Story Time

Once there lived a Sage who meditated on the banks of river Shipra for several years. As a result of his penance, he received a special gift- a mango with a special seed inside. Whoever ate the mango would never become old. The seed was very unusual; it would never sprout because such a mango should not be grown anywhere.

The sage thought, I am ascetic and I do not desire to become young or to live longer than I am destined to. I think that this fruit will be more useful in the hands of the compassionate and pious King Bhartrhari who rules the land of Avantika.

So the sage made his way to the King’s Court. After being granted an audience, the sage presented the mango to the king.

“Sir I would like to give you this special fruit. May you reap the benefits of this gift”.

The king accepted the gift graciously and the sage departed.

The middle aged King loved his young wife Anangasena, who was a rare beauty.

“I don’t want to see my wife become old. She is my queen and loves me more than anyone else in the world. what defeat her beauty and her love more than this fruit??

With this thought, the king gifted the mango to his wife and told her about the importance of the fruit.

She did take the mango and kept it aside. She had a secret companion,who was also the,commander of the King’s Army.

She loved him more than her husband. She thought I cannot bear the thought of my companion becoming old like my husband. He deserves this fruit much more than I do.

The queen then handed over the fruit to the commander.

The commander, however, was very fond of a dancer in the king’s Court.

“She is a beautiful lady and must never become old.”

He gave the fruit to the dancer who thanked the commander and accepted the gift.

The dancer was secretly in love with the king and thought that the best way to get the king’s attention was to give him a unique gift that might allow him to get to know her and come to love her in time.

The next day, the dancer presented the fruit to the king.

The king was surprised to see that the same mango had come back to him in less than a day.

When the king was alone with the queen a short while later, he asked,” did you eat the mango I gave you yesterday?”

Yes my love, she lied.

Show me the seed then, he said.

The queen continued with her lie and said I don’t know where it must be now.

“Please go and search for it and bring it back to me.”

She immediately ran and ask the commander,” did you eat the mango?”

“Yes I did.” lied the commander.

“Where is the seed?”

“You did not ask me to save it I ate the fruit and then I must have thrown it somewhere.”

“Find it it is very important”.

The commander called the dancer and asked her the same question.

The dancer innocently then approached the king and asked him gently,” sir have you eaten the mango yet?”

“No”.

“All right sir but when you eat it will you please give me the seed”.

The king probed further, I don’t understand why do you need the seed?

“I have to give the seed to the person who gave me the mango, said the dancer innocently.”

“Bring me the person who gave you the mango,” the king’s voice thundered.

Within an hour the three of them- the dancer,commander and the queen stood in front of the king.

The king was a smart man and understood the sequence of events.

He analysed the circumstances thought to himself.

” Nothing is as it seems. I thought that my wife loves me but her affections lay somewhere else. The man she love doesn’t really love her either. He loves the dancer. On the other hand the dancer loves me but I have no feelings for her at all.

I did not receive the love I wanted from my wife. Even she did not get the love she wanted from someone close to her own age. Age is irrelevant.

The mango has changed my perspective of the world. Detachment is the true path of life- permanent and brings peace of mind, without creating dependency on any human. I have realised that youth and old age are part of the natural cycle of life and it must not be disturbed.

I want to learn more about the true meaning of life”

The king called the sage. He returned the mango to him and thanked him for helping him realise the truth.

He then renounced his Kingdom and left to perform a penance in the cave near the banks of the river. Today this cave can be seen in Ujjain, which is now in Madhya Pradesh, known as Bharthari gufa.