked her not to open the room. But she was adamant. When she was about to open the room, they all ran away. When she opened the room, Sathya saw in that room, The God of Fire. She immediately closed the room but one of her fingers got golden.

She ran away crying. After some time Goddess Indu came back. She saw that one of the fingers of Sathya has become golden. She asked Sathya, “ Did you enter room No.1” and Sathya replied “No.” The goddess asked once more, “Did you enter Room No.1” and Sathya shouted, “Definitely no.”

The goddess told Sathya, “You have lied to me twice and so you cannot remain in heaven. Not only that, now you will not be able to speak.” Saying like this Goddess Indu, pushed Sathya from heavens. Sathya fell down in a deep forest. She started crying and try to go out. But in spite of all her efforts, she was not able to go out. Times passed. Sathya, eating the fruits and roots in the forest grew up in to a very pretty woman.

King Dharma, who was the king in the near by country, once came for hunting in the forest. He heard the cry of Sathya. His people cleared the forest and saw the very pretty Sathya. King Dharma found out that Sathya was dumb. But he did not mind and married her.

After two more years, One more baby son was born to Sathya. . That night again Goddess Indu came and asked Sathya, “Please tell me the truth. Otherwise I will take your son.” But Sathya was very adamant. She shouted,” I only told the truth. The goddess took her son away. Next day morning, the King Dharma saw that his son has vanished. This made him believe that Queen Sathya was indeed a devil. So he decided to hang Queen Sathya. The queen started crying. No body bothered. At that time, Goddess Indu came again and asked Sathya, “Are you willing the truth now.” Sathya fell at the feet of the Goddess and told, “Goddess Indu, pardon me. I have always been telling a lie to you .I am so sorry that I have been telling lies to you. I had gone and opened Room No.1, during your absence”.

The Goddess became pleased with Sathya and told her, “Good, I only wanted you to tell me the truth and be sad.” Saying this the Goddess returned both babies of Sathya and gave her back her speech.

Queen Sathya and King Dharma lived very happily always telling the truth.

Samudra Guptha the scholar king

Samudra Guptha the scholar king

Once upon a time near the present day Ujjain lived a brahmin called Samudra Guptha. Right from the time he started learning, he was thirsty for knowledge. He went to places like Benares, Nalanda , Kanchi which were having great colleges . But still he wanted to learn more. One great sage told him, that only a Brhama Rakshas sitting on the tallest banyan tree of Dandaka forest had more knowledge than him.

Samudra Guptha started wandering all over Dandaka forest to meet this Brahma Rakshas, One day he located the tallest banyan tree. He also saw the Brahma Rakshas sitting on the top of the tree. He went near him and saluted him, Then he asked him, “Sir, I have spent all my life learning. But a sage told that you know more than me. Can you please teach, what all you know to me.”

The Brahma Rakshas which was horrible to look at laughed loudly and told him, “Whatever you have learnt will not be even a small part of what I know. It will take 12 years , day and night to teach , all that I know to you. But I have a condition. You should neither eat food nor sleep during those 12 years.”

Samudra Guptha told the Brahma Rakshas, “Sir, I am willing to do it. But suppose I do not take food nor sleep I will die.” Then the Brahma Rakshas told Samudra Guptha, “ I will give you a boon so that for the next twelve years you will neither be hungry nor get sleep. But on the day, you complete your studies, the hunger of all the twelve years and the sleep of all the 12 years will come to you. Possibly you may die because of that.”

Samudhra Guptha agreed to that condition. The Brahma Rakshas used to write a lesson on a banyan leaf and drop it down. Once he understood the lesson, Samudra Guptha will shake his head. The next lesson will follow. Twelve long years passed. Brahma Rakshas told Samudhra Guptha, “Now you can go .You have learned everything I know. But as soon as you cross the near by river, the hunger and sleep of the twelve years will come back to you.”

Samudhra Guptha, bundled up all the lessons of the twelve years, saluted the Brahma Rakshas and crossed the river. As soon as he reached the other shore, all the flesh in his body disappeared. He became a bundle of bones. A lady who was the daughter of a rich merchant was taking bath in the river. She saw Samudra Guptha. So she took him home and sent word to a great doctor. After examining the great doctor told her to keep on constantly massaging him with cooked rice for a month. This treatment worked and Samudra Guptha regained consciousness. He thanked the lady and started to go his way. The lady took him to the king and complained, ‘Sir, this great scholar would have died but for me. I would like to marry him.” The king then heard from Samudra Guptha his story. Then he ordered Samudra Guptha not only to marry the lady who saved her but also his daughter, his teacher’s daughter and his minister’s daughter. He also gave Samudra Guptha his kingdom as he did not have sons.

