Ramcharan was eighty years of age and had three sons. He was so fragile now that any day he would die. His first wife, Mandakini, had broken all ties with him ever since he married his second wife, Kamli. From Mandakini, he had his two elder sons - Alok and Braj. His youngest son was Indra, who was, unlike his elder brothers, well educated.
Alok and Braj had gone away with their mother and used to stay with her until the time when they realised that living with the father could prove beneficial in terms of money. So, both of them left their mother and came back to Ramcharan and started living with their father, step mother and the younger step brother.
After few years, Alok got married to a young girl named Ujjyini. And now he is a father of two beautiful kids. Following Alok, Braj also married. His wife was Surangini.
Ravages of time have an effect on everyone. So it did on Kamli as well. A few days later the father died. The sons lamented the loss of the father. As they recovered from the sorrow, the brothers engaged in the issues of settling with the property distribution of the father.
Late at night, Surangini used to give shrewed advice on how to acquire the entire property and betray the other brothers. Ujjyini also tried to convince her husband to get a grab of the property by killing the rest so that the future of her two kids is secure. Indra, on the other hand, kept on thinking what would happen the next day.
Next morning, everybody was awake. Kamli had gone for a bath in the nearby pool. The three brothers assembled in the centre of their house and started to stare at one another. They started to quarrel over this issue and fought amongst one another. A Rishi heard the commotion inside the house as he was passing by. As he entered, all the brothers became silent and started to look at his face with awe and honour because dishonouring a Rishi could bring bad omen to a person.
The Rishi spoke to the brothers, "What is the problem, my dear sons? Why are you all fighting?"
Alok explained to the Rishi the entire problem. The Rishi thought for a while and said, "I want to listen to your solutions one by one."
Alok took the Rishi to his room. He gave him diamond jewels. He served him with a plate full of fresh fruits and delicious food and slowly explained to him the entire plan he had in mind. The most important thing that he had to say was that he had two sons and needed the money more than the other brothers.
Then it was Braj's turn. He also took the Rishi to his room and then gave him some of the finest clothes to wear and some of the most delicious delicacies that Surangini had made. He said that, because he had no children and that if he had the money he could have carried on his father's legacy by giving birth to the new members of the family.
Then the Rishi entered Indra's room. Indra had nothing to offer the Rishi except for a warm welcome and a respectful bow. The Rishi asked "Why do you need this property for?" Indra said, "Maharishi, I don't need this property. I have two mothers. The rightful owner of this property are them. I just don't want my brothers to take away all the money that my father has left for my mothers."
The Rishi came out from Indra's room and called everybody out. When everyone gathered he said, "I've heard all three of you. Now, I will divide the property amongst the three of you in the requisite amount. Alok, you will have one tenth of the property, since you have two kids you will require only that much. Braj will get one fifth of the property. Indra who needs money to get married and to take care of his wife and kids will have one fourth of the property."
Suddenly, Alok said, "What about the rest?"
The Rishi quickly answered, "Could any one tell me how much will be left?"
Alok and Braj, fools as they were, couldn't reply. Indra said that leaves us with 45 percent of the property.
The Rishi said, "No my dear, there's exactly 40 percent remaining. So, both your mothers will have one fifth each. That completes it."
Indra still had a strange doubt in his mind and said, "Maharishi, I think there was a mistake somewhere."
The Rishi stared at him and said, "Why do you think about that five percent, son? That's gone. The food and clothes that your brothers had provided me with was the five percent. They gave me jewels and other gifts also. That's already mine. A grant given to a beggar or a Rishi can never me returned."
So, the property was distributed exactly the way the Rishi had told them to. Kamli returned from the pool as the Rishi left the house.
Comments
Post a Comment