Sage Dog and the King

Sage Dog and the King
Dogs and the king's men were chasing each other. Some men were bitten by dogs and some dogs were badly wounded by the royal staff...
by Varsha Das

In the city of Varanasi the Bodhisattva was born as a dog. Being a Bodhisattva he was naturally the wisest and the most courageous.

There were many dogs in Varanasi. The most pampered and arrogant lot was in the king's palace. These specials dogs got the best food in taste and variety, whereas street dogs had to eat whatever they could find. That was why the palace dogs were weak and thin.

One day the royal dogs entered the stable from behind the palace. This was a special stable for the king's horses and chariots. They saw beautiful leather reins and straps lying loose on one of the chariots. For a long time these dogs had not come across any leather. Their food in the palace was too fancy even for a common man. Obviously their mouths began to water. Their true nature had surfaced. They wanted to eat up the reins and the straps, but they also knew that if the king got to know about it they would lose their lives!

The temptation proved stronger than their wisdom. They quietly ate up the leather and went back into the palace. Nobody had seen them.

Next morning, when the chariot driver and groom went inside the stable they were shocked to see bits and pieces of the reins and straps scattered on the ground. The leather was of a fine quality and quite expensive. They immediately reported the matter to the minister. He called the stable guards. They knew nothing about the incident and couched that not a single dog, not even a sparrow had entered the front gate.

The matter was reported to the king. He was furious. He called a meeting of his ministers and advisors. They all kept thinking as to who would dare to enter the king's stable? Who could eat up well-tendered leather? This cannot have been done by a man, mouse or a cat.

"I know," said the senior minister. "The dogs of Varanasi do like leather. I am sure, this is their doing."

"Dog...?" roared the king. "I want all the dogs of this city put in prison instantly. How dare they enter my stable! How dare they eat up the leather straps of my chariot!"

"Yes, I agree," said each one present in the meeting.

"The culprits should be severely punished so that no one dares commit such a crime in further," said another minister.

"Yes, you have given good advice," said the king and paused for a moment. Perhaps he was trying to think what could be the most severe punishment. And the next moment his lips quivered. He roared, "Death...Death is the only answer. Kill all the dogs in my kingdom."

All were stunned. Some of them did not approve of killing but no one had the courage to speak out.

Varanasi looked very different from the next day onwards. Dogs and the king's men were chasing each other. Some men were bitten by dogs and some dogs were badly wounded by the royal staff. Shops were closed because the owners were afraid of dogs breaking and destroying their goods. Parents did not send children to play in the streets. They did not want them to get caught in the chase and break their bones. The city of Varanasi was in total chaos!

Some dogs got together behind the bushes of a garden to discuss the situation. They wanted to save the lives of their comrades. One black dog looked wiser than the others. He said, "Let us go to Sage Dog. He lives in the cremation ground. He will surely find a solution to this problem."

They all marched towards the cremation ground. Sage Dog was surprised to see so many visitors. He did sense something had gone wrong.

The chief of the delegation narrated the whole incident, and also the punishment declared by the king. Sage Dog knew his clan very well. He said, "No street dog would dare enter the king's stable. It is a well-guarded place. This must be the job of the dogs staying in the palace. They must have entered from the back."

"Yes, we are quite sure about it," said the dogs almost in chorus.

"This means that the real culprits are enjoying themselves in the king's palace and the innocent weak dogs are being killed by the royal staff. That's not fair! I will right away meet the king and expose the real offenders," said Sage Dog.

"Would you like us to go with you?" asked some dogs because they were worried about his safety.

Sage Dog assured them that he would be safe. No one need worry about him.

Then he shut his eyes in prayer and summoned his inner powers to help him in this courageous mission. He was determined to stop the killings, disclosing the truth. He asked all the dogs to hide somewhere to save themselves. And he immediately left for the palace.

Sage Dog's powers had a tremendous impact on others. Although he was a dog, no one could catch, hit or stop him from entering the palace. He went straight to the king and sat under his throne. Some ministers got up to pull the dog out but the king stopped them.

After catching his breath, Sage Dog came out and stood in front of the king with reverence. Politely but boldly he asked, "Have you ordered your staff to kill all the dogs of Varanasi?"

"Yes, of course," said the king in an authoritative tone. Sage Dog asked another question, "May I know their offence?"

"Well, the offence is very serious. Some of them have eaten up the reins and straps of my chariot. How dare they do this?" The king's anger was apparent in his voice.

"Do you know who have eaten them?" asked Sage Dog.

The king shook his head in negative. He paused for a moment and hastened to say, "Whoever they may be. One thing is certain. Some dogs have eaten up the leather of my chariot, so they have to die. That's it."

"This means that each and every dog of Varanasi will be killed. Or are there some dogs that will not be killed?" asked Sage Dog.

"Yes," said the king. "My loyal and handsome palace dogs definitely will not be killed." The king obviously wanted to protect his personal dogs.

Sage Dog reminded the king about his duty, "The king should be impartial. How can you be kind to your dogs and cruel to the weak ones? Your own people all over the kingdom will lose respect for you if you show such partiality. You are going against the king's code of conduct."

The king found Sage Dog's words quite convincing. After a minute's silence he addressed Sage Dog with reverence. "Do you know who could have eaten the reins and straps?"

"Yes, they have been eaten by your dogs," said Sage Dog with confidence.

"You can't have such a charge. You will have to prove it," demanded the king.

"I can definitely prove it," said Sage Dog without any hesitation. "Get your dogs here. And also bring me some churned curd and a bunch of green grass."

Everything was brought and placed in front of Sage Dog. He mixed grass with churned curd and made the king's dogs drink all of it.

The dogs began to lick the stuff from the bowls kept in front of them. All were staring at them without a blink. Their breath seemed to have stopped for a while!

Well, as soon as the dogs emptied the bowls they began to vomit violently and what came out was undigested leather of the reins and straps!

All the onlookers were shocked. The king was extremely pleased with Sage Dog. He had saved him from committing a crime. He had also enlightened him about impartial conduct and his duty towards all in his kingdom.

The king realized that this was no ordinary dog. He made Sage Dog sit on a throne equal to his own and garlanded him with reverence. Sage Dog blessed him and left.