The Priceless Wisdom | Folktale of India

Once upon a time, there lived a merchant called Rudra. He strolled near the river every morning and then resumed his day’s work. The beauty of the river mesmerized him and gave him a perfect start to his day. One day, he found a costly ring near the river. He picked it up and wondered whose ring it could be. 

While returning from the river, he heard people talking about Princess Shri’s visit to the river. Rudra understood that the ring could belong to her. He went to the palace and gave the King a ring. King Yayati called Princess Shri and gave her a ring. Princess Shri refused to take the ring as it didn’t belong to her. Rudra’s honesty touched King Yayati, and he gave him a ring back.

However, Rudra was anxious about the ring and wanted to return it to the owner at any cost.

The next morning, he went to the river and asked the birds if they knew who owned the ring. The birds, too, couldn’t answer. Then he decided to ask the trees if they had witnessed anything. They also couldn’t tell. 

A priest saw Rudra eagerly looking for the ring’s owner. The priest approached him and offered his wisdom.

He said, 'The ring belongs to you. It is in your destiny.'

He also said Rudra should keep it. Rudra went back home. The whole night, he tossed in bed, thinking about the priest’s words. He decided to keep the ring. However, he walked to the river the next morning and dropped the ring in it.

‘I don’t know who this ring belongs to, but I am sure you know about it,’ said Rudra. Rudra prayed to the river to accept it.

The river goddess arrived from the stream. She was impressed with Rudra’s honesty, and she was gifted the ring.

‘I kept this ring near the river to test you, my son,’ said the goddess. She gifted him the ring. Rudra happily wore the ring. The priest came to meet Rudra and said, ‘I told you that this ring is in your destiny.’

Rudra had to accept the priest’s wisdom.

Moral – A wise man knows all.

Happy reading!

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