I know both Dharma-Buddhi and Paapa-Buddhi. It is due to the stupidity of the son that the father nearly died from smoke.”
Damanaka said “How did that happen?”
Karataka replied…
धर्मबुद्धिपापबुद्धिकथा
The story of Dharma-Buddhi and Paapa-Buddhi
In a city, not so far away from her, lived two friends named Dharma-Buddhi (The righteous-minded one) and Paapa-Buddhi (the wicked-minded one).
One day, as he was relaxing under a tree, Paapa-Buddhi thought to himself “I am a fool and poor as well, and so doing anything by myself is out of the question. Let me convince Dharma-Buddhi to come with me on a journey to far-away lands, where we will earn money by using his goodness. Later, I can cheat him of his share as well, and use this money to live a happier life.”
And so the next day Paapa-Buddhi approached Dharma-Buddhi and said “My dear friend! I have been thinking – when we grow old, and look back on our lives, what would we see as our achievements? What stories will we tell our grandchildren, if we do not see more of the world now? It is said that the essence of our lives on this earth, is to travel, see various cultures, understand new languages and experience new people.
विद्यां वित्तं शिल्पं तावन् नाप्नोति मानवः सम्यक् ।
यावद् व्रजति न भूमौ देशाद् देशान्तरं हृष्टः ॥ ४३१ ॥
vidyāṃ vittaṃ śilpaṃ tāvan nāpnoti mānavaḥ samyak |
yāvad vrajati na bhūmau deśād deśāntaraṃ hṛṣṭaḥ || 431 ||
One cannot attain knowledge in education, wealth and architecture, if he has not travelled all over the earth, and visited many places.
Dharma-Buddhi felt happy at being advised by his friend in this manner, and agreed to travel with him. They both set out the next morning, at an auspicious time, and after seeking the blessings off all the elders in the village.
Paapa-Buddhi was right. While he did not amount to anything useful, he was able to use Dharma-Buddhi’s goodwill and pleasant nature to earn a lot of money in the three years that they traveled around the country. Happy that he had made enough, Paapa-Buddhi told Dharma-Buddhi that it was time to return to their village, and spend the rest of their lives in contentment. After all, it is said that for one who is educated and has wealth, even a small stretch of land is equal to a huge village – they can deploy their expertise and money to make much better use of it.
As they reached the outskirts of their village, Paapa-Buddhi said to Dharma-Buddhi “My friend! It is not prudent to take all this money home. Our friends, relatives and even our own family will end up begging us for money. So, let us bury this money in the stretch of forest nearby, and take home just a small amount for our use. We can come back here and take whatever money is required, whenever the need arises.”
It is said…
न वित्तं दर्शयेत् प्राज्ञः कस्यचित् स्वल्पम् अप्य् अहो ।
मुनेर् अपि यतस् तस्य दर्शनाच् चलते मनः ॥ ४३३ ॥
na vittaṃ darśayet prājñaḥ kasyacit svalpam apy aho |
muner api yatas tasya darśanāc calate manaḥ || 433 ||
A wise man should not flash even a little of his wealth around. Even the mind of a saint can waver at the sight of money.
“A price of meat is eaten by fish in the sea, wild animals on the ground, and by birds in the sky – and so does a wealthy man get looted everywhere.”
Dharma-Buddhi agreed. They buried the money in the forest, keeping a small bit for themselves, and returned to their village, where they started passing their days in peace and happiness.
But Paapa-Buddhi was crooked. One day, he went alone to the forest, dug up all the money, filled the hole with mud, and returned home.
The next day, he went to Dharma-Buddhi and said “My dear friend! I have a large family to take care of, and the money that I brought with me has finished. Let us go and get some money from where we hid it.” Dharma-Buddhi agreed and they set out to the forest.
When they reached, they started digging. When they took out the vessel in which the money was kept – they found it to be empty. Paapa-Buddhi started to wail loudly, slapping his forehead, and with tears in his eyes, shouted at Dharma-Buddhi “You cheat! No one else could have stolen this money – only you knew where it was! And you also closed the hole after digging the money out, which shows that you planned to feign innocence in front of me. Give me half of the money you took from here, else I will have to complain to the king!
Dharma-Buddhi said…
to be continued…
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