Once again, King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree and found Betal hanging in its place. Vikramaditya was a man of unparalleled patience, determination, and wisdom. Despite the hardships he was facing, he was not ready to move a bit from his path of Karma. He again pulled the corpse onto his shoulder and, holding it tightly, began walking towards the crematorium.
“Vikram,” spoke Betal, “There is no renouncement from my stories. Don’t hold me so tightly; I’m not going to leave you now. The journey is long, and to pass it pleasantly, you must listen to my story.”
Saying so, Betal began his story without waiting for the king’s reaction.
In the old city of Bodhgaya, there lived a merchant named Lakshmishrestha. By the grace of God, the merchant had everything to live a good and happy life. He had a caring wife and a young, beautiful daughter, and there was no dearth of material riches in his life. Lakshmishrestha’s immediate worry was to find a suitable groom for his beloved daughter.
Meanwhile, one day, a young man named Akhilesh came to meet the merchant. He was the son of one of Lakshmishrestha’s old and close friends. The young man looked pale and in shambles. Amidst his sobbing, he informed Lakshmishrestha that his parents had died in an accident while returning from an overseas journey during their regular business trip to distant lands.
“I am orphaned, and everything is gone with my parents. I don’t have any place to go and seek help for my survival,” wailed the young man.
Lakshmishrestha felt pity over his miserable condition and was really sorry for the misfortune. He said to Akhilesh, “Please don’t cry! I can’t return your parents to you, but I’m like your father. You can live here happily as a member of my family. My wife will also be very happy to find a son.”
The merchant then called his wife and introduced Akhilesh to her. The kind lady also felt pity for the young man’s plight and extended her love and care to him. Akhilesh was very happy to find a place in the merchant’s family.
But all was not as fine as it seemed. Akhilesh did belong to a respected family, but he was a liar and a loser. His parents did not die in an accident; they actually died due to the pain, anxiety, and worry caused by their only son. Akhilesh’s waywardness, indolence, and insincerity towards life led him down the wrong paths. He was addicted to the evil game of gambling and, in due course, lost a significant amount of fortune to the nasty game. The disappointed parents tried their utmost to mend his ways but failed. In the end, they fell prey to their own sorrow and anxiety. After losing everything, Akhilesh had no place to go, so he approached his father’s friend, Lakshmishrestha, with a fake story.
However, unaware of Akhilesh’s true nature, the merchant couple considered him a nice, sincere, and obedient boy, which Akhilesh pretended so well. After some time, the couple decided to marry their daughter, Chandravati, to Akhilesh. They probably thought that their only daughter would remain with them forever and that Akhilesh would fill the void of a son in their family. The young man readily agreed to the marriage, and the ceremony was solemnized in bliss and blessings.
After enjoying a happy married life for some time, one day, Akhilesh expressed his wish to return to his parents’ house to start his business afresh and build a new life on his own. Lakshmishrestha was pleased to hear his son-in-law’s ambition and appreciated his desire to believe in himself. Lakshmishrestha gave him a bag full of gold coins to help him start his business.
One fine morning, Akhilesh, accompanied by his wife Chandravati, departed from his father-in-law’s place for his parents’ house. However, Akhilesh had not transformed; he remained the same old liar and treacherous person, with no genuine intention of starting a new life. As the young couple journeyed through a deep forest, Akhilesh said to Chandravati, “Dear wife, we are now passing through a deep forest. There is always a significant threat from robbers and rogues. So, it’s better if you remove all your jewelry and keep it in my safe custody.”
Chandravati was such a simple-hearted girl that the last thing she could do was suspect her husband’s intentions. She happily gave all her jewelry to him. After securing the ornaments, Akhilesh said to his wife, “You look tired and thirsty. Wait under this shady tree, and I’ll be back soon with water for you.”
Saying so, the unscrupulous man vanished, never to return. Meanwhile, Chandravati sat under the tree, waiting for a long time. As evening approached and Akhilesh did not return, she decided to go back to her parents’ place. When Chandravati returned home, her parents were surprised to see her back and alone. Ashamed to reveal her husband’s treachery, she lied, saying she was robbed in the forest and the robbers forcibly took her husband with them.
The parents were deeply saddened to hear about the incident. They consoled their daughter, assuring her that they would use all their resources and efforts to find her husband.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh, who had run away with the money and his wife’s jewelry, returned to the ill-fated game that had previously taken everything from him. He lived recklessly and spent money thoughtlessly, as he had spoiled everything before. Soon, he found himself in the same dire condition as before. Shamelessly, he decided to return to his father-in-law’s place with a new story. However, upon arrival, he discovered that his wife had not revealed the ugly truth about him to her parents.
The parents of Chandravati were very happy to see Akhilesh and thanked God for saving him from the clutches of the robbers. Akhilesh once again enjoyed the luxury of his in-laws’ home for a brief period.
But the evil addiction to gambling and bad habits spread its net again, and Akhilesh was once more trapped in it. This time, he fooled his father-in-law and acquired a good amount of money under the pretext of restarting his life, and departed from his in-laws’ place, taking his wife with him. However, the evil man knew that this game could not last long. So, on the way, while passing through the forest, he slit his wife’s throat and killed her. He then fled with the money and his wife’s jewelry.
Here, Betal ended his tale and asked, “Vikram, tell me who was responsible for Chandravati’s murder and misfortune?”
Dear readers, whom do you think should be held responsible for the death of Chandravati? Put on your thinking cap and make your guess before reading King Vikramaditya’s reply.
The king said, “Betal, no one but Chandravati herself was responsible for the killing. She had tasted the bitter truth of her husband’s treachery, yet she remained quiet and protected him. Her own weakness led to her death. Had she not hidden the nasty truth about her husband from her parents, none of this would have happened. So, Chandravati herself is responsible for her death.”
“Great judgment,” applauded Betal, “but since you spoke, I’ll have to leave.” Saying this, Betal swiftly flew into the sky while the king ran after him to catch him again.
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