Once there lived a poor potter.
His name was Yuhisthira.
One night he drink profusely and
stumbled on the road on the way back to his home. There was deep wound on his
forehead and it was bleeding excessively. He could afford medicine and left the
wound to heal gradually.
It took some months for the wound
to heal but it left a prominent scar on his forehead.
That year there was a famine and
people died due to death of food. The potter decided to leave the country. So
he left with a group of people who served the royal household. Gradually he
started serving the royal members with them.
One day while he was working, the
king noticed the scar on the potter's forehead. It occurred to king that the
scar was due to some gash received in a battlefield. He assumed that the potter
is a great warrior and promoted him to high rank.
But the palace workers knew that
the potter had no skill as a warrior. They envied that he was falsely favored
and honored by the king.
Some months later the king
received a message that the neighboring army was approaching their territory.
The king called his ministers and advisors to discuss the matter. They worked
to inspect artillery and army strength. The king addressed his army and
motivated them to fight fearlessly for their kingdom.
The war drumbeats strengthened
with each passing day. While this happened the potter was gripped by fear and anxiety.
He had no knowledge about the artillery and battling. But he had to prove
himself.
One day when the king was
inspection the army, he asked the potter to step aside and then questioned him,
'In which battle did you received this scar?'
The potter plainly revealed the
truth to the king- 'O King! This scar was not received from any fight. I am a
poor potter and one night I over drank and stumbled on the road. I could not
afford medicine and left the scar heal on its own due to which it left a prominent
mark'.
The king was embarrassed to hear
the truth. He felt deceived and immediately ordered his soldiers to put the
potter out of army.
But the potter fell on his knees
and pleaded, 'O King! Please give me one chance to prove myself. Let me go to
the battle and fight for you'.
The king said, 'Although your are
not a warrior you are honest and fearless. I am happy to see that you are
willing to risk your life and serve the country. Your are unaware of war
tactics and the battleground will show no mercy towards you. When other
soldiers will come to know that you are a potter they will ridicule you. You
lack the skills to defend yourself and attack enemy with armor due to which you
will get yourself killed. I insist that you leave and return home rather than
risking your life'.
The potter rose to his feet and
thanked the king for his advise. He left the army and returned to serve the royal members.
Moral: Do not pretend to be what
you are not.
No comments :
Post a Comment