The Daughter from a Wishing Tree - Part 1

 Hi there!!! Today's story is a very unknown one. It's about the daughter of Shiva and Parvati, AshokaSundari, and how she was born. Let's go!

Parvati, the wife of Rudra and the mother of Ganesha and Karthikeya, had started to feel lonely. She longed for someone that could keep her company since Shiva would be out meditating or Ganesha and Karthikeya would be out fighting a war ALL THE TIME. No one stayed with Parvati. All of her kin would be gone for weeks at a stretch.
One day, after another bout of loneliness, Parvati turned to Shiva, "O Lord, I am terribly bored. My heart aches for some company. Everyone is always out and no one is here to keep me company!!" Shiva replied, "Well, there is no one that COULD stay with you!! ll of us are caught up in our activities, that we can't spare any time to be home!!" Parvati nodded her head, then slowly thought, "Well, if not someONE, then maybe someTHING!" She stated to Shiva, "O Shankara, take me to the most beautiful garden in the three realms!! I will be sure to find a plant that can be with me."

Shiva gladly agreed and went with her to the celestial garden of Nandana at Amaravati, the capital of the Heavens. They both exclaimed at the wondrous flowers and mesmerising plants in awe. They had never seen anything like this before!! Other passers-by directed Shiva and Parvati around the premises.
There, Parvati saw many trees, TALL and short, FAT and THIN, LOOOOOOONNNGGGGG and TiNy! They all caught her eyes, but KalpaVriksha, or the Wishing Tree, was the one Parvati was most attracted too. She was enchanted by its looks and captivated by its fluttering, emerald-green leaves.
She immediately knew that the KalpaVriksha was the right one for her. BUT, she wanted more. The first thought that flew into her mind was, "I want a daughter!" She whispered her wish to the KalpaVriksha, and LO AND BEHOLD!!!!!! She found herself with a beautiful baby girl dozing in her hands. Parvati said, "AshokaSundari - a gorgeous damsel who destroys loneliness. AshokaSundari shall be your name, little one." Parvati took AshokaSundari back to Mount Kailash and raised with complete care and affection.
AshokaSundari grew to be a young woman who was devoted to her parents. Parvati loved her dearly and enjoyed her cheerful company.

When AshokaSundari cam of marriageable age, Parvati was of the opinion that only an earthly king that had the stature and build of Indra - the King of the Gods - would be AshokaSundari's groom. Many dought the hand of AshokaSundari, but Parvati thought it best that her daughter married Prince Nahusha of the ChandraVamsha or the Lunar Dynasty.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Wit and Humour: Birbal and the Pot of Khichdi

Hi there! Today's story is from the Tales of Birbal. It's about how a small ray of hope is enough to inspire one who is ready to work hard to turn his dream into a reality.
Let's go!

On a chilly winters' day, Akbar and Birbal went for a stroll in the Dehli Palace complex. They talked about various political topics. They criticized the courtiers, who didn't take a liking towards Birbal. He would always outsmart them with his unmatchable wit.
As the pair started to stroll out of the complex, Akbar came across a near-frozen lake, which looked terribly cold. He dipped his finger into the water and he pulled it right out, shivering. He blew on his finger, he licked it too. He tried all means to make it warmer. But, it slowly turned warmer and warmer. Akbar clenched his finger in agony, as it reluctantly warmed up. Birbal stood watching the emperor's antics in amusement. He sniggered seeing Akbar's foolishness. Anybody who was everybody would make out that the lake would have been bone-chillingly cold, but the emperor just dumped his finger right in!!! He was so silly, that he tried to heat his finger up by rubbing it on his kurta!!
Eventually, Birbal's finger calmed down, and he regained his serenity. He exclaimed, "I don’t think a man would spend an entire night in the bone-chilling water of this lake for money.” Birbal replied, “I am sure I can find such a person.” Akbar then challenged Birbal to find such a person and said that he would reward the person with 100 gold coins.
Birbal looked far and wide, scouring the empire for someone who would take up this elephantine task.

Eventually, he found an old man who was desperate enough to do the challenge. Birbal brought him to the chilly lake along with a few soldiers accompanying him. 
Birbal explained the rules and regulations to the old man, "You must stay in the pond for the coming night. Don't look at any form of light. Get out as soon as you see the sun and come to the palace to collect your reward," the old bowed down to Birbal and went to dive into the cold lake. Birbal went back to the court and informed Akbar, "JahanPanah, the old man has gone into the water. Tomorrow morning we shall check on him," Akbar nodded his head in agreement and went to his room to sleep.

