Manibhadra and the Monk

A Panchatantra Tale

Retold and Adapted by Navin

Once upon a time, there was a merchant named Manibhadra in the town of Paliputra. He was very rich, but also benevolent. His family had taught him to be charitable from a young age.

Unfortunately, a great misfortune occurred, and Manibhadra lost all his wealth. He also fell out of his social status, and became depressed. One night, he was lying in bed, sad as usual, and slowly fell into a troubled sleep. In his dream, a Jain monk appeared and said, “I am wealth. Your forefathers gathered me, and you deserve me. Tomorrow, I will come to your house in the form of a monk. Hit me on my head with a stick.”

The next morning, Manibhadra could hardly believe his dream, it was so bizarre! He went about his day, and around noon, a barber came to his house to cut his child’s hair. While the barber was working, the calling bell rang.

When Manibhadra opened the door, there stood a Jain monk! Manibhadra stood in  disbelief for a moment, before inviting the monk inside and offering him some water. Then, he picked up a stick and whacked the monk on the head! Lo and behold, the monk turned into SOLID GOLD! Manibhadra was amazed, and he quickly collected the gold and put it into his safe. Soon, his status and wealth were restored.

The barber had witnessed all of this. After he thought the matter over, he went to the nearest monastery and invited all the monks over to his house for prayer. On the day of their visit, the barber waited with a big stick just inside the door. As each of the monks walked in the door, the barber whacked him hard on the head with the stick. After the last monk had walked in, the barber turned around, expecting to see the room full of golden monks. However, there were only 20 or so unconscious or paining monks, all holding their heads.

The next day, the barber was summoned to court to explain why he committed this crime. He told the judge that he saw Manibhadra the merchant do the same thing. When Manibhadra was called to court, he explained his dream and the monk turning to gold. After some deliberation, the judge had the barber arrested, and Manibhadra went on his way.

Moral: Blind imitation is dangerous. Not everyone has the same path in life, so do not copy others in the pursuit of fame or success.