Rama the good

Rama the good

There was a Great King Called Chandra Sena. He had a very intelligent and sincere servant called Rama. Daily after the king finished his dinner and before he slept, Rama had to take him a dish covered by a golden cloth. Rama did not know what it contained. One day by chance he opened the dish. To his surprise he saw a pink Banana. He split the Banana and ate a small portion .It was very tasty. When he was nearing the King’s room, he heard the pet dog of the king telling the pet cat of the king, “This boy is foolish. If the king knows that he has eaten his Banana he will kill him.” Suddenly Rama understood that he was able to understand the language of animals. He rushed to the kitchen and told the cook, “Sorry I dropped the dish on the way to king’s room. Please give me another dish to carry to the king. The cook readily agreed and thus Rama was saved.

After a few days, the queen lost her diamond ring. She suspected that Rama has taken it. Rama was arrested. When Rama was in the jail, he heard one lizard talking to another, “Today I went to the queen’s room and swallowed some shiny thing.” Rama guessed that it might have been the queen’s ring. He caught hold of the lizard and before the police, he cut it open. Inside the ring was found. The king and Queen were really sorry that they have troubled Rama. They said, “We are sorry. You ask from us anything you want. We will give it.” Rama asked from them a good horse, some money and a sword. They gave it to him willingly

Rama left the city riding on the horse. While riding he saw three fishes which were caught in the net. They were struggling. One of them told the other, “No body understands our pain and sorrow.” Rama immediately got down from the horse and set them free. One of the fishes told him, “ I am the king of the fishes and I will definitely help you later.”

Rama rode further. Suddenly he heard two ants talking with each other. “A big man is riding a horse. He will kill us.” Rama immediately stopped the horse and saved the ants. Then one of the ants told him, “I am the king of the ants and I will definitely help you when time comes.”

Rama still rode further. He saw three baby eagles lying below a tree and their mother bird was crying. The mother was telling the baby, “ If somebody takes you from the ground and put you back in the nest a, all of you will be saved.” Rama heard this and immediately replaced the baby eagles in their nest. Then one of the baby eagles told, “I am the son of the king of eagles. I will definitely help you in proper time.”

After several months Rama reached a big city. There every body was so nice to him .He liked the city and started living there. This city had a very pretty princes. She told the king that she would marry only that man who will pass in her test. If he fails, he should be killed. Many people came and were not able to pass. They all died. Rama wanted to try to marry the princess. So he went to the king and told him, “Sir, I would like to marry the princess.”

The king and princess took Rama near the sea. The princess took her ring and threw in the sea. She told, “You find out my ring and bring to me in a day. Otherwise you would be killed.”

After they let, Rama did not know what to do and started crying. Suddenly one big fish swam and came near him. It told, “Hey Rama, don’t you remember me, I was the king fish, whom you saved, I got the ring that the princess put in the sea for you.” Rama took the ring and returned it to the king. But the princess wanted to test Rama further. She threw 10 bags of rice on a lawn and told him, “Collect back all this rice and put it in the bags, by tomorrow morning.” Rama did not know what to do. He cried a lot and slept. When he woke up next morning, he saw that all the rice has been collected and put back in the ten bags. A big ant came to him and told, “Don’t you remember me. I am the king of ants. Yesterday night I came here with millions of my people and did this job very easily.” Rama thanked the ant and went and told the princess that he has completed this job also.

The princess became very angry. She told Rama, “I am not still not satisfied .Go and bring the golden mango of the city of Paradise within a day.” Rama did not know what to do. City of paradise was very, very far off. And the tree of the golden mango belonged to a Rakshasa. Anyway Rama started walking towards the city of paradise. That night he slept below a tree, crying a lot. In the morning a big eagle, which gave him the golden mango woke him up , and told, “Don’t you remember me. I am now the king of eagles. I yesterday flew to the city of Paradise and got this fruit for you.” Rama thanked the bird and gave the golden mango to the princess.

The princess understood that though poor, Rama was a great man. She married him. Later Rama became the king of that big city and lived happily.

