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and respect and treating them with ample food and drinks and presenting them with abundant gifts he called their council.
Then, in front of all of them and the four daughters-in-law took five grains of paddy and called the eldest daughter-in-law, Ujjhikā, to his presence and said, “O' dear daughter ! here, I have in my hands, five grains of paddy that I wish that you take from me and preserve and protect them and return them to me when I ask for them.” Saying this, he handed over those five grains of paddy to Ujjhikā and asked her to take her seat. Ujjhikā accepted those grains very politely and said, “Very well, father! I shall do as you command.”
Ujjhikā's Logic -
However, taking those five grains of paddy, she went to her chamber and thought that her father-in-law's stores were full of sacks full of paddy and that she could take out five grains from any of the sacks and return as and when he asked for them. What was the use of going through the botheration of preserving and protecting those very five grains, she thought. Thinking like this, she threw them away and resumed her business.
Bhogavati's Logic -
Similarly, the second daughter-in-law, Bhogavatī, was also given five grains of paddy and asked to preserve and protect them and to return them when asked for. She, too, took them and retired to her chamber and thought that she could take five grains of paddy from the store and return them when the father-in-law asked for them. However, she did not throw them away but dehusked them, popped them in her mouth and swallowed them.
Raksikāós Logic
Likewise the third daughter-in-law, Raksikā, too, was given the five grains of paddy with similar instructions. She took them and going back to her chamber thought that there might be
ROHINI KATKĀ THE LEGEND OF ROHINĪ: 325
