Hi!!! Today's story is about how some squirrels have strokes on their back from the Ramayana. It's about a small squirrel, who goes to huge lengths to help Lord Rama build the famous Ram Sethu to Lanka. The Indian Palm Squirrel is the species of squirrel that helped Lord Rama. It has three stripes on it's back, right? Here's a photo of it ↓↓↓
Doesn't it look strange? It surely
couldn't have turned up
on their backs by mistake.
Let's see how they might have come…
When Rama got to know that Sita was in the far-off island of Lanka, he commanded the mighty Vanara Sena (The Army of Monkeys) to build a massive bridge all the way to the coast of Lanka.
Work began straight away, with the monkeys collecting huge stones and rocks to dump into the sea. They slowly layered rock upon rock, stone upon stone and pebble upon pebble to create the foundation of a huge stone bridge.
Soon, all of the creatures near the tip of India got wind of the construction of Rama's bridge. They all rushed to help him build a massive bridge all the way to Lanka. Elephants came and lifted boulders, giraffes came and heaved big slabs of rock, Lions and tigers came and shoved huge mounds of stone down into the sea. Several varieties of animals came to help Rama, who admired their devotion, "Wow!! These animals work so hard!! Their love for me makes them work like this!!! How devoted they must be!!" he thought.
Early one morning, when only a few monkeys and Rama were awake and starting to build, a squirrel waddled in. He was chocolate brown on the back, and had grey fur covering his other parts of the body. He had large, black eyes and a long, fluffy tail. Large hamstring muscles adorned the sides of the squirrel's body, with small, thin feet grasping the floor. He had a flat nose, with whiskers popping out of the sides. Curly ears perched on his head completed his head, which shuffled left and right, looking in different angles.
He started scooping small heaps of sands, not more than a few grams or two, and dumped them on top of the rocks that the larger animals had placed before him. He repeated this for a long time. a LONG time.
Some of the Vanaras, who were carrying big chunks of rock in their hands, didn't see the small squirrel huffing and puffing its way around the seashore. It dug down and came up with his hands ( ok, paws) stuffed with wet and sticky sand. One of the Vanaras didn't happen to see this and nearly tripped over the squirrel!!! He waved his hands in confusion, and picked up the small squirrel, "Hey!! Look over here, guys!! We have a squirrel trying to help us build this bridge!! look, he's even got little mounds of sand stuffed in his hands!!! HaHaHa!!!!!" The squirrel replied, "I am very sorry, o Vanara, for nearly tripping you over. It was unintentional!! But, please do not make fun of me!! I am more capable than you, and you know it!!!" But, the Vanaras didn't pay heed to the petite squirrel's words. They had a good laugh and got back to work. Suddenly, they threw the poor squirrel into the air!!!! He whispered to himself as he flew through the air, "Rama!! Rama!! Shri Rama!!!" He soon landed in the hands of a seated Lord Rama, who said, "Well, well!! What do we have here? Oh, little squirrel, what happened to you?!" The squirrel blurted out the whole story to Lord Rama, who patiently listened to each and every detail. Rama called the Vanaras who had insulted the squirrel to his small tent and proclaimed,
"How could you do such a thing?! This poor creature has done us such a great job!! Not even you great monkeys or the valiant lions could achieve this task!!!" The Vanaras were stumped!! They didn't know what Rama was talking about!! They pleaded him to continue. " This little animal has been throwing heaps of sand into the water above the sea, right? So, when the sand settles, it will fill in the gaps left in the gaps between the huge rocks that you threw in!! The squirrel in my hands has done what none of you thought of?! If not for him, we would crumble into the water below. The sand that fills those gaps could save us from imminent drowning!!!" The Vanaras hung their heads in shame, realising the offence they have caused. Rama then turned to the squirrel, "O little one, your love for me touches my heart. I assure you, whenever you feel threatened, I shall be there to protect you," with that, he stroked three of his fingers right down the squirrel's back. He let it go on the floor, where the three strokes turned into three white stripes!! The squirrel bowed down to Rama along with the shameful Vanaras. Rama blessed them and let them get back to their work.
Thus, the Indian Palm Squirrel got Strokes on their fur.
Moral: No task, however small, is unimportant. Every task should be looked upon as service to the Lord, and his blessings will always be with us.
Fun Fact Nº 1: The moral is also stated in the Bhagavad Gita. In Chapter 9, Verse 27, Krishna tells Arjuna -
yat karōsi yad asnāsi |
yaj juhōsi dadāsi yat ||
yat tapasyāsi kaunteyā |
tat kuruśvā madar panam ||
Whatever you do, what ever you eat,
whatever you offer or give away,
Whatever austerities you perform, O Kaunteya (Son of Kunti),
Do them all as an offering to me.