Princess Ghulab

Princess Ghulab

There was a king and a queen in the kingdom of Kalyani. Both of them were very good people but never had any babies in their house. They daily went to the temple and prayed God to give them a baby. Once when the queen went to the temple, there was a holy man sitting near the gate. He asked her, “I am very hungry. Give me something to eat.” The queen immediately gave all the fruits, which she had brought for offering to the God to him. That Holy man was very happy and asked her, “Can I pray God to give you something?” The queen with folded hands told, “Great sage, please bless me so that our house will have a little baby. “ The sage blessed her and went his way.

After one year a baby girl was born in the house of the king and the queen. They became very happy and celebrated the occasion. They named the little girl as Ghulab (rose). They also arranged for a special feast to all the sages of the kingdom. They had invited 12 sages and had arranged for 12 golden dining tables. But 13 sages came and one sage did not get a golden dining table. He became angry and cursed Ghulab He said,” when Ghulab becomes 16, a sewing machine will hurt her fingers and she will sleep for one hundred years.”

The king and queen became very sad and removed all sewing machines from their kingdom. Ghulab became a pretty lady and her 16th birthday was celebrated in a grand manner. She was very happy that night and was wandering through the palace. Suddenly she found a strange room and heard a strange sound. She opened the room and found an old lady using the sewing machine. She became very curios and went near the machine, for she had not seen such a machine in all her life. While she was seeing the machine, the needle of the machine pricked her fingers and blood came out. Immediately she started sleeping. Not only her, but also the entire country including, the king, queen, people and all animals and birds slept with her.

Over the years a forest grew in that country. People called it Ghulab forest. Some curious young men entered in to the forest but never came back. After 100 years, a prince called Vikram came to that forest. He told his father that he wanted to see what is in the Ghulab forest. Though all people requested him not to go, he entered the forest. He found the watchman of the forest sleeping. Next were the people, dogs, flies, mosquitoes, soldiers and every body and every thing he saw. Slowly he entered the palace and went on searching and came to the room where the Princess Ghulab was sleeping. It was one hundred years after Ghulab had started sleeping .So she got up and saw prince Vikram. She liked him very much. Vikram also liked her. Both of them decided to marry each other. By this time Ghulab’s parents as well as the whole city woke up. They all came to the palace thanked prince Vikram. Vikram and Ghulab lived for a very long time happily.

Manduka-The frog prince

Manduka-The frog prince

There was king Mahendra in the Country called Magadha. He had four daughters. All of them were pretty but the last one called Kamala was extremely pretty. The king loved her very much. During one of her birthdays the king presented a golden ball to Kamala. Kamala was very fond of the golden ball. Daily she used to play with it in her garden. Once when she was playing, it rolled from her hands, She ran after it. But unfortunately it fell inside a well. Kamala was very sad and cried. There was nobody there to help her. Suddenly she heard somebody talking to her. It was a frog. It asked her. “Hey, princess, why are you crying.” The princess replied, “I lost my golden ball. It fell in to this well.” Then the frog replied, “Certainly, I can help you. But what will you give me in return?” The princess, replied, “Whatever you want frog. But it should be something I can give you. Ask me money; I will ask my father. Ask for food .I will ask my mother.” The frog replied, ” I do not want any of those. But you should keep me as your friend for one day in your house. You should give me food from your golden plate. You should make me sleep in your silken bed. If you agree, I will get you your ball.” Kamala nodded her head. She thought that once the frog gives her ball, she would run away to her home. The soldiers of her father would never allow any frog in to her house.”

The frog jumped in to the well and after some time came out with her ball. The princess took her ball and ran away.

When Kamala was about to take her dinner, they heard a knock at the room door. Mahendra asked his people to open the door and they found a frog. The frog told them, “Princess , princess, Where are you? Take me to your golden plate, And give me a jilebi divine. Take me to your silken bed, And let me have divine sleep.”

The servants told this to Mahendra. Mahendra asked Kamala, “Darling, did you promise like this to the frog.” Kamala replied,” yes, daddy. But I never thought it would come.” The king got very angry at Kamala and told her,” Very bad. You should always keep your promise. Go and bring the frog.” Kamala went out and brought the frog to the dining hall. And gave it some food from her plate. The frog said, “Thank you Kamala, now you take me with you to your bedroom.” Kamala started crying and told, Mahendra, “See Daddy, this frog wants me to take him to the bed room.” The king asked her, ”Did you agree for that earlier?” Kamala reluctantly said, “Yes” The king became very angry with her and told, “Kamala, before promising you have to think a lot. But once you have promised, you have to do it. So take the frog to your bedroom. The princess then took the frog to her bedroom and left it on her silken bed. But as soon as the frog was kept on the bed, he became a very handsome prince”

He told her, “Kamala, my name is Mandooka and I was the prince of Vaisali .One day when a sage came to my house, I put a frog in his plate. The sage got very angry and cursed me to become a frog. But when I cried lot, he told me “, You will again become a prince when a princess gives you food from her golden plate and makes you sleep on her silken bed

Kamala was very happy to see the pretty prince and they became fast friends and played together.

