Long ago there lived a Brahman (a cast in Hindu religion) and his wife in a small village. They had been married for many years but still did not have any children. They prayed to all gods to grant them the pleasure of having their own child.
After some time the Brahman’s wife gave birth to a young one. But alas it was not a human child but a snake. Every one in the village, and the couple too, were shocked.
Many advised the couple to kill the snake as it could not be their child. But the brahman’s wife could not bear to part with her ‘son’. After all, the snake was her child and she was his mother. So the snake lived on with the couple as their son.
The Brahman’s wife loved her snake son very much and she bathed and clothed him with great love and care. She fed him with her own hands and made a cozy bed for her son to sleep on.
Soon the snake son grew older. He was still much loved by his mother. When his mother attended a marriage in the neighborhood she wished for her snake son’s marriage too. But alas! Who will offer his daughter to be a snake’s wife?
One day the Brahman came home and saw his wife crying bitterly. He enquired of her, “Why do you cry so, dear wife?” But got no reply from his still crying wife. “What ails you, dear? Do tell me,” the Brahman urged.
“I know the love and affection you show for me and my son is all but false. You do not care at all for my son. If you did, you would be looking for a bride for him. He is of a marriageable age now.”
“Have you gone crazy? Who will ever give a girl in marriage to a snake?” the Brahman asked. This only made the mother to cry even louder and bitterly. The Brahman reluctantly agreed to look for a bride for his snake son.
The Brahman went to many cities and towns looking for a bride, but no one found it fit to marry his daughter to a snake. At last he visited a friend in a nearby city. The friend received him heartily and asked the Brahman why he looked so worried. The Brahman said he was in search of a bride for his son.
“Why, it is simple. You can take my daughter to be your son’s wife,” exclaimed the friend. “My daughter is beautiful and cultured and just the right age for marriage. She will bring happiness to your family.” “I think you should first see my son,” urged the Brahman. “Oh, no need to see him. I know you and your wife very well. I hereby permit you to take away my daughter to be your son’s bride.”
The Brahman came back to his village with his friend’s daughter. The brahman’s wife was delighted and proceeded to start the marriage preparations. The village elders went to meet the girl and suggested that she should not marry a snake.
The girl replied, “I appreciate your sympathy and concern but I shall not be a lie for my father’s promise to this Brahman. I will surely marry his son. If I agree to your views I would be going against my father’s wishes. If the Brahman’s son is a snake, then he shall still be my husband.”
The next day the girl married the Brahman’s snake son. The girl was a happy bride. She loved and respected her husband with all her heart. The snake still slept in a box of his own.
One night, when the girl got ready to sleep on her bed, she saw a handsome young man sitting on her bed. She was afraid of the stranger and started to run, but the young man called her, “Do not fear me, for I am your wedded husband.”
The girl did not believe him at all. Soon the handsome young man turned himself into the snake the girl had married. The again he became the young man she had seen then. The girl was now very happy to find a handsome and loving husband. This secret meeting between the girl and her husband continued every night when every one in the house had retired for sleep.
One night, the Brahman passed by the girl’s room and heard a young man’s voice from her room. He started to keep a watch on his son and his wife. One night he happened to see his snake son changing into a handsome youth. The Brahman at once entered the room and picked up the snake skin shed by the youth. He took it and threw it into the fire where it burned to ashes.
The youth then addressed the Brahman, “I thank you from the depth of my heart. You have freed me of a curse. I was to remain a snake until my snake body was destroyed without my asking anyone to do so. Today, O Father, I can be your true son. I shall remain so for the rest of my life.”
The Brahman, his wife and the youth’s wife were delighted at this event. They all lived together as a happy family.
1 comment:
wow! The story is interesting.
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