Book Title: Ten Universal Virtues
Author(s): Ram Kumar Nandi
Publisher: Ram Kumar Nandi

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Page 52
________________ there a piece of oil cake-saying that the oil cake was exhaling a very sweet smell. Therefore, on returning home he would eat boiled rice along with the spiced water and smell the oil cake in between. After taking meals he used to chew the bark of the Peepal tree for mouth wash. Once it rained cats and dogs in the city continuously for seven days. The rivers were flooded. Water and only water was seen everywhere in the city. A cold breeze was blowing. The people did not dare to come out of their houses. But at night the greedy Seth Sagar Datt went on the riverbank putting on a loincloth. He jumped into the flooded river and started taking out the fuel wood floating on the floodwater. The king's palace stood on the riverbank. There was lightening and thunder in the sky. In the flash of lightening through the palace window the queen saw Sagar Datt gathering fuel wood and thought in her mind that undoubtedly the poor fellow must be extremely poor. She determined to urge the king to render him monetary help. Consequently, at a proper time the queen said to the king, "O King! You are the savior of your subjects and defender of the poor. An extremely poor person lives in your city. Please help him." At the appeal of the queen the king sent for the man and spoke to him, "O distressed fellow! It seems that you are a pauper like a church mouse. Therefore, I want to help you. Tell me, what do you need?" To this Sagar Datt replied, "I need a bullock." The king said, "There are so many bullocks in my cattle-shed. Take away anyone you choose." Accordingly on going through the bullocks in the king's cattle-shed, Sagar Dutt came back and spoke, "O king! I need a bullock resembling the bullock in my home. Your cattle-shed has not even a single bullock to match the one present at my house." Then the king said, "Bring your bullock and show me its specialty." Seth Sagar Dutt said, "Your majesty! My bullock never goes out of the door." Hearing this king's astonishment knew no bounds. At length the king said, All right, I shall myself pay a visit to your house to see your bullock." These words of the king perplexed Sagar Dutt. He could not utter a word; rather his heart began to throb with the fear that the next day the king would pay a visit to his house and come to know about his boundless wealth. If out of greed the king by chance demanded a little of his vast wealth from him, what would he do then? On returning home he suffered from fever. The next day the king went to Sagar Datt's house accompanied by his queen. Seeing his boundless wealth, elephants and horses the king was bewitched. He began to think at heart, "Alas! In spite of possessing so much of wealth, this greedy person is undergoing through so many tortures. Cursed be this greed." The wife and sons of Sagar Datt said to him, "The king and the queen have made our house pure by their presence. We should entertain them and extend them proper and grand reception according to their high status. Hence, dear father! Offer this plate full of jewels and pearls to the king." On much insistence by his kith and kin, when Sagar Dutt picked up the plate full of pearls and diamonds, his hands began to waver. The king was also filled with remorse seeing the insatiable greed of the Seth despite possessing such a vast wealth. Therefore, he returned without accepting any present from the Seth. After sometime the greedy Seth Create PDF with PDF4U. If you wish to remove this line, please click here to purchase the full version

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