Jailer

Author(s): Abhayshekharsuri, Sujata P Kapadia
Publisher: Harshadray Private Limited

Page 49

The King could not bear to have the child take the throne. He called for the cruelest executioner and ordered him to kill the child. The child was forcibly taken from the gardener's wife. The heartless executioner, who was no less cruel than the God of death himself, left for the jungle with the child. Aghat Kumar was handsome, playful and cheerful. He knew no fear and playfully pulled at the executioner's beard, calling him Bapa (father) in an innocent, child-like way.
Pulling the beard, if seen as a prank, becomes provocative but if seen as child-play, becomes endearing. The hard-hearted wicked executioner was more likely to take it as a prank. He could have admonished the child for causing him pain and for calling him his father, but Karmasatta had not decided to punish this child. In fact, the child was to be rewarded. As a result, even the very cruel executioner saw the painful act of the beard being pulled as the child being playful. "How can I kill a child who is calling me 'Bapa' (father)? It would be a sin to kill such an innocent child." At the same time, he knew that if he did not kill the child he would be disobeying the King's order. He feared losing his job and more importantly his life.
In this confused state of mind, he reached a jungle where there was a temple of a 'yaksha'. The child was thrilled to see the idol of the pot-bellied and bearded yaksha. Taking small strides, he reached the idol and climbed on it. He started playing with the
Yaksha = a demi-god
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