The Magic Seeds

It was a dark, moonless night. Occasional flashes of lightning lit up the sombre scene and caused an eerie dance of jerky and frightening shadows in the cremation ground. Occasionally, the spine-chilling howl of a jackal or the blood-curdling laughter of evil spirits cut into the silence that hung, shroud like over the area. Altogether, it was a scene that could strike terror into the bravest of hearts. But nothing could daunt the intrepid King Vikram. Once again, he made his way to the ancient gnarled tree where the corpse was hanging. A bone crunched under his feet and a screeching ghost rose from the dust in shuddering frenzy as he marched ahead. Unperturbed, the king reached the tree and brought down the corpse. Slinging it astride his shoulder, he had just begun his return journey when the vampire that possessed the corpse said, “O King! I fail to understand why you are toiling like this. Is it for your own benefit, or to help someone else? If it is in the name of service that you are risking life and limb, it is an utterly foolish pursuit. To illustrate, let me tell you the story of Parmeshwar who ruined not only his own life but that of his son, all in the name of charity and service.” The vampire then narrated the following story. There once lived, in a village named Jagannathpuri, a man named Parmeshwar. People knew him as a great philanthropist; he went out of his way to help others, even by selling off or mortgaging his property. Soon he became a pauper. On his deathbed, he told his son, Arjun, “I’ve done you a great injustice, my son. A father is expected to leave a good legacy for his son; but I’m leaving you a terrible legacy of debt! But don’t lose heart. Continue helping others, as I have done. If ever you find yourself in need of help or guidance, go to our village priest, Ramanand. It was he who introduced me to this way of life.” Those were his last words. Soon after Parmeshwar’s death, his house was besieged by his creditors who stormed in and took away whatever they could lay their hands on. But all the debts could not be liquidated with this; Arjun found that he still had to repay a loan of a thousand gold coins; and he did not have a single paisa to pay up. He was in utter despair. Suddenly, he remembered his father’s advice. He decided to call on Ramanand to see if he could help him. The priest welcomed him and said, “Your father performed many acts of charity. You will surely reap the benefits of his piety!” Arjun, who by now was in depths of despair, bitterly retorted, “Sir, my father spent a whole lifetime helping others; but what did he gain? Nothing!” “My boy, it appears that you don’t know how your father lived,” said Ramanand. “In his childhood, he was stricken by a terrible disease that caused its victims waste away until they died. The patient would also suffer excruciating pain, as if his body were being endlessly pricked by needles. It was then that your father took to practising charity as a way of life, and it was this which cured him.” However, Arjun did not believe this story. He demanded some proof. The priest directed him to meet Raghunath the physician, who had treated Parmeshwar for his illness. Raghunath confirmed the story, telling Arjun that Parmeshwar had indeed been beset by a terrible disease. “I had to tell your father that it was incurable,” he told Arjun. “I’ve no idea how he finally got cured; it’s nothing short of a miracle! Not only did he get completely cured, but afterwards he never had a day’s illness for the rest of his life! I believe the priest, Ramanand, had something to do with it.” Now Arjun was convinced of Ramanand’s claim. He went back to him and asked for guidance. Ramanand handed him a bagful of seeds. “These are magic seeds. If you sow one seed, it will grow into a plant in a day. Within a week, the plant will grow to a gigantic tree, providing shelter to men and beasts and a home to birds. Planting these seeds amounts to an act of piety.” Arjun thanked him and took the bag of seeds. Going in search of a suitable spot to plant the first seed, he reached the outskirts of the village. His eyes fell upon a barren, arid plot with not a tree in sight. ‘This seems to be an ideal place,’ he thought and began digging there. While digging, a gold coin came into his hands. It had the figures of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu embossed on its sides. ‘What a lucky break! This must be my reward for my first good deed,’ Arjun said to himself. After planting the seed, he continued his journey. Soon he reached the neighbouring village. Feeling tired, he sat down on the verandah of the first house he saw. Just then the owner of the house, Ramesh, came out. He suspected that the stranger might be a thief. Despite Arjun’s protests, Ramesh searched his person. “My God!” shouted Ramesh as he came upon the gold coin. “Why, this is the sacred coin from my pooja room. I had lost it six months ago! So I was right, after all. You are a thief!” Ramesh summoned the rest of his family. They identified the coin, and showered abuses on Arjun. Poor Arjun, unable to bear the unjust accusations any longer, cried out at last. “Please listen to me! I’m no thief. I’m the son of Parmeshwar of Jagannathpuri. Arjun then told them his story. “While digging, I came across the gold coin. I did not steal it!” Arjun’s story took Ramesh by surprise. Like others in his village, he too had heard much about Parmeshwar. the famous philanthropist of Jagannathpuri. Arjun’s story had an unmistakeable ring of truth to it and Ramesh realised that he himself had erred in his judgment. The son of such a great man could not possibly be a thief. Ramesh apologised to Arjun for his misbehaviour. He offered