King Vakra Nasa

King Vakra Nasa

Once there was a princess called Shalini. She was a very proud girl. Her father Jaya simha was a very pious man. When princess Shalini grew up, they arranged for her Swayamvara. This is a function in which all the kings who want to marry Shalini are invited and she would choose her husband from among them. Great Kings of all the kingdoms came for the Swayamvara. Shalini saw each of them and made very funny comments. For her one was a tall crane, the other was a fat tub, other was Ravana Rakshasa, and other was eight legged spider and so on. Among them was a great king. Shalini saw him and commented that he was Vakra Nasa (crooked nose). All the assembled people laughed. Then Shalini told her father that of the kings assembled there, none were to her liking. Jaya simha became very angry and told, “If this is the case, you will never get married. I will give you in marriage to the first male beggar who comes to my palace.”

Next day morning, one beggar came to the palace and requested for some food. The watchmen took him to Jaya simha. The beggar again asked for food. Then the king told, “Definitely I will give you food for today. But I will also give you princess Shalini.” Though the princess protested, she was given in marriage to the beggar. Next day the beggar told Shalini, “It is time for us to go to our home. So please start.” When Shalini came out of the palace she came to know that they have only to walk. All the next day they walked and they reached a big grape garden. Shalini asked the beggar, “Whom does this garden belong to?” The beggar replied, “of course to the king Vakra Nasa.” Shalini felt sad that she had not married King Vakra Nasa . They walked further and saw a very big pretty palace. Shalini again asked, “Whom does this palace belong to?” The beggar replied, “Of course to the King Vakra Nasa.” Shalini felt further sad that she had not married King Vakra Nasa . They walked further and reached a very great town. Shalini asked, “Whom does this town belong to ?” The beggar replied, “Of course to the King Vakra Nasa.” Shalini almost started crying. The beggar chided her and told, “You have not married King Vakra Nasa .You are my wife. So you should not wish for all these things.

Then outside the town, they went near a small hut. Shalini asked, “Whom does this nasty hut belong?” .The beggar replied, “It belongs to me and from now on , it is yours also. Enter the hut and clean it up.” Shalini found it very difficult to enter the hut. She did not know how to clean with a broomstick. She asked the beggar, “Where are our servants?” The beggar replied, “We are too poor. We do not have servants. In fact from tomorrow, you have to do some work.” Then the beggar asked her to cook. She had never cooked in her life. The beggar also taught her to cook. He asked her to make baskets so that he can sell them in the market. But her hands started bleeding. Then he asked her to make toys, so that he can sell them in the market. But then her hands started paining. So he told her, “You do not know any work. So you better sell pots in the market."” Though Shalini felt bad that some of her father’s people will see her and laugh at her, she agreed. Right from the first day, she was able to sell lot of pots. They were able to buy things in the market, But after a week, One policeman came to the market, where she was selling pots and broke all of them.

Shalini cried. The beggar then told her, “Please do not cry. I have a friend in the palace. He has agreed to get you a job as the cook’s assistant. Shalini agreed. In the palace, the chief cook treated her very badly. Apart from doing work, she also had to take a bag from home and bring the beggar food from the palace. One day, the cook told that the king was getting married. Shalini had to serve food to the guests. She was given a good dress to wear. While she was crying and serving food, she saw King Vakra Nasa . He caught hold of her and dragged her to the marriage hall. The food she was carrying for her husband fell all over the floor. All people who were there made fun of her and laughed. Shalini started crying very loudly. Then King Vakra Nasa came near and told her, “Princess Shalini, do not cry. I am your husband . Till now I was the one who was acting like a beggar. I wanted you to learn how to live. I wanted you not to be proud. ”Shalini smiled and saw that her parents also had come. So the proud princess Shalini became the very good queen to the king Vakra Nasa .

