Mythology Moral Stories - The Heart Of Gold - 1

Sage Suryananda took his seat beneath a banyan tree and looked at his students who were eagerly awaiting his recital of a new story that evening. 

All of his stories taught the children to follow good principles and be virtuous in life. Suryananda smiled at his students benignly and addressed everyone in a crisp voice,

“Dear students, mere physical look never reveals a character of a person. This forms the base of my story, which I am going to narrate to you today.  Listen!”

The physician got up after examining the Queen.  From his grim face, the King, Adirath, could make out that his Queen was in a very serious condition.  As he led the physician out of the apartment, his twelve year old daughter sat beside her mother with tearful eyes. 

“How’s the Queen, Suman?” the King asked concerned. 

“Her heart has become very weak and she is not responding to treatment.  She is in the last stage of her illness.  I am sorry, Maharaj!”  So saying, Suman took his leave.  The King was stunned to hear this and returned to the Queen’s chambers hardly managing to suppress his tears.  He sat beside the Queen and lovingly passed his hand over her head. 

Although she looked pale from her prolonged illness, she still appeared beautiful.   “What did Suman say, Maharaj?”  the Queen queried.

“Everything would be alright, Sumalatha!”  replied the King trying to hid the facts from her. 

“Aren’t you saying this just to comfort me?  I know that my hour is nearing!” 

“Oh!  Please do not speak like this, O Queen!  For God’s sake….”  The King could speak no more.  His throat ached as he tried to suppress his emotions. 

Just then, a guard entered in and informed the King that some of his subjects wanted to meet him to voice their grievances.  Adirath promptly went to meet them leaving his daughter alone with the Queen.  “Padmini, why are you so silent?”   

“Mother, please do not leave me!  What will I do without you?  Who will love me?  I will be left all alone!  O mother, don’t leave me!  Please!”  Padmini wept.  

“Do not weep, my child.  Your father is there to take care of you.  Why do you worry?”  the Queen consoled her grieving daughter.

“Father?  You know that he does not love me for I am so ugly to look!  You are the only person who has loved and taken care of me!” 

“No, Padmini.  Your father loves you!  The only problem is that he is not able to express his love towards you!  Please do not misunderstand him!” Although the Queen spoke in these terms, she, too, was worried about the King’s attitude towards Padmini! 

Adirath did not speak with her and suppressed his love for Padmini in his heart for she was not good-looking!  She was dark complexioned and had no beautiful features much to the disappointment of  the King.   Adirath was an ardent lover of beauty.  He had tied the knot with Sumalatha only because he was charmed by her beauty despite knowing fully well that she may not live for long because of a heart ailment which she suffered right from birth. 

This act of the King made the Queen grateful and indebted towards him.  She made every attempt to keep him happy and never went against his wishes.  If there was anything that she did not like or agree with him she plainly ignored it.  She knew that the King distanced himself from their own daughter due to her ill looks but never told him that what he was doing was wrong. 

Instead, this attitude of the King only increased the love she had for Padmini and took great care to satiate all of her needs and desires.

“Padmini, promise me that if something happens to me, you will not become despondent and face any instance that comes in your life bravely.”  Padmini clasped the hands of her mother and nodded her head in agreement with her eyes raining tears. 

A couple of days later the Queen breathed her last which spread a pall of gloom in the kingdom.  People thronged to the durbar where her body was kept to pay their last respects.  Adirath sat beside the bedecked body of his beloved wife and looked at her glumly. 

Padmini sat in a corner and wept silent tears.  One of the most senior ministers of the King, Maanavendra, came forward to console the little Princess.  Maanavendra had always a soft corner for Padmini for he was deeply hurt to see the injustice being meted out to her by the King.  Padmini, too, was very close to him and even shared some of the happy moments of her life with him. 

As she saw Maanavendra, she hugged him and began to wail.  The King looked at his daughter and his heart was moved to see her crying so bitterly.  His conscience told him that he should go and console her and he did listen to it. 

After all, he was in the best position to understand the grief of his daughter at the death of her mother.  He slowly walked towards Padmini and put his hand on her head.  Both Maanavendra and Padmini looked at him.  This was the first time that Padmini could remember her father coming to her and touching her!  The King got a feeling in his heart that he had done his duty towards his daughter in her hour of grief with this act of his.

As Padmini and Maanavendra looked at him, the King called one of the maids and instructed her to escort Padmini to her chambers and make her rest awhile.  As he walked away and took his seat beside the dead Queen, Maanavendra looked at the King as if to say, “You could have done something more than that!”.  As for as Padmini, although she expected her father to play the role of Maanavendra, her aggrieved heart got some solace that he had atleast tried to comfort her today and she stopped crying. 

In the evening, the King performed the funeral rites of the Queen and all the people returned back to their homes with a heavy heart and prayed to the Lord to rest her soul in peace.

                             (To Continue)