A certain king had the custom of asking all the sannyasins who came to his country: “Who is superior: the one who, having renounced the world, becomes a sannyasin, or the one who lives in the world and performs the duties of a worldly person?” Many sages tried to solve this problem. Some claimed that the sannyasin was superior, then the king demanded that they prove it. And when they could not do this, he ordered them to marry and live in peace. Then others came and said: “The family man who fulfills his duties is superior.” And the king also demanded evidence from them. And when they could not give them, he also forced them to live the life of householders.
Finally a sannyasin came and the king asked him the same question. The sannyasin replied:
- O king, everyone is great in their place.
“Prove it to me,” said the king.
“I will prove it,” said the sannyasin, “but you must first come with me and live for a few days just like me, so that I can prove to you what I am saying.”
The king agreed, followed the sannyasin, left his country with him and, having passed through many other countries, reached one large kingdom. In the capital, where they came, a solemn ceremony took place. The king and the sannyasin heard the beating of drums, music and the cries of heralds; people crowded the streets in festive clothes, and heralds everywhere announced what was about to happen. The king and the sannyasin stood and watched what was happening. The herald announced that the daughter of the king of that country was going to choose a husband from among those gathered.
According to ancient custom, princesses in India chose their husbands in this way. Each princess had her own idea of what kind of husband she needed: one wanted to become the wife of the most handsome man; the other - the scientist himself; the third - the richest. And each one chose the one she liked. It was the same here.
All the neighboring princes dressed up in their best clothes and came to the city. Some of them had their own heralds, who proclaimed their virtues and explained why they hoped that the princess would choose them. The princess, in a luxurious shiny dress, was carried in a palanquin, and she looked and listened; if she didn’t like what she saw and heard, she said to the servants carrying her: “Next!” - and no longer paid attention to the rejected suitors. If the princess liked one of them, she threw him a garland of flowers, and he became her husband.
The princess was as beautiful as the dawn, and her husband was to receive the entire kingdom after the death of her father. The princess wanted to have the most beautiful man as her husband, but could not find one who would please her. Similar meetings had already taken place many times, but the princess could not choose a spouse.
This meeting was the most brilliant of all; there were more people than ever before. The princess appeared in a luxurious palanquin, and porters carried it from place to place. But, apparently, she again did not like anyone, and those present thought with disappointment that the meeting this time would end in nothing.
Just at this time a young man appeared, a sannyasin, as beautiful as the sun that had descended to earth; he stood to the side, watching what was happening. The palanquin with the princess approached him. And as soon as the princess saw the beautiful sannyasin, she stopped and threw a garland of flowers on him. The young sannyasin grabbed the garland and, throwing it off, exclaimed:
- What nonsense! I am a sannyasin. What kind of marriage can be for me?
The king, thinking that he was too poor and therefore did not dare to marry the princess, said:
“For my daughter, I give half the kingdom now and the whole kingdom after my death,” and again laid the garland on the sannyasin.
But the young man threw it off again, saying:
- Nonsense! I don’t want to get married,” and quickly left.
The princess fell in love with the young sannyasin so much that she said:
“I must marry him or I will die,” and she followed him, wanting to bring him back.
Then the sannyasin who had brought the king said to him: “Let us follow them,” and they followed them, but at a considerable distance. A young sannyasin, who refused to marry the princess, left the city and reached a forest several miles from the city; the princess followed him, and the other two too.
The young sannyasin knew this forest well and all the intricate paths in it; he unexpectedly turned onto one of them and disappeared, so that the princess could not find him. After long and useless attempts, she sat down under a tree and began to cry because she did not know how to get out of the forest. Then the king and another sannyasin approached her and said:
- Don't cry, we will show you how to get out of the forest; but now it's too dark and we won't find the road. Here is a big tree, rest under it, and early in the morning we will see you off.
In a nest in a tree there lived a small bird with a female and three chicks. This bird looked down and, seeing people under the tree, said to its wife:
- Honey, what should we do? There are guests in our house; but now it is winter and we have no fire.
She flew out of the nest, found a burning chip, brought it in her beak and threw it to the guests; They collected fuel and lit a big fire. But the bird was not satisfied yet. She again said to her wife:
- Honey, what should we do? We have nothing to feed these people, and they are hungry! We are the owners, and our duty is to feed these people. We are the owners, and our duty is to feed everyone who comes to our house. I will do what I can - I will give them my body.
And with these words the bird rushed into the fire and burned. People saw her fall into the fire and tried to save her, but it was too late.
The female saw what her husband did and said:
“There are three of them, and for all of them there is only one little bird.” This is not enough; I cannot allow my husband’s action to be in vain - I will give them my body too.
With these words, she threw herself into the fire and was also burned. Then three chicks, who saw what had happened and noticed that there was still little food for the guests, said:
“Our parents did what they could, and yet it’s not enough.” Our duty is to continue the work of our parents; We will give up our bodies too.
And they all threw themselves into the fire. Three people, amazed at what they saw, could not, of course, eat these birds. They spent the night without food, and in the morning the king and the sannyasin showed the way to the princess, and she returned to her father.
When they set off on their way back, the sannyasin said to the king:
“Tsar, you saw that everyone is great in their place.” If you want to live in peace, live like these birds and be always ready to sacrifice yourself for others. If you want to renounce the world, be like this young man, for whom the most beautiful woman and the whole kingdom are nothing. If you want to be a worldly person, let your whole life be a sacrifice for others. Everyone is great in their place, but the duty of one cannot be the duty of another.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru