The Story of Brains Over Beauty

As Vikram lifted Betal, Betal started narrating another story. A merchant had two sons, Sudhakar and Dayakar. While Sudhakar was handsome, Dayakar was intelligent. After their father's death the business went to Dayakar. One day , a rich man came with the proposal of getting his daughters married. Sudhakar married one daughter, but the other refused to marry Dayakar. Dayakar vowed to marry a more beautiful girl.

Sudhakar wrongfully acquired the property and Dayakar promised to return only after becoming richer. One day, he saved a rich merchant, and he offered him employment. The merchant had an ugly daughter who used to be ill-treated while everybody liked his helper's beautiful daughter. Both wanted to marry Dayakar.

Betal asked Vikram, "Which girl did Dayakar choose?" Vikram replied, "The merchant's daughter, because she needed better treatment."

The War Ends

The Pandavas wanted to kill Ashvattama for the merciless manner in which he had killed their dear ones in the middle of the night. Draupadi was devastated since all her sons had been killed by http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...s/war_ends.jpgAshvattama. The Pandavas wanted revenge and searched for him and finally found him in Sage Vyasa's hermitage. Bhima fought a duel with Ashvattama and the latter finally accepted defeat.

The war finally ended after eighteen days. Dhrithrashtra was devastated when he heard that Duryodhana had died. He was also furious when he heard how Ashvattama had killed Draupadi's sons. Vidura and Sage Vyasa consoled Dhrithrashtra by saying that the war had to happen. Gandhari too was very sad but blessed the Pandavas, who had emerged victorious.

Finally, the Pandavas went to the banks of the Ganga to perform the last rites of those who had lost their lives in the war.

Tilottama

Sunda and Upasunda were two demon brothers. They were cursed to die at each other's hands but they loved each other too much that they can't inflict any pain on the other. Tired of the destruction they had caused on earth, Brahma approached Vishwakarma, the heavenly architect, to find a solution. They decided to create a http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...s/tilotoma.jpgwoman so beautiful that nobody could take their eyes off her. Accordingly, Vishwakarma created the exquistly beautiful Tilottama, seeing whom even Shiva could not remove his gaze. Brahma then instructed her to meet the demons. Tilottama appeared before the demons and seeing her, both brothers fell for her charms. They both wanted to marry her and thus, a fierce enmity followed. They took up arms against each other and died fighting. Unfortunately, Tilottama's charms kept captivating one and all. So Brahma gave curse that nobody would be able to cast his eyes on her for too long.

Trayambakeshwar Jyotirling

Sage Gautama and his beautiful wife, Ahilya, lived in an ashram. The other sages' wives hated Ahilya. They asked their husbands to get Gautama and Ahilya to leave the ashram. The saints performed http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...jyotirling.jpga tapasya to please Ganesha. When he appeared they asked him to help them get Gautama out. Ganesha became a cow and started grazing in Gautama's fields. Gautama hit the cow with a small stick. But with a light blow, it dies. All the sages called Gautama a sinner; they asked him to leave the ashram. Sadly, he left with his wife. He prayed to Shiva for forgiveness. Shiva appeared before him and told him the truth. At first, Gautama wanted to punish the sages for their misdeed, but he forgave them as it was because of them that he could see Shiva. He asked Shiva to stay there forever. Shiva consented, and became the Trayambakeshwar Jyotirling.

Trishanku's Heaven

King Trishanku went to his guru Vashistha and said, "please help me perform a ritual by which I can go to heaven while I am still alive." Vashistha replied, "It is a law that no living person can go to http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...kus_heaven.jpgheaven. Go and do good deeds and you will go to heaven when you die." Disappointed, Trishanku requested Vashistha's sons to help him. They got angry, "How can you ask us something that our father has already denied? We curse you to become old." Trishanku immediately turned old." He went to the great sage, Vishwamitra, for help. Vishwamitra promised to fulfil his wish. Vishwamitra performed a big Yajna; he chanted mantras and made offerings to gods. But the gods did not want anyone to break a law and enter heaven alive; they did not accept the offerings. Vishwamitra was furious and said , "I will send you to heaven by my own powers. Rise Trishanku. " As he said this, Trishanku began to rise and reached the gates of heaven. The gods stopped him and said, "You can't come to heaven alive. Fall back to earth." Trishanku started falling back. Vishwamitra said, "Don't fall! Stay!" And Trishanjku hung between heaven and earth. Then Vishwamitra said, " I will create another heaven for Trishanku ." He created the stars and as he was going to create another Indra, the gods stopped him saying , "Don't do this unnatural thing. " By this time, Vishwamitra had cooled down. He agreed to stop but said, "I have to keep my promise. Trishanku will live with these stars." The gods agreed but declared that Trishanku would live in his heaven upside down.

