Fox, Holy Man And Barber’s Wife

A holy man called Devsharma lived at one temple where he made a lot of money selling all the offerings made in kinds to the deity, and collecting fees from the pilgrims. After amassing a large sum of money he has a trouble of safely depositing it. He does not trust anybody. So, fearing anybody might steal his money he spends many sleepless nights thinking, “I had a lot of troubles making money; I have made it; now, I have troubles to keep it safely; so, wealth is really a curse to a human; I hate wealth.” After some time, he resolves his problem of keeping safely his money depositing it in a room and not letting anybody in.

Nearby lived a cunning man called Ashadbhuti. He came to know that the holy man Devsharma has been keeping a large sum of money in his room. He thinks, “How could I get his wealth? I cannot break the thick wall of his house to reach his wealth. There is no way to loot the money. The only alternative is to trick the holy man to trust me and gain an access to his money. So, I would be his disciple. One day, he would certainly trust me then I can take the money and leave his place.”

With all these things on his mind, Ashadbhuti goes to the holy man called Devsharma. Clasping his hand at his chest, Ashadbhuti says to Devsharma, “Greetings to Lord Shiva! Our lives are short just like the rivers during the monsoon period; equally, our enjoyment of life is also short. So, I came here to learn how to get relief from such a worldly life.”

Not being able to read the mind of the shrewd Ashadbhuti, Devsharma says, “Good, in such early life, you have realized the truth of the worldly life, and came to me to learn something. Usually, men aspire for peace only when they reach old age and become senior citizens. I really appreciate your aspirations for getting relief from the worldly life and enjoy the eternal peace of mind at such an early stage of life.”

“If you offer even a single flower to Lord Shiva with your pure mind you will be relieved from the worldly life and get the eternal life, no matter which class or caste you belong to. So, whatever you do, do with the pure mind without any greed.”

“If you are going to work with sincerity then I will accept you as my disciple. You can learn many things from me. I will give you lessons. You can stay here and learn them during the daytime. However, after sunset you have to leave my house and move to somewhere. A holy man needs to stay alone at night. Keeping your company at night means I would abuse my code of conduct, and ultimately destroys the purity of a holy man. So, for the benefit of both of us, you need to make a shelter for you and live there at night.”

Ashadbhuti says, “Lord! For me your words are the law. I will abide by anything you say. I need to learn many things from you to live my remaining life as fruitfully as possible. It is good to live alone in a shelter at night; I can learn something at night, too.”

Many days have passed and even months, Ashadbhuti cannot have an access to the room where Devsharma has stored his money. Ashadbhuti’s patience has been running out. He has been thinking, “Whether I need to choke him or give him a poison to end his life and then have his money.”

At the same time, Devsharma comes and says, “a friend of mine has invited me to his home; we need to go together. How about that?”

Ashadbhuti says, “You are my lord; so, it is my duty to follow your order.”

Devsharma and Ashadbhuti set off for a long journey. Before setting off for a journey, Devsharma wraps his money in a piece of cloth and takes it with him.

Now, Ashadbhuti keeps his eye on the money Devsharma has wrapped in cloth. He knows that he is now closer to getting the wealth from the holy man. It is only the question of time he needs to wait for reaching it.

So, as the most loyal and disciplined disciple, Ashadbhuti quietly follows Devsharma on the way to the friend’s home.

Next morning when Devsharma needs to respond to the call of nature; he leaves the money wrapped in cloth in the care of Ashadbhuti, as he needs to go for a long defecating and then bathing in the nearby river.

Ashadbhuti thinks, “Finally, this man has entrusted his wealth to me. I will take care of it forever.”

As soon as Devsharma becomes out of his sight, Ashadbhuti takes the money wrapped in cloth and runs away from there.

While defecating on the field, Devsharma sees two rams with golden wool are fighting. Each ram steps backs a few steps and then rush forward to hit another. After several hitting, the rams have started bleeding. Drops of blood trickle down the ground. A fox sees the blood on the ground, and moves in between the rams to lick the blood. When the rams hit each other the fox in between is crushed to death. Devsharma thinks, “Poor fox, if it has realized that to be in-between the two fighting rams is deadly, the fox would have been alive.”

After defecating on the filed, Devsharma goes to a river and takes a long bathing in the water of the river. He enjoys the bathing in the clean water. He does not suspect that Ashadbhuti will go away with his wealth. So, he is taking time for bathing in the river.