him refreshments and requested him to be his guest for a while. Arjun agreed. As they were chatting, on his host’s prompting he related the whole story of his misfortune. Ramesh listened attentively. He was feeling quite guilty for having harassed an honest and good-natured man, and wished to make amends. At the end of the narration, an idea struck him. He said, “I shall take you to our village zamindar. A meeting with him would benefit both of you.” Arjun agreed. While on their way, Ramesh told him all about the problem the zamindar was facing. Two years ago, his young and beautiful daughter, Radhika, had been suddenly beset by a debilitating disease. Apparently it was the same disease which had afflicted Arjun’s father, for, the symptoms were the same. She had wasted away to a mere skeleton, and was suffering excruciating pain as if she was pricked by needles all over her body, to boot! The physicians attending on her had given up all hope. They had given her a month or two to live, at the most. Ramesh said to Arjun, “This is where you come in. A learned physician, who was specially called in from afar to examine the patient, has told the zamindar that there was only one cure for the disease. If Radhika could spend a day in a grove of a hundred trees, all sprouted from the magic seeds that grow in a week’s time, and breathe in that air, she would be cured! Now, you have the magic seeds which can save her life. If you cure her, you will not only have done an act of great service but also earned the zamindar’s goodwill and gratitude – both of which would surely benefit you!” They met the zamindar, who was delighted by Arjun’s story. He quickly identified a plot on his vast estate which was suitable for growing a hundred trees, and directed Arjun to plant his seeds there. Alas! Arjun had only ninetynine seeds with him (as he had already sown one seed outside the village). After he had finished his task, the zamindar sent word to the physician, asking him if that would do. Back came the reply that it would most certainly not do – for the cure to take effect, there had to be exactly a hundred trees, not even one less! As the crestfallen zamindar was wondering what to do, unexpected help arrived in the form of a tantrik who claimed to have a remedy for the disease. But it was a somewhat bizarre remedy. “The girl can be cured if her disease is transferred to someone else,” he declared. “I have the power to do this transfer. But there is a condition – the other person has to come forward voluntarily and be fully ready to accept all the consequences!” For a moment, there was a stunned silence. Then, both the zamindar and his wife stepped forward, proclaiming their willingness to take upon themselves their daughter’s ailment. But the tantrik, after staring at each one in turn, finally declared, “I’m sorry, but neither of you is fit for this experiment!” The next moment, Arjun stepped forward to tell the tantrik that he was ready to accept the disease so that Radhika would get cured. The tantrik muttered some incantations and splashed some water on him. Lo and behold, the next moment Radhika got up from her bed, the picture of perfect health! But Arjun groaned in pain and collapsed on the ground as if he was about to die. Before long, the priest Ramanand heard of what was happening in the next village and reached the zamindar’s house to meet Arjun. He said, “Surely Arjun could be cured by the air of the hundred-tree grove. But what a pity that I have no more seeds left! Ah, well, Arjun is as great a philanthropist as his father. May God come to his rescue!” As the days passed, the seeds sown by Arjun took root and grew into large trees. Arjun was taken to sit in the shade of the grove. By evening, he was fully cured of the disease! Meanwhile, Radhika had fallen in love with the largehearted young man who had so selflessly taken her sufferings on himself to help her. Her parents, who too were impressed by Arjun’s sacrifice, fell in with her wishes and got the two married. Concluding the story at this point, the vampire shot the following questions at King Vikram: “Parmeshwar might have got his disease cured by his philanthropy, but he lost all his wealth. As for Arjun, his selfless service caused him to reach the verge of death by a dreaded disease! So, what good did it do him? Secondly, how did Arjun get cured by the trees though there were only 99 of them? And finally, why did the tantrik say that Radhika’s parents were unfit to take the disease on themselves? Answer my questions, O King, or else your head would explode into a thousand fragments!” King Vikram calmly replied, “Helping others is definitely a noble and desirable thing. Although initially it might be difficult to practise, ultimately it brings good results. Remember that Parmeshwar was cured of a dreaded, incurable disease only by virtue of his philanthropy! In Arjun’s case, too, although he had to undergo so many travails, eventually he was rewarded for his nobility by becoming the heir to the zamindar’s wealth. This is the answer for your second question also – obviously, the merit earned by his piety was what cured Arjun though there were only 99 trees. And lastly, Radhika’s parents volunteered to take on her disease out of selfish motives – because she was their daughter and it was, after all, their duty to look after her. But Arjun’s readiness to accept the disease speaks volumes about his totally unselfish nature!” As soon as he had finished speaking, the vampire, along with the corpse, got off his shoulder with a jerk and flew back to the tree. With a little sigh, King Vikram squared his shoulders and retraced his steps towards the tree, his dogged determination evident in his steady gait.