Vikram, Betal, and the king sage

Once more Betal was narrating another story. A king took his son to a sage and said, "take him as your student but make sure that he is treated like a prince." The sage said, "If I am to teach him, http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...kram_betal.jpghe will be treated as any other student." This made the king angry. He resolved to teach the sage a lesson. When the prince completed his education, he asked his teacher. "Sir, what gurudakshina (fees) should I give you?" The sage replied ,"I will ask for my fees when the time comes."

When the prince returned, the king asked his men to burn down the sage's ashram. The prince got very angry when he saw the burnt ashram. He said, " I will kill the person who has done this." Hearing this, the sage asked him for his fees. Betal asked Vikram, "What did he ask for?" Vikram said, "The sage asked the prince to forgive the king." Betal said, "You are right, but you opened your mouth, so here I go."

Vikram and Betal

King Vikramaditya was a great ruler. Each day, a man brought a fruit as a gift for him. One day Vikram dropped the fruit and a http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa..._and_betal.jpgdiamond fell out. Vikram thanked the man and asked him, what he wanted in return. He asked Vikram to bring Betal, a ghost hanging from a tree in the graveyard.

Brave Vikram went to the graveyard and pulled Betal down on to his shoulder. As he started walking back, Betal said, "I will tell you a story and then ask a question. You must tell me the answer otherwise I will break you head. But if you speak I will fly back to the tree." Vikram agreed.

This was the start of a series of stories Betal told Vikram, but each time Betal asked Vikram a question, Vikram answered and clever Betal flew back to the tree.

Venus

Once, a newly wed young man called Vinod went to his in-laws' house to pick his wife Seema and bring her back to his own house.

His in-laws were very superstitious and said that the planet venus, http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...ages/venus.jpgthe planet of love, was not in the sky and therefore, it was not a suitable time for the couple to start their married life. But Vinod was adamant. He thought that he knew best and refused to listen to their advice. Soon he set off for home with his wife.

The journey was very long and tiring. Hardly had the couple left the town, then their bullock cart broke down and their bullocks got injured. They had no other option and continued their journey on foot. Further on, some robbers attacked them and stole all their money and seema's preceious ornaments. They somehow managed to save their lives and escape from the robbers.

Before they reached their destination, Vinod fell very ill and they couldn't continue on their journey at home. When Vinod's parents came to know what had happened they asked him to return to his in-law's house with Seema and come back with her when Venus rises.

Vinod realised his mistake; he did as his parents told him and went back to his in-laws' house and waited there for an oppurtune time to come back to his own house. Thereafter, Vinod and Seema lived a happy married life.

Varaha Avatar

Long ago, there lived a demon called Hiranyaksha. He was Hiranyakashyap's brother and was gifted the boon of immortality http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...aha_avatar.jpgby Brahma. No god, demon, beast or man could ever kill him.

Hiranyaksha's powers grew by the day. One day, Hiranyaksha snatched the earth and took it with him under the ocean. The gods were alarmed and rushed to Vishnu for help. Vishnu remembered that Brahma had forgotten to grant Hiranyaksha immortality against Varaha, the two-tusked wild boar. Vishnu changed himself into a Varaha and dived into the ocean. Seeing Hiranyaksha there he challenged him to a fight. Soon, Vishnu beheaded Hiranyaksha and brought back the earth from the depths of the ocean.

Vamana Avatar

In Vishnu's fifth incarnation, he transforms himself into a vamana or dwarf.

Bali, the grandson of Prahlad , was a famous demon.

By leading an austere life he had acquired the power to rule the http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...ana_avatar.jpgearth. Indra and the other gods feared that some day Bali would conquer everything and defeat them. So they asked Vishnu for help.

Vishnu decided to be born in the household of a poor Brahmin. One day he went to Bali and asked for alms. Seeing the young boy, Bali agreed to give anything the dwarf asked for. Vamana asked for the entire land that would come under three steps. Bali agreed. The dwarf then grew in size and covered the earth and heavens with two steps. Due to lack of space he placed his third feet on Bali himself. He crushed Bali and sent him to the nether world.

Vakratunda

Once, Matsar, a demon, asked Sage Shukracharya, "Please tell me how can I rule the worlds?" Shukracharya replied, "You should perform tapasya to please Shiva and chant the mantra Om Namah http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...vakratunda.jpgShivaya. " Matsar stood on one leg for years, chanting the mantra. Pleased, Shiva bestowed a boon on Matsar that no human, god or demon could kill him. Matsar took over the three worlds - heaven, earth, and patal-lok (the underworld). He started troubling everyone. Soon, Matsar conquered Kailash, the home of Shiva. Gods prayed to Ganesha because only his Vakratunda (twisted trunk) from could defeat Matsