Once there lived a merchant named
Vardhmanaka. He had two bullocks- Sanjeeva and Nandi who pulled this bullock
cart and also helped him in ploughing the farmland he had.
One day, the merchant left the
village with his bullocks. On the way when they were passing the banks of river
Yamuna, Sanjeva's foot got stuck in a swamp. He tried hard but the foot was
stuck badly. The merchant also tried to pull his foot out but couldn't succeed.
After hours of attempt, the merchant gave up and left Sanjeeva to continue his
journey further.
Sanjeeva was left to his date. He
stood alone - hungry and thirsty for days. He felt very sad, dejected and
thought, “For all these years, I served the master loyally. In moment of need,
he has left me alone to perish”.
The thought either he leave things
to fate and die in swamp or to fight till he had strength. He mustered all
strength and tried to pull out his leg. After some hours, he was able to pull
out his leg.
Sanjeeva was now unbounded. He did
not want to return to his master's house. He was hungry and started gazing
along the banks of the river. He ate fresh grass and drank river water and soon
became healthy and stout.
One day a lion came to the river
to drink water. When he heard loud bellowing, he was sacred and ran away.
The lion, who was the King, had
two jackals as his ministers. The jackal saw the sacred lion and asked him,
“Your Majesty! Why are you trembling? Who are you afraid of? Tell us, we will
bring him to you”.
But the lion was the king and
reluctant to admit that he was sacred. However, after much hesitation, lion
told the jackal why he was sacred. The jackals were loyal towards the king and
assured him to find who created the terrible sound.
The jackals were quick witted. They
searched and bought Sanjeeva to the lion's court.
Sanjeeva told the lion that he was
send by Lord Shiva in this forest. The lion was pleased to talk to Sanjeeva and
he became his good friend.
The lion gradually become
spiritual. He stopped killing and gave less attention to state matters. Seeing
this, the jackals and other animals became worried. So the jackals planned to
get rid of Sanjeeva and thought of a plan to do so.
One afternoon when the lion was
resting alone; the jackal went to him and said, “O King! I vow before you. I
have an important message. Your friend, Sanjeeva has an eye on your kingdom. I
have found that he desires to kill you to be the king himself.”
Next day; the cunning jackal went
to Sanjeeva and told him, “Your friend, the King lion intends to kill you. He
is looking to a forest feast with your flesh. I advise you to kill lion with
your horns before he attacks you.”
Sanjeeva became furious hearing
the jackal's words. He grew outrageous and headed towards the lion's court. He
bellowed hard in the court. The angry King pounced upon Sanjeeva.
A fierce fight ensued between
them. The lion overpowered and killed Sanjeeva. When lion saw his friend dead,
he lamented. Later he appointed the jackal as the chief minister of his
kingdom.
Moral: Do not befriend a natural
enemy.
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