Govind, Gopal and Subbu

Govind, Gopal and Subbu

There was once a great king. He had three sons. Their names were Govind, Gopal and Subbu. All people thought that Govind and Gopal were intelligent and Subbu was an idiot. The king became very old and wanted to give his kingdom to the most efficient son. So one day he called Govind, Gopal and Subbu and told them, "“I am going to give a test to you. I will throw blue, red and white feathers on to the sky. Govind has to go where the blue feather falls and bring a carpet. Gopal has to go in the direction of red feather and bring a carpet. Subbu has to follow the white feather and bring a carpet. Whoever brings the best carpet will win.” The blue feather fell on the road to the right of the palace. Govind went by that road in search of the carpet. The red feather fell on the road to the left of the palace and Gopal went by that road. The white feather flew for some time and fell in a thick forest far away from the palace. Subbu went to the forest. Govind and Gopal traveled by their roads and went to big cities and went to very big shops and brought back the costliest carpet. Subbu sat crying in the forest. Then he saw a very big hole near to the place where the feather fell. He went down through the hole and came to a town of the frogs. As soon as he went there he was taken to the frog king. The frog king asked him, “What do you want Subbu?” Subbu told that he needed a good carpet. Then the frog king sang, “Little, little girl, Of the city of frogs, Subbu wants a carpet, So bring our big box.”

As soon as he finished the song, the princess frog bought a very big box. The king fox opened the box and took out a carpet and gave it to Subbu. It was a rare carpet from Kashmir. Pearls and corals were woven in it along the wool. Subbu took this carpet and came back.

The king called all the great judges of his kingdom, to say which is the best carpet. They immediately said that the carpet brought by Subbu was the best. Govind and Gopal then told the king, that Subbu should not be made the king just because of one test. They asked the king to give one more test. The king then asked Govind, Gopal and Subbu to bring a very good gold ring. Govind went to the road to the right, Gopal to the left and Subbu to the forest. Govind and Gopal went to far away cities and employed very famous jewelers and got the best possible ring made and came back. Subbu again went to the forest and went to the city of frogs. He met the king of frogs. The frog king asked him, “What do you want Subbu?” Subbu told that he needed a good ring. Then the frog king sang, “Little, little girl, Of the city of frogs, Subbu wants a ring, So bring our big box.” As soon as he finished the song, the princess frog bought a very big box. The king fox opened the box and took out a golden ring and gave it to Subbu. The ring was made of gold and had all the precious stones inlaid on it. There was a very big diamond on the ring. The king called all the great judges of his kingdom, to say which is the best ring. They immediately said that the ring brought by Subbu was the best. Govind and Gopal then told the king, that Subbu should not be made the king just because of two tests. They requested the king to give him one more test.

The king agreed and asked all the three of them to bring the prettiest girl on earth. Govind went to the road to the right, Gopal to the left and Subbu to the forest. Govind and Gopal went to far away cities and met great kings and married their daughters and came back. Subbu again went to the forest and went to the city of frogs. He met the king of frogs. The frog king asked him, “What do you want Subbu?” Subbu told that he needed a Princess Then the frog king asked to bring a big pumpkin. He kept 4 stones under it. He tied seven mice to the Pumpkin. He asked the frog princess to climb on the Pumpkin. He then said Abracadabra. Then the pumpkin, stones and mice became a most pretty chariot drawn by seven horses. The frog princess became the most pretty princess ever seen anywhere. Subbu took her to his father. The king called all the great judges of his kingdom, to say which is the best princess. They immediately said that the princess brought by Subbu was the best. They all said that Subbu was the best prince and he should be made the king. The king agreed and Subbu became the king. He married the princess and they ruled the country well.

Gopal the little tailor

Gopal the little tailor

Gopal was a clever tailor. He was very good at his work. He always did his work with care. One day while he was stitching cloths at night, lot of mosquitoes entered his room. Since Gopal had to stitch the clothes before morning, he went on beating that part of the body where the mosquitoes sat. At a particular time lot of mosquitoes were sitting on his body and with one hit over them he killed ten of them. Suddenly Gopal decided that he was a great hero. He stitched a cap for himself, over which was written, “Hero who killed ten at a stroke.” He decided that he should not be tailor any more and decided to out in the world to earn lot of money. While going he searched his entire house to find something which he could take with him. He only found one Vada. He put it in his bag. When he came outside his house he could catch hold of a sparrow which was sitting on the window. He put the sparrow also in the bag. He walked a long distance and reached the house of a big Pahalwan (wrestler). That Pahalwan read what is written on his cap and asked him, “Did you really kill, ten at one stroke. I would like to test you.” Gopal then replied, “Of course I have killed ten at a stroke. You can test me”.

