In this thread I shall collect Hindu Wisdom Tales mainly intended for children. The other thread "Laugh and Think: Hindu After-Dinner Tales" (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1849) would be henceforth used for stories that are not suitable for children.
Possibly everyone of us here in HDF has children of the school-going or lower age. They read all sorts of western action, thriller, and crime stories but scarcely any Hindu classical stories. Most of the times, we are too busy to tell them these Hindu stories, though we are conscious that we owe them what our own grandparents have taught us.
Here is a collection of small, witty and thought-provoking Hindu wisdom tales and stories, obtained from the book Indian After Dinner Stories by A.S. Panchapakesa Ayyar.
1. Gargi and Yagnavalkya
JANAKA, the famous King of Mithila, convened an assembly of learned men and offered a gift of one thousand cows to the greatest philosopher among them all. The sage Yagnavalkya asked his disciple to drive the one thousand cows home, and no one dared to interfere.
Then spoke Gargi, "O Pandits, is there no one among you to challenge Yagnavalkya's claim? It is a shame to yield the cows to him without a fight.'
None of the pandits replied.
"Gargi," said Yagnavalkya, "there is none here to dispute my
superiority."
"I at least challenge it," said Gargi. "Tell me, O Yagnavalkya, who created this world and the stars, the sun and the moon and all the things which we see in this Universe ?"
"God," replied Yagnavalkya.
"And who created Him?" asked Gargi.
"Gargi, don't ask such questions," said Yagnavalkya. "There is a limit to questioning."
"Who created God, that tell me definitely" persisted Gargi.
"I don't know," said Yagnavalkya. "Nor does any one else know. Who created God, O Gargi?"
"By the very hypothesis, God was self-created," declared Gargi, and won the cows.
2. Sankaracharya and His Disciples
ONE day, the great Sankaracharya was walking with his disciples. The teacher wanted to test the quality of his disciples. So he got into a wayside toddy shop and drank some toddy. All his disciples did likewise. Sankaracharya said nothing. The party left the toddy shop and proceeded. They went past a bronzesmith's workshop. Sankaracharya went in and drank some of the molten bronze. His disciples stood aghast.
"Why don't you drink this as you drank the toddy?" asked Sankaracharya.
"Sir, we have not got your divine powers," replied the disciples.
"It is even as I feared," said the great teacher. c You fellows imitate my vices and never my virtues.'
3. Buddha and the Half Pomegranate
THE Lord Buddha had announced that on a particular day he would receive alms with his own hands for the support of the poor and the unfortunate, and had begged all to come with whatever offerings they pleased. On the appointed day, Buddha sat at Rajagriha in a conspicuous place and began receiving alms.
First came King Bimbisara with gifts of precious stones and gold coins innumerable. Buddha received them with one hand.
Then came Ajatasatru with equally costly presents. The Lord Buddha took them also with one hand. After this several nobles, merchants and other rich men offered their gifts to the Enlightened who received them all with one hand.
Then came a miserablelooking old woman with half a pomegranate in her hand. She saluted the world-teacher and said, "Lord, I heard about your receiving alms only now. I had eaten half a pomegranate and had only this half left. I have nothing else in this world to give, so I brought this. Be pleased to accept it."
Buddha stretched forth both his hands and accepted the half pomegranate. Bimbisara, Ajatasatru and the rest were astounded.
"Oh, Blessed One," said Bimbisara, "inscrutable are your ways. Why did you receive this shrunken half pomegranate with both your hands whereas you received all our costly gifts only with one hand?"
Buddha smiled and said, "Oh, king, you have given costly presents but none of you gave a tenth of what you have, and this too you gave more for glory than from motives of mere charity. This woman gave her all and gave it willingly. That explains my action."
4. Buddha and Bimbisara's High Priest
BlMBlSARA was about to sacrifice fifty goats. His palace priest was ready for the ceremony* At that moment, Buddha entered the sacrificial room and asked Bimbisara to stay his hand since God, who created the goats, would assuredly never be pleased with their being sacrificed. Bimbisara asked Buddha to argue the point with the high priest and promised to abide by the opinion of the victor in the discussion.
Buddha asked the high priest "Why, O high priest, do you sacrifice these poor animals?"
"Fool!" returned the priest. "Three people profit by this sacrifice and none lose by it. King Bimbisara earns merit because he is the cause of this sacrifice. I gain merit because I perform the sacrifice with my hands, and the goat, even the goat, benefits since it enters Heaven by being sacrificed. Thus three gain and none lose."
"Do all those who are sacrificed gain Heaven?" asked Buddha.
"Of course, yes," replied the priest. "There is not the least doubt about it."
"Is your father living?" asked Buddha.
"Yes," replied the priest.
"You want him to enter Heaven, don't you?" asked Buddha.
"Of course, I do," replied the other.
"You know that in the ordinary course of things you can't be certain about his going to Heaven," said Buddha.
"True," said the high priest.
"Then, why not sacrifice your father and ensure him Heaven?" asked Buddha.
The high priest was speechless with rage and tried to assault Buddha saying, "How dare you say such things to me?"
But Bimbisara had seen on which side lay the victory. He dismissed the high priest, embraced Buddhism, and stopped the sacrifice.
5. Yagnavalkya, Janaka and Other Pupils
THE illustrious Yagnavalkya was teaching Janaka and eleven Brahman disciples in a forest hermitage just outside the city of Mithila. The venerable teacher used to wait for Janaka in case he came a bit late to the class, an indulgencef which he never extended to the other pupils.
One day, the Brahman pupils whispered among themselves, "Our teacher talks philosophy and preaches the uttermost disregard of mere wealth and rank. But in practice he follows the rest. See how he waits for Janaka and not for any one of us. Is it not because he is a king and we are but poor commoners?"
Yagnavalkya overheard this and wanted to show them the real reason for his discrimination. He began a profound discourse on the nature of the soul, and, in the middle of it, caused Mithila to appear to be in flames by his extraordinary powers.
The Brahman pupils, whose attention was not riveted in the discourse, soon saw the flames and hurriedly whispered to one another, "Mithila is burning, Mithila is burning. Let us slip out and save what little we possess. Our teacher will not detect our absence because he is deeply immersed in his lecture."
One by one, all the eleven Brahmans slipped out and Janaka was left alone with Yagnavalkya. Yagnavalkya said to Janaka whose whole attention was in the lecture, "O, prince, Mithila is burning. Had we not better stop?"
"No," replied Janaka, "go on. If Mithila is destroyed, Janaka loses nothing, for all that Janaka values is within him and not without."
Yagnavalkya continued the lecture. Soon all the other pupils returned with silly faces and said that they had been deceived and that Mithila was not really burning.
"You see now why I wait for Janaka and not for you," said Yagnavalkya. All the eleven bowed their heads in shame and remained silent.
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