The Story the Potter
Once upon a time, there lived in a
village a potter named Yudhishtira. One day, he drank a lot of liquor and
got intoxicated and began running. He lost his balance and fell on broken
pieces of a pitcher. The sharp edges of the pot pieces cut a big and bloody
gash in his forehead. Somehow, he got up and went home. The wound took a
long time to heal because he neglected to follow the instructions of the
doctor.
Suddenly, a famine struck the whole
country. The potter left the country with some others of the royal
household. In the new country, he found a job with the king of that country.
The king saw the mark of the big wound on his face and thought that
Yudhishtira must have been a great warrior who suffered wounds in a battle.
The king began showering special attention and affection on the potter,
which the king’s sons envied. They could not harm him because he was the
king’s favourite.
When everything was going smoothly for
the potter, a war came and the king was summoning all known warriors to
honour them and prepare them for the war. The king’s men were readying the
elephants and horses for the combat while the soldiers were busy staging
rehearsals. It was now time for the king to know everything about
Yudhishtira.
He sent for the potter and asked him when
no one was around, “What is your name, o warrior? In what battle were you
injured?”
The potter told the king, “My lord, this
is not a wound inflicted on me in a battle. I am a potter and my name is
Yudhishtira. One day, when I was drunk, I ran and fell on sharp pieces of a
broken pot. This scar on my face is the result of that fall.”
Ashamed that he deceived himself by the
speech and garments of the potter, the king asked his servants to throw out
the potter.
But Yudhishtira appealed to the king, “My
lord, please don’t throw me out. See how well I will fight.”
The king said, “I admit you are a
warrior. But you are born in a potter community and hence cannot kill an
elephant. So, before other warriors find out that you do not belong to the
warrior caste, leave this place,” the king advised Yudhishtira.
The potter immediately left the palace.
Moral of
the Story :
You should not have to leave your Falk |