A cloth merchant was returning to his town. On his way, he passed a small village. It was already late evening and he was tired of traveling so he decided to rest before moving ahead. He looked for a place to stay as he didn’t want to spend any money on renting a room. He saw a temple on the outskirts of the village, where people were going for evening prayers. Nearby that temple was a beautiful lake. But surprisingly the lake was completely isolated. No one was to be seen there.
The merchant decided to take a nap near the lake. It was quiet so he won’t have to bother about any disturbance. He chose a tree and put his bag under it. Then he used the bag as a pillow and slept on it. The bag was important to him as he had kept all his gold coins in it, from his recent sales. He was almost asleep when some voice woke him up. There was someone at the lake. He hid behind the tree and looked in silence. An old lady had approached the lake. She took out something from her saree. It was a gold coin. She threw it in the lake. The merchant was taken by surprise.
Image for illustration: Khushboo Singh
He kept looking. The lady waited momentarily and then something shiny appeared from the lake. It was a bowl filled with gold coins. The merchant was astonished. He got goosebumps all over his body. He had never seen such magic before. He thought to himself:
One gold coin gave her a full bowl of gold. What if I throw five gold coins? I will get five times as much money as she has.
He was filled with excitement. He waited for the old lady to leave. The old lady took the bowl full of gold and left. As soon as she left, the merchant rushed towards the lake and took out five gold coins. He threw them into the lake. He waited with impatience. But nothing happened. He was confused. He waited more. Still nothing. He didn’t understand anything. He looked around. No one was there. The old lady was gone. He searched for the coins by entering the lake. But he found nothing but mud and water.
He realized that he was missing something. He ran in the direction where the old lady had gone. But he could not find her. He thought to himself:
The lady was so old. How far she could go? Maybe she is from the village.
So he decided to go to the village in search of the lady. He roamed like a madman in an unknown village but could not see any recognizable face. For a moment he wanted to return to his hometown. But he had lost five gold coins. That was a big part of his sale. How could he let it go? Plus he still wanted to use that magical lake for gaining more wealth. The greed made him stay.
He rented a house in the village by a goldsmith. He kept asking about the old lady in the entire village. But he could not reveal his motive, so he made up a story and told everyone that the old lady stole his 5 gold coins near the temple gate. After two days of searching, he found nothing. So he decided to go back.
On his way back home, he again crossed the temple. This time he decided to enter the temple. He did his prayers. Then he looked at the head priest. He realized that he had yet not talked to him. So he approached him and asked him about the old lady. But this time he told the truth to the priest.
After hearing from the merchant, the priest burst into laughter. The merchant was confused. He asked the reason for such mockery. Then the priest said:
I am not laughing at you but at the very nature of human greed. You threw your hard-earned money into the lake, to get more money that does not belong to you. You are not the first one to fall into the trap. Don’t you see that the lake is abandoned?
This is a very old lake and is ruled by a Yaksha. Yakshas are the protectors of wealth and treasure. They change form and are shapeshifters. The Yaksha presiding over this lake creates illusions by taking various forms and testing people coming close to it. The greedy people lose money and gold as you did. The ones who are truthful have been rewarded in many instances. The lake is filled with treasure but people like you won’t get anything out of it because the Yaksha protects that ancient treasure and increases it over time.
The merchant was filled with deep regret. He was sad about losing his hard-earned money. He also regretted going to the village and telling lies to people. Had he told the truth, he wouldn’t have wasted more money on his stay. Filled with remorse he went back to his town.
By
Khushboo Singh
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