After a long bathing in the river, Devsharma slowly walks to the place where Ashadbhuti is supposed to be waiting for him. He finds that Ashadbhuti has disappeared. Not finding his wealth wrapped in cloth, he passes out.

After some time, Devsharma comes to sense, and realizes that he has lost his wealth to his disciple Ashadbhuti. He thinks, “Ashadbhuti is in fact a thief in the guise of a disciple. It is hard to read the mind of a man. I did a wrong trusting the man that I don’t know.”

Devsharma continues his journey following the footprints of Ashadbhuti. After an arduous journey, he comes to a place where he sees few houses. He notices a couple coming out of a house obviously for going to some place. He asks them for an overnight stay in their home. Kaulik and his wife have just come out of the house to go to the local market for buying some booze when a stranger meets them.

Kaulik has addicted to drinking; his wife has had not a happy marital life with Kaulik; so, she has had love affairs with a man in another village.  All the villagers know that his wife has been having love affairs with another man in a village. Rumors of his wife being unfaithful to him have reached Kaulik but he has no solid proof to believe in the rumors.

Pointing to a stranger seeking for an overnight stay in their home, Kaulik says to his wife, “Give a cozy bed and nice food to our guest. I will go to the market and buy some booze for you and me. A guest at the sunset might be the god from heaven. Take care of him as nicely as possible. I will be back as soon as possible.”

Kaulik’s wife thinks, “As usual, this man will sit with his friends at the booze store and drinks the whole night and comes back home only in the morning. So, I will have a chance to spend a night with Devdutta my lover. How nice, we have a guest at this time.”

She sends a message through a friend of her: a barber’s wife to Devdutta, “She is coming to him to spend a night with him.” She has been having affairs with this man for some time, as she has not having a good love life with her boozy husband. So, she does not miss any night to spend a good night with Devdutta whenever her husband is out for a night.

After making every thing available to the guest, Kaulik’s wife prepares for going to her lover to spend a night. She takes some time to put on the makeup for making sure that she looks very nice to Devdutta. She puts on one of the nicest blouses and wraps in a best available sari in her closet.

She says to the guest, “I have my sister in a next village. I am going to visit her and I will be back next morning.” So saying she leaves the home. Devsharma alone remains at home.

After walking for a short while, unexpectedly, she sees her husband wobbling on the way. She quickly turns back, strips off her best sari and blouse and removes all the makeup and pretends that nothing has happened.

Kaulik comes on in and says his wife, “Now, I know where you are going to. All villagers know that you are not faithful to me. So, you are in your best to go to your lover believing I would not be at home this night. I would not leave you without punishment tonight.” To punish the disloyal wife, Kaulik takes a long rope and then ties his wife to one of the pillars and goes on to sleep.

Devdutta has been waiting for his mistress for some time but she has not showed up. So, he sends the barber’s wife to see why she has failed to show up.

The barber’s wife rushes to her friend. She says to the Kaulik’s wife, “Devdutta has been waiting for you quite some time, why did you not go to him immediately.”

“Look at my condition, how could I go out? I am tied to a pillar.”

“You should not miss the enjoyable night with Devdutta. As a friend I would help you to be with Devdutta. I will loosen the rope tied to you. I will be in your place for tonight; you tie me to the pillar, as I know Kaulik will not wake up for the whole night. Come early morning and you stay in my place as if nothing has happened; every thing will be perfect.”

The barber’s wife unties the rope and free Kaulik’s wife. She in turn ties the barber’s wife to the pillar and goes to her lover to have a good night.

Kaulik wakes up in the middle of night and angry at her infidelity, he wants to punish his wife severely. Before doing so he wants to confirm that she is really having affairs with a man in the next village.

So, he says to his wife, “I will free you immediately if you tell me the truth; you have been lying to me so far. I have seen with my own eyes your makeup and dress-up for going to the man. Tell me the truth. If you promise me, you will never repeat your infidelity, I will forgive you for all your past sins.”

Fearing Kaulik will recognize her voice; the barber’s wife keeps quiet.

Kaulik repeats his offer to the spouse once, twice and thrice but he does not get the reply.  Now, Kaulik is sure that keeping silence means his wife has committed adultery and the worst thing is she does not want to correct her infidelity.

Kaulik takes a knife and cuts the nose of the barber’s wife in the darkness believing she is his wife. The barber’s wife loses her nose and bleeds but she cannot do anything even cry for fear of Kaulik recognizing her.