Then the Pahalvan took a small stone lying on the road and started pressing it. After some time water started coming out of the stone. The pahalwan asked Gopal to do it. Gopal took the Vada from his bag and started pressing it. Because it was fried in oil, very easily lot of oil came out of the Vada. The Pahalwan was surprised and said, “I will test you once more.” Saying this he took a stone and threw it on to the sky. The stone returned back after 10 minutes. Gopal laughed at the Pahalwan and told, “Whatever I throw will go so high that it will never return.” Then he threw the sparrow on to the sky. The sparrow became very happy at being released and flew away. Then the Pahalwan told, I will uproot a tree and let us see whether you can help me carry it.” Then the Pahalwan uprooted a huge tree. Gopal told him, “You carry the trunk and I will carry the branches because there are lot of branches and I am stronger than you.” The foolish Pahalwan agreed. He carried the entire tree and Gopal was simply walking below the branches. Pahalwan was convinced that Gopal was very strong. He took him to his house where several Pahalwans were there. They all took lot of food and told Gopal, “We are now going to sleep. Tomorrow we will give you another test.” Gopal who was very tired started sleeping immediately in the small corner of the very big bed of Pahalwans. The pahalwans waited for some time and hit the middle of the bed on which Gopal was sleeping with a big knife. Then the bed broke in to two. The Pahalwans thought that Gopal was dead and slept peacefully. But in the morning, Gopal was sitting on a chair in their house and asked them. “Lot of big mosquitoes in your house. One of them even broke the cot on which I was sleeping. But it could not do anything to me. “ All the Pahalwans were scared of Gopal and gave him lot of money and a horse to travel

Gopal purchased new cloths and dressed nicely and reached a big city. He took a room in a big hotel and slept well. The people of the hotel, who saw what is written on his cap and went and told the king, “Sir, a great hero has come in to our town. He has it seems killed ten at one stroke. If we make him our commander in chief, we can defeat our enemies easily.” The king agreed and made Gopal the commander in chief of his kingdom. Next day, he called and told him, “We have lot of enemies. You take any number of soldiers, fight with them and drive them away. “ Gopal told, “Sir, I am a very strong man. I will not take any soldier with me but will drive away all the enemies.” Then he sent his servant to his enemies and he informed them. “Today our master who has killed ten people at a single stroke is coming to kill all of you. He will come alone and with only one stick.” The enemy soldiers who were really afraid told the servant, “ Nothing like that will happen. Nobody dares to ride alone to face us.” That evening, Gopal rode on the horse towards the enemy. He was carrying nothing but a small stick. From the distance the enemy soldiers saw him and became scared. By the time Gopal reached the place, they all ran away.

The king was wonder stuck. He told Gopal, “ We have two rakshasas in the forest who are always troubling us. Daily they come and kill and eat some of our people. If you can kill them, I will give half my kingdom and also my daughter in marriage to you.” Gopal agreed. He again said that he would go alone in to the forest. That night he took lot of small stones and went and hid on the tree below, which the Rakshasas were sleeping. The Rakshasa came at night and slept below the tree. Gopal took one stone and threw at one Rakshasa who woke up. He shouted at the other Rakshasa, “Why did you throw a stone at me/”. The other Rakshasa replied, “I did not”. Both of them slept again. Gopal threw one more stone. This time there was a big quarrel among the Rakshasa and both of them fought with each other and died. Gopal returned back as a hero.

But the princess was not convinced. She said, I would also keep a test. There is a wild giant pig in the forest. Let Gopal kill it. Then only I will marry him. Gopal readily agreed. He went in to the forest again alone. When the wild pig started chasing him, he ran straight and took a small turn near a big tree and hid behind it. The pig, which was chasing him, dashed against the big tree and was killed.

So the princess married him and Gopal became a king. But one day, while he was sleeping he muttered, “Where is the needle? I want to stitch a shirt.” The princess heard this and told her father. Then both of them decided that Gopal was a tailor. They asked some of the goondas of their kingdom to come at night and kill Gopal. But one of the Goonda was a friend of Gopal. So he told him about the plot. That night also Gopal muttered loud in his sleep, ”Where is the needle? I want to stitch the shirt, which was torn while killing ten people at one stroke.” When the goondas heard this, they ran away. Then Gopal lived happily in the city and became a king to the city.

