(8) Who is the most talented of the three?

STORY EIGHT

The king again went to the Shimshapaa tree; placed the Vetaala on his shoulder; and started walking to where the mendicant was.

Vetaala addressed him again and said-

“King! I will entertain you with a story; listen!”

In AngaDesha, there is a city named Vrikka-Ghata. There lived a Brahmin named VishnuSwaamy. He was famed for performing Sacrifices; and was very rich.

He had a devoted wife and three sons.

The three youths were sent by their father to catch a tortoise to complete his Sacrifice. They caught one tortoise in the ocean and got ready to carry it back to their father.

The eldest son said to the younger ones-

“One of you carry this tortoise to our father for his Sacrifice. I cannot bear the raw smell of the flesh and I cannot hold its stinking shell”

The younger brothers said-

“Brother! If you feel disgusted by its contact, won’t we also feel the same?”

The eldest brother said-

“You both should hold the tortoise. Otherwise because of you both the Sacrifice of our father cannot be completed; and surely you both along with our father will go to hell.”

The other two laughed at his words and said-

“Brother! You know about rules to be followed by us both; but not by you?”

The eldest said-

“Don’t you know that I am very particular about the quality of the food I eat? I am a person who is an expert in determining the quality of food. How can I touch this disgusting thing and eat again?”

The middle one said-

“I am particular about the quality of the girl I touch.  How can I touch this creature and seek the company of a woman?”

The eldest one said to the youngest-

“You are the youngest of all. You carry this tortoise.”

The third brother lifted his eye-brows and said-

“Fools! I am particular about the quality of the bed where I sleep. I cannot sleep with the stink of the tortoise in my hand.”

A heavy dispute rose among the three. Each one was intent on proving that he was the most talented one. They threw away the tortoise; decided to get judged by a king named PrasenaJit and went to his city named VitankaPura. They informed the king about their arrival through the door-keeper. The king permitted them to present their case to him.

The three Brahmin brothers reported all that had happened. The king told them that he will give judgment only after testing their talents. All the three agreed to that condition and stayed in that city.

The king invited them for food; made them sit along with him in special seats; and got them served with very tasty food having all the six fine essences and made especially for the royal family. All ate the food happily except the one who was fussy about foods. His face showed disgust and he did not touch any food served on his plate.

The king was surprised and asked him-

“How are you not eating anything though the food is fragrant and delicious?”

Then that young man said hesitatingly-

“King! The cooked rice smells of the smoke coming from a burning corpse. I do not want to eat it even if it is delicious.”

The king invited many experts and asked them to smell the cooked rice. Everyone commented that it was the rice named ‘Kalama’ and was extremely tasty. But the

food-lover held his nose tightly not even able to smell the food and turned his face away. The king sent his men to search for the fields from where the paddy was brought. They reported to him that the paddy field was situated next to a cremation ground.

The king was surprised and said-

“Hey Brahmin! You are indeed an expert on food.”

He offered him some other food prepared by a different type of rice.

After food the three brothers were sent to the guest rooms to rest. The king arranged for the prettiest girl among his maids to be sent to the second brother who had boasted of his special talent in finding the qualities of women. That girl adorned with the most beautiful ornaments went to the room where he stayed, along with the king’s men. The moment she entered the room, the young Brahmin covered his nose and averted his face. He shouted with disgust-“Get her out of here quickly; or else I will die. She smells of a goat.”

The king’s men were surprised by his behavior and reported his conduct to the king. The king called for that Brahmin and asked him-

“Hey Brahmin! This girl has applied on her body, the most wonderful pastes and perfumes. She is the prettiest of the women here. Where is there the smell of a goat?”

Still the Brahmin would not even look at her.

The king sent his men to enquire about the details of the girl and found out that she had lost her mother when she was born and had been fed goat’s milk all through her childhood. The king was surprised and praised the Brahmin very much.

Next he sent the third brother to sleep in his room. Seven mattresses made of very fine cotton were placed one on top of another. A very fine soft silk blanked covered the bed. The Brahmin lied down on the bed ready to sleep. But within half an hour, he jumped out of the bed; pressed his hand on his side; screaming with pain ran out of his room. The king’s men found a deep mark of a hair on his side. They reported his odd behavior to the king. The king asked them to search the mattresses thoroughly. They did likewise and found piece of hair at the bottommost layer of all the seven mattresses and showed it to the king.

The king matched the hair to the mark on the Brahmin’s body and found that it fitted exactly. The king was surprised that a small piece of hair under the seven mattresses could wound the Brahmin like this.

Next morning the king called the three brothers to the court and honored each of them by giving one lakh gold coins and praised their talents in front of all. The three brothers were happy by getting the money; but they also the got the sin of making their father’s sacrifice incomplete as they had completely forgotten the tortoise that had to be given to him.

END

After completing the story, Vetaala asked the king-

“King! Remember the curse I already pronounced on you and tell me who the best among the three is.”

The wise king said-

“I think that the one who has the talent in finding out the qualities of the bed is the best of the three. The deep mark of the hair on his body was directly seen by all then and there only. The other two could have got their formation before itself.”

The moment he finished answering, Vetaala went back to the Shimshapaa tree. The king tirelessly treaded his way towards the Shimshapaa tree.