Devsharma has been watching this drama of the barber’s wife coming in between Kaulik and his wife. He sees some similarities between the death of fox that has gone in between the fighting rams and the barber’s wife that has come in between the husband and the wife.

After spending quite some time with Devdutta, Kaulik’s wife returns to her home. She finds her husband has been sleeping as a log but the barber’s wife has a large hole on her nose. The barber’s wife explains to the Kaulik’s wife what has happened to her.

Kaulik’s wife quickly releases the barber’s wife from the bondage and she gets tied up in her place. She has been safely in the place where her husband has tied her.

Kaulik wakes up again and says, “I have cut your nose; I will cut your ears, too, if you don’t speak now. Tell me, why have you been lying me, so far?”

Kaulik’s wife grabbing the opportunity of taking the advantage of both worlds calls out, “O! Lord, if I have committed adultery with another man as my husband has accused me of, burn me down to ashes. If I have not think of any man other than my husband, please restore my nose.”

“Honey, come and see my nose has been restored.”

Kaulik takes a piece of burning wood and goes to his wife and finds his wife’s nose is intact but there is a lot of blood on the floor. Kaulik believes his wife is innocent; so, the lord has restored her nose. He loosens her and takes her to his bed with love.

Devsharma has been watching the great drama of two unfaithful wives tricking the boozy husband the whole night. He realizes that the Kaulik’s wife has shown her excellent tactic to convince her husband of her chastity. However, doing a favor to the unfaithful wife of Kaulik, the poor barber’s wife has lost her nose.

Devsharma thinks, “Kaulik's wife surpasses the demon teacher Sukracharya and the deity teacher Brihaspati in her tactics; she posses the knowledge of magic of all magicians I know; she has not only saved herself from the disgrace of adultery but also proved she is the most loyal wife to her husband.”

The barber’s wife has lost her nose for doing favor to the unfaithful wife. She does not know how to explain to her husband when he comes home in the morning. She has been in a distress for the rest of the night.

In the morning, the barber returns home after completing his work in town. He finds that his customers have been waiting for him. So, he has no time to enter the house and get his shaving set. He asks his wife, “Honey, drop down my shaving set, I am in a hurry, customers gave lined up at our hair-cut saloon.”

The barber’s wife takes out the razor and throws it out to her husband. The barber in anger throws back the razor to his wife saying, “I need the whole shaving set not a single razor only; how can I work with a razor only?”

Now, the wife takes the opportunity of pretending to be hurt by her husband. She calls out, “Help, help, help me. My husband is going to kill me. He cut my nose. Help, help.”

Neighbors come out and try to understand what has happened to her. The barber’s wife starts crying. The barber does not understand what has happened. Immediately, the police come and take the barber in custody. The barber becomes nervous.

The police present the barber at the law court. The police say, “Lord, the barber has cut the nose of his innocent wife obviously for no guilt. Justice needs to be done punishing the culprit.” Thus, the police charge the barber with the attempted murder.

The judge says, “barber, why did you cut the nose of your wife, has she committed adultery? Has she stolen something? Has she done wrong to you or others?”

The barber has been so nervous that he does not answer any one of the questions of the judge. He has kept silent holding his head down throughout the hearing.

So, the judge thinks, “the barber must be an offender; if he is innocent, he would have freely replied to the questions; his head has been down all the time; color of his face is not regular; all the traits he has shown are of a criminal; so, the barber must have committed the crime.”

Believing that the barber has cut the nose of his wife, the judge sentences the barber to death.

Seeing that the innocent barber is getting punished for his no fault; Devsharma goes to the court, and addressing the judge says, “the barber is innocent; I have seen a fox was killed because of being in-between the two fighting rams; I have lost my wealth trusting Ashadbhuti; the barber’s wife got her nose cut doing a favor to her friend. These are all the consequences of their deeds.” Thus, Devsharma tells the drama he has watched the whole night at the Kaulik’s home.

After hearing the story of Devsharma, the judge has been convinced of the nose-cut of the barber’s wife is the consequence of her own deeds. She has attempted to implicate her innocent husband in the case of cutting her nose committing another crime. So, the judge sentences her to cut her ears, too.

Being the witness of how the fox was killed when it caught into the fighting of the two rams, and of how the barber’s wife has got not only her nose cut but also the ears, too due to the wrong company she has had, Devsharma has ultimately convinced himself of the loss of his wealth entirely due to the wrong company he has had.

July 17, 2010

Source: Pancatantra