Thanks for reading Why do Squirrels have Strokes on their fur?! Please type your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!! Happy Reading!!!!!
couldn't have turned up
on their backs by mistake.
Let's see how they might have come…
When Rama got to know that Sita was in the far-off island of Lanka, he commanded the mighty Vanara Sena (The Army of Monkeys) to build a massive bridge all the way to the coast of Lanka.
Work began straight away, with the monkeys collecting huge stones and rocks to dump into the sea. They slowly layered rock upon rock, stone upon stone and pebble upon pebble to create the foundation of a huge stone bridge.
Soon, all of the creatures near the tip of India got wind of the construction of Rama's bridge. They all rushed to help him build a massive bridge all the way to Lanka. Elephants came and lifted boulders, giraffes came and heaved big slabs of rock, Lions and tigers came and shoved huge mounds of stone down into the sea. Several varieties of animals came to help Rama, who admired their devotion, "Wow!! These animals work so hard!! Their love for me makes them work like this!!! How devoted they must be!!" he thought.
Early one morning, when only a few monkeys and Rama were awake and starting to build, a squirrel waddled in. He was chocolate brown on the back, and had grey fur covering his other parts of the body. He had large, black eyes and a long, fluffy tail. Large hamstring muscles adorned the sides of the squirrel's body, with small, thin feet grasping the floor. He had a flat nose, with whiskers popping out of the sides. Curly ears perched on his head completed his head, which shuffled left and right, looking in different angles.
He started scooping small heaps of sands, not more than a few grams or two, and dumped them on top of the rocks that the larger animals had placed before him. He repeated this for a long time. a LONG time.
Some of the Vanaras, who were carrying big chunks of rock in their hands, didn't see the small squirrel huffing and puffing its way around the seashore. It dug down and came up with his hands ( ok, paws) stuffed with wet and sticky sand. One of the Vanaras didn't happen to see this and nearly tripped over the squirrel!!! He waved his hands in confusion, and picked up the small squirrel, "Hey!! Look over here, guys!! We have a squirrel trying to help us build this bridge!! look, he's even got little mounds of sand stuffed in his hands!!! HaHaHa!!!!!" The squirrel replied, "I am very sorry, o Vanara, for nearly tripping you over. It was unintentional!! But, please do not make fun of me!! I am more capable than you, and you know it!!!" But, the Vanaras didn't pay heed to the petite squirrel's words. They had a good laugh and got back to work. Suddenly, they threw the poor squirrel into the air!!!! He whispered to himself as he flew through the air, "Rama!! Rama!! Shri Rama!!!" He soon landed in the hands of a seated Lord Rama, who said, "Well, well!! What do we have here? Oh, little squirrel, what happened to you?!" The squirrel blurted out the whole story to Lord Rama, who patiently listened to each and every detail. Rama called the Vanaras who had insulted the squirrel to his small tent and proclaimed,
"How could you do such a thing?! This poor creature has done us such a great job!! Not even you great monkeys or the valiant lions could achieve this task!!!" The Vanaras were stumped!! They didn't know what Rama was talking about!! They pleaded him to continue. " This little animal has been throwing heaps of sand into the water above the sea, right? So, when the sand settles, it will fill in the gaps left in the gaps between the huge rocks that you threw in!! The squirrel in my hands has done what none of you thought of?! If not for him, we would crumble into the water below. The sand that fills those gaps could save us from imminent drowning!!!" The Vanaras hung their heads in shame, realising the offence they have caused. Rama then turned to the squirrel, "O little one, your love for me touches my heart. I assure you, whenever you feel threatened, I shall be there to protect you," with that, he stroked three of his fingers right down the squirrel's back. He let it go on the floor, where the three strokes turned into three white stripes!! The squirrel bowed down to Rama along with the shameful Vanaras. Rama blessed them and let them get back to their work.
Thus, the Indian Palm Squirrel got Strokes on their fur.
Moral: No task, however small, is unimportant. Every task should be looked upon as service to the Lord, and his blessings will always be with us.
Fun Fact Nº 1: The moral is also stated in the Bhagavad Gita. In Chapter 9, Verse 27, Krishna tells Arjuna -
yat karōsi yad asnāsi |
yaj juhōsi dadāsi yat ||
yat tapasyāsi kaunteyā |
tat kuruśvā madar panam ||
Whatever you do, what ever you eat,
whatever you offer or give away,
Whatever austerities you perform, O Kaunteya (Son of Kunti),
Do them all as an offering to me.
Thanks for reading Why do Squirrels have Strokes on their fur?! Please type your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!! Happy Reading!!!!!
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