Babu and Bikram

Babu and Bikram

There was a country called Mithila. In that country there was a very big forest. In that forest lived a very big lion which used to kill all people who enter the forest. All people avoided going to the forest. Then the lion started entering near by villages and towns and started killing people. The king of Mithila announced that his daughter whoever will kill the lion. Many people tried but nobody succeeded. In a small village in Mithila there was a poor man. He had two sons-Babu and Bikram. While Babu was a very nice, pious and good boy, Bikram was a cruel, selfish and bad boy. Both of them went to the king and told him that they are prepared to go and kill the lion. To give them equal chances, the king asked them to enter the forest from opposite directions. As soon as Babu entered the forest, the God of the forest met him and gave him a divine bow and arrow. He told Babu, “I am giving you this because you are very good boy. If you shoot the arrow using this bow, the lion will surely die.” Babu fell at the feet of the god and took the bow and arrow with him .As soon as he saw the lion, he shot an arrow and the lion died. He cut the tail of the lion and took it along with him to prove that he had killed the lion. On his way, he met his brother Bikram. Bikram became very jealous but told Babu, “ Wonderful, I will also come along with you to the king.” While they were going, they had to cross a river. Bikram pushed Babu inside the river and took the Lion’s tail to the king. King was overjoyed on hearing that the lion has been killed. The king thought that the lion must have killed Babu. Since the princess was very sick, the king told Bikram that he would give her in marriage after six months only. Bikram was made to stay in a big house and given what all he wanted. Meanwhile a hunter happened to cross the river in which Babu was pushed in. He saw on the shore of a river, A bone. Just for fun he took the bone. Then the bone started singing, “The lion was great, Babu was good, Bikram was bad, Babu killed the lion, And Bikram killed Babu.” The hunter took this singing bone to the king. The king immediately understood the real story. The got Bikram arrested and put in jail. The king, his daughter went near the river in which Babu was killed to put some flower to honour him. As soon as they put the flower, Babu arose alive from the river. The God of the forest gave him life.

Babu married the princess and lived happily for several years and became king of Mithila.

Arjun the wise

Arjun the wise

There was a poor man and woman in a village. A son was born to them. On his chest there was a big brown mole. They took him to the village priest and asked him, “Sir, will this bring bad luck to this boy.’” The priest read all the books he had and told them, “Do not be afraid. This boy, when he becomes 20, will marry the princess and become our king.” The poor man and woman did not believe the priest but named the child as “Arjun.”. The news of what the priest told some how reached the king. The king dressed himself as a rich merchant and came to the house of the poor man and woman. He told them, “I heard that this baby is going to be the king. You will not be able to bring him up properly. You give him to me. I will give you lot of money and also bring up Arjun properly.” Though the poor man and woman loved Arjun, they agreed thinking; it is for the good of Arjun. The king put Arjun in a box, closed it and threw the box in the river. He thought Arjun would die. But the box floated and reached another shore. The village chief, Bhim who was a rich man, picked it up. Bhim did not have any children. So he took Arjun home and brought him in a very proper way. Arjun became 20 and his birthday was celebrated in a grand manner. On this birthday, the king happened to visit this village and the chief invited him to his house. When the king visited Arjun was just dressing up and the king saw the big brown mole on his chest.

He enquired with Bhim, “Who is this boy who is looking so smart? Is he really your son?” Bhim replied, “No sir, twenty years back, I found him floating in the river.” The king immediately recognized Arjun. So he told Bhim, “I have a very urgent letter to be sent to the queen. Will you send it through Arjun?” Bhim agreed. The king wrote a letter as follows.” “Dear Queen, As soon as this boy brings this letter kill him. Do not wait for me. King.”

Arjun took the letter along with him and started his journey to the palace of the king. When it became night, he reached in a dark forest. There was a big house in the forest. He went in. There was an old woman sitting there. He asked her, “Aunty, Can I stay here for the night?” The old woman said, “This is the house of the three robbers. If they do you any harm, what can I do? “ Arjun was very tired and immediately slept in spite of the warning. The robbers came at mid night an asked the old woman, “Who is this boy”.

Then the old woman replied, “He has been sent by the king with a message to the queen. He missed his way and came here.” Then the robbers took the letter to the queen from Arjun and read it. They felt sorry for Arjun and wanted to help him. So they tore off the letter that the king wrote and wrote another letter as follows, “Dear Queen, As soon as this boy arrives in the palace, give our daughter, in marriage to him. You need not wait for me. King,”

Arjun got up in the morning and the robbers showed him the correct way. As soon as the Arjun reached the palace he gave the letter to the queen. She read it and immediately arranged for the marriage of the princess with Arjun. This was celebrated in a very grand way. When the king came back after a week, he was shocked to know that Arjun has married his daughter. He asked the queen to show the letter. Then he asked Arjun, whether he stayed in any place while coming to the palace. Arjun told him the whole story.

