Back to Gurukul | Folktale of India

A very long time ago, a prince called Arjun lived. Arjun was only seven years old when his father, King Yayati, enrolled him in a Gurukul. His teacher, Saint Palasa, was very disciplined. Arjun hated living in Gurukul. 

He missed the palace. Palasa’s rule made Arjun very anxious and wondered when he would return to his kingdom. Soon, a year passed, and Arjun was allowed to return to his kingdom. Arjun decided he would never come back again.

After reaching the palace, he met his mother, Queen Pritha. Pritha loved Arjun a lot. Arjun’s wishes were very important to her. Arjun knew if he told his mother about the discomforts he faced there. Pritha would never allow him to go back. But to his surprise, Pritha didn’t budge. Instead, he wished Arjun that he was lucky to have a disciplined teacher. Disappointed, Arjun wondered how to avoid going back to Gurukul. Then, he met his grandmother, Rati. Rati, too, explained to Arjun about having proper schooling. Disappointed Arjun had no one to go.

At last, he decided to meet his father, King Yayati. Yayati was very smart. He took Arjun on a day’s picnic. Then, he took a bath in a river and enjoyed freshly cooked fish from the river. Arjun enjoyed the day.

Then Yayati said, ‘Oh! I missed my medicines.’

‘Wait, I will get medicines for you,’ said Arjun.

He ran inside the tent they had built near the river. Arjun saw big bags, but he couldn’t read the labels, so he couldn’t figure out which one belonged to medicines.

Disappointed, Arjun came out of the hut.

‘Sorry, father I couldn’t get medicines as I couldn’t read it’ said Arjun.

‘Now you know why studying is important,’ said Yayati.

Arjun realized his mistake of wasting a year in Gurukul and not able to learn to read. He promised Yayati to be serious about his education.

Moral – Schooling is essential.


Happy reading!

Check out Nisha B Thakur's highly appreciated novel, The Unexpected Trail.