Once upon a time, there lived a King called King Yayati. Apart from inheriting a prosperous kingdom, beautiful crown, and respect of his people. He also inherited a unique gemstone – a royal blue sapphire. Stories of good luck being associated with this shiny blue stone were passed on from King’s previous generations. Thus, it was believed that gemstone protects his family and kingdom from evil.
It was believed to be a harbinger of prosperity. Blue sapphire stone was named Shanipriya by one of his ancestors. Just, brave and righteous King Yayati was determined to protect Shanipriya at any cost. Having Shanipriya also gave him an immense sense of security and peace of mind. For this peace of mind and solace, he was ready to fight any evil. He felt it was a blessing of his ancestors and valued Shanipriya more than his life. Shanipriya gemstone was nothing less than the family’s pride was one of his major responsibilities. Ministers, too, knew several thieves and even enemy kingdoms have laid their eyes on King Yayati’s particular belonging.
King Yayati was lucky to have loyal officials. But his favorite was Minister Suryasen. Minister Suryasen was a kind and nobleman, and King Yayati trusted him unconditionally. Minister Suryasen, too wanted to relieve his master from the burden of protecting gemstone Shanipriya. He couldn’t sleep for nights devising a plan to protect Shanipriya forever and make his master happy.
One day Minister Suryasen recommended him, ‘Your Highness, a saint is staying near the river on the outskirts of our kingdom. Many families in nearby villages seem to have been benefited from visiting him.’
This aroused King’s interest. King Yayati nurtured immense respect for godmen and saints. He was very religious and knew the importance of having a mentor in life. His kingdom was famous for treating godmen and saints exceptionally well, who traveled from afar land.
‘Why don’t you visit him and ask him for a solution to protect gemstone?’ continued Minister Suryasen.
King agreed to go to the jungle. Minister Suryasen too accompanied him.
Saint heard Yayati’s plight and closed his eyes for long. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and asked Yayati to come tomorrow morning along with the Shanipriya gemstone. Yayati agreed.
The next morning Yayati gave the saint the stone. Saint inspected it closely.
‘Your gemstone is cracked. Don’t keep it near you, part away from it as soon as possible,’ said Saint.
Disheartened, Yayati said, ‘Give it to me; I will throw it in the river.’ He threw the gemstone into the river and left with his Minister.
As soon as the king left, the saint ran to the river and jumped into the river. He started looking for a gemstone, but he couldn’t find it.
Disappointed, he came out of the river and saw Yayati and Minister standing in front of him. Yayati told him that the gemstone was fake; he only wanted to test him.
He ordered Minister Suryasen to take the saint along with them to punish him.
Moral of the Story: For a successful stint, always join forces with people who are honest and loyal.
About the writer: Nisha is the author of a highly appreciated novel, The Blue Jinx.
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