The whole night passed. The soldiers guarding the old man came to the court with him at the break of dawn. "JahanPanah, this old. man has violated the rules!!!! He didn't abide by the rules you had set!!!!" Birbal clenched his fists in shock!! He called the old man, who was weeping madly, "JahanPanah, JahanPanah!!!!!! These men are lying!! I stayed there for the whole night!!!!! They are lying!!!!" The soldiers barged in and shouted, "JahanPanah, This old man had a form of light with him!! There was a streetlight near the lake and we think that he must have looked at it the whole night!!!!! He must be lying, JahanPanah!!!!" Akbar stroked his beard in confusion. He took minutes to decide that the old man was lying. "Put him in prison!!!!" Akbar shouted to the soldiers. They bowed down and pulled the old man to jail. The old man protested, "The streetlight couldn't have provided me with any heat or warmth at all!!!!! It was miles away!!!!!!!!" The soldiers nodded their heads, but they, too, had their own way of looking at things, "It was not like that, O Emperor!!!! The streetlight was very far away, we agree, but the light and the warmth would've reached the man, right????" Screaming in agony, the old man called to Birbal, "O Birbal!!!! O Birbal!!!!!! Please, save me!!! SAVE ME!!!!!!" Birbal heard the old man's cries and stroked his chin. He got really annoyed with the Emperor and devised a sneaky plan to teach Akbar a lesson…

The next day, Birbal didn't turn up to the court. 
The next day too.
Then the next day.
Then the next day.
Then the next day.
Nearly a week had passed and Akbar shouted in anger, "WHERE IS BIRBAL?!??" None of the minsters buckled up and told Akbar. Nevertheless, they didn't even know where Birbal was!!
Suddenly, one of the king's spies ran into the court, shouting Jahanpanah!!! Jahanpanah!!!! Akbar stomped down from his throne and grabbed the spy by his shoulders, "Where is Birbal!!?!?!!!" The spy quivered and whispered, "Birbal's at his house. He said that you had to come and eat lunch at his house with him," Birbal roared in anger. Birbal, his favourite minister in court, hadn't turned up and Akbar had so many court cases to finish!!! He stomped back to his throne, silencing the whole room.
The hours passed and Akbar didn't know what to do!! Should he go to Birbal's house or should he wait for him to come here?!?!? He clenched his fists in dilemma.
Akbar finally made the decision to go to Birbal's house for lunch. He mounted his horse and went to  Birbal's house in a fit of rage.
"BIRBAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Akbar as he reached his destination. Birbal didn't react, he just sat outside his house, waiting for Akbar to stomp in.
Akbar eventually found Birbal in his garden, blowing on a small fire he had made. Akbar asked, "What is this, Birbal?!?!? Why haven't you come to the court?!?!? Why do you sit here????" Birbal replied, "JahanPanah, please do sit inside and have some refreshments. I shall meet you shortly. I am just making some khichdi for lunch." Akbar went inside Birbal's house and plopped his butt on the sofa.
10 minutes passed.
Then half an hour.
Then 45 minutes.
Then an hour.
Nearly 3 hours had passed and Birbal had shown no sign of coming!!! Akbar's rage grew with every passing second. He roared with anger, as he bashed his feet on the floor. 
Eventually, he ran over to the garden where he found Birbal sitting there still. Akbar roared, "WHAT IS THIS, BIRBAL?!??!? WHY DO YOU MOCK ME LIKE THIS?!?!?!" Birbal showed Akbar the fire burning in front of him, with a heap of wood beneath it. And in front of it was a very, very, VERY tall tree. And at the tippy-top of that tree was a small pot of khichdi, tied with a few pieces of rope. Birbal asked, JahanPanah, do you think the khichdi is cooking??" Akbar roared. Birbal whispered, "I'll take that as a no." He added in a larger voice, "Just like this, do you think the poor old man got any warmth from the faraway streetlight? Hmm??" Akbar widened his eyes in shock. He forgot about his anger and grasped Birbal by the shoulders, "Thank you, Birbal, for you have shown me my mistake. I am sorry, old friend," Akbar embraced Birbal.

The next day, the poor old man was taken out of jail by Akbar and was awarded 1000 gold coins!!! Birbal, too, got 500 gold coins from the Emperor, for he has shown him his mistake and that what he did was wrong.

Thanks for reading Birbal and the Pot of Khichdi!!!! Please type your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!! Happy Reading!!!!!!