Since the king now knew that Arjun would become the king, he called Arjun and told him, “I am so happy you married my daughter. But there is a problem. You have to go to the Golden Rakshasa’s place and get three of his hairs. This is a custom in our family.” Arjun readily agreed and started his travel to the house of Golden Rakshasa

On his way, he went to a village where all the people where sad because their only well was dry. They asked Arjun,”Who are you and what do you know?” Arjun replied, “I am Arjun and I know everything.” Then the villagers wanted to know from Arjun, how to get water from their dried up well. Arjun told them, “I am now going on a pilgrimage. While I am coming back, I will tell you the reason.” After travelling one more day, he reached a village with lot of mango trees. But none of the mango trees where giving any fruit .All the villagers were sad. They asked Arjun,”Who are you and what do you know?” Arjun replied, “I am Arjun and I know everything.” Then the villagers wanted to know from Arjun, how to make their mango trees bear fruit. .Arjun told them, “I am now going on a pilgrimage. While I am coming back, I will tell you the reason.”

After further travel, Arjun had to cross a river to reach the house of Golden Rakshasa. There was one boat and a very sad boatman. He asked Arjun,”Who are you and what do you know?” Arjun replied, “I am Arjun and I know everything.” He wanted to know from Arjun, how to get rid of his boring job which did not give him any income. Arjun told them, “I am now going on a pilgrimage. While I am coming back, I will tell you the reason.”

Arjun walked some more days and reached the house of the Golden Rakshasa. When he went to his house fortunately for him, the Golden Rakshasa was not there and only his grandma was there. She liked Arjun and asked him, why he has come that far. Arjun replied, “Grandma, I want to get three golden hairs from the golden Rakshasa and also know why there is no water in the village well, why the mango tree is not yielding and why the boatman is not able leave his job.”Grandma promised to help him and made him in to an ant and hid him in her sari. After some time the olden Rakshasa who liked his Grandma came back. After he took his food he started sleeping with his head kept on the lap of his grandma. After an hour the grandma pulled one hair from the Golden Rakshasa, He suddenly woke up, “What is the matter grandma?” he asked. Grandma replied, “I saw a dream in which the villagres were crying because there is no water in their well.” The golden Rakshasa laughed and told, “They are idiots. There is a frog buried in their well. If they remove it they will get plenty of water.” Saying this he again started sleeping. After one more hour the grandma pulled one more hair. Again the golden Rakshasa woke up, and asked, “Hey grand ma, what is the problem with you? Then she replied, “I saw a still worse dream. There was a big mango orchard in a village but no tree was giving any fruit and all the poor villagers are crying.” Then the Golden Rakshasa replied, ‘they are also fools. There is a statue of Rama buried in the mango orchard. All they have to do is to take it out and build a temple. “He again started sleeping. After some more time the grandma pulled one more hair, .This time the golden Rakshasa woke up very angry. He shouted at his grandma, “I like you very much but you are troubling me a lot. Did you see one more dream? ”The grandma replies, “Yes. This time I saw a poor old boatman crying. He is not able to leave his job and go to his home.” The golden Rakshasa replied, “The boatman can leave his job any time. Only he has to hand over the oars to a passenger and jump out of the boat.”

Next day the grand ma of Golden Rakshasa handed over the three golden hairs to Arjun and wished him best of luck.

On his way back, he first saw the boatman. After crossing the river he told the boatman, You can easily leave this place, What all you have to do is to hand over the oar to a passenger and jump out of the boat.” The boatman became very happy and gave Arjun a small bag of gold. With this he reached the village of the mango garden. There he told them, “There is a statue of Rama buried in the mango orchard. All you have to do is to take it out and build a temple. Then your mango trees would yield mangos.” They were very happy and gave him a very big bag full of gold. Then he reached the village, where the well did not have water. He told them, “There is a frog buried in your well. If you remove it, you will get plenty of water.” They immediately did it and got lot of water. They were so happy that they gave him a cart full of gold.

Arjun reached the king’s place and gave him the three golden hairs. He also showed him how much gold he has earned. Though the king was rich, he also wanted to earn some more gold. He asked Arjun, “How did you get all this gold?” Arjun replied him; “On the way to the Golden Rakshasa’s place there is a river. There is a boatman there. He gave all this gold to me.” King started immediately to meet the boatman. As soon as he got in to the boat, the boatman handed over the oars and jumped out of the boat and ran away. All his life, the king was a boatman. Since he did not return, Arjun was made the king.