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16
KAPIL
T here lived a young boy called Kapil in the city of
Koshambi. One day he saw his mother shedding tears on seeing the royal purohit (priest) riding in a palanquin on the main road. Seeing his mother crying, Kapil asked why she was unhappy. His mother then said, “My son, you would have been riding in this palanquin but you did not study and you remained an ignorant fool. Hence, this learned priest has the good luck to ride in a palanquin."
Hearing his mother's words, Kapil felt ashamed. So he decided to go to school. He then went to the city of Shrivashi and enrolled himself as a pupil of Acharya Indradatt. While at school, he used to board and lodge in the house of Shalibhadra who was a rich person of the town.
Kapil began to make good progress in his studies in the beginning. But, afterwards, his progress gradually deteriorated. Unfortunately, he fell in love with a girl living in the harem of Shalibhadra. So whenever he pored over the Mugdhabodh ( a book on grammar), he could not concentrate on what was being taught. It was monsoon and Kapil used to think of the beautiful eyes of his beloved, 54
