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At once the next man shouted out, “You seem to be blind in spite of your eyes otherwise how do you find the shield which has a gilt of gold on it as gilted with silver?”
Thus a quarrel ensued between them and they almost came to a fight. By this time a wise man from the village happened to come there. He said "Both of you are fighting in vain. This shield is gilted with silver and is also gilted with gold. Therefore, it is no use accusing each other of falsehood. Let both of you just exchange your places and see the other side of the shield. You will at once follow me then”.
Both of them accordingly did so, realised their error and apologised to each other for fighting falsely.
(2) Blind men and the Elephant : Once upon a time a royal retinue was stopping at a village sarai to spend their afternoon. The villagefolk knowing of it came there for sightseeing. Amongst them were six blind men. All of them had heard a lot about elephant but none had ever been able to see one. They therefore, requested its caretaker to allow them to touch the elephant so that they may be able to make out what the elephant could be like. They were permitted Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat www.umaragyanbhandar.com
