Once upon a time, Amarasakti ruled the city-state of Mahilaropyam
in the south of India. He had three witless(stupid,मूर्ख) sons who became a matter of endless perturbation(worry,चिंता) for him. Realizing that his sons had no
interest in learning, the king summoned(call, बुलाना) his ministers and said:
“You know I am not exhilarated(happy,खुश) with my sons. According to men of learning
an unborn son and a stillborn son are better than a son who is a dimwit(stupid,
मूर्ख). What good is a barren cow? A son who is stupid will bring opprobrium(dishonour,अपमान) to his father. How can I make them fit to
be my successors? I turn to you for advice.“
One of the ministers suggested
the name of Vishnu Sharman, a eminent(great,महान) savant(scholar,विद्ववान) enjoying the veneration(respect,आदर) of hundreds of his disciples. “He is the
most adroit(competent,सक्षम) person to tutor your children. Entrust
them to his care and very soon you will see the change.“
The king summoned Vishnu
Sharman and pleaded with him “Oh, venerable scholar, take pity on me and please
train my sons into great scholars and I will make you the lord of hundred
villages.“
Vishnu Sharman said “Oh, king,
listen to my pledge. Hundred villages do not tempt me to vend learning. Count
six months from today. If I do not make your children great scholars, you can
ask me to change my name.“
The king promptly(immediately,तुरंत)
called his sons and handed them to the care of the learned man. Sharman took
them to his monastery where he started teaching them the five strategies
(Panchatantra). Keeping his word, he finished the task the king entrusted him
in six months. Since then, Panchatantra became popular all over the world as
children‘s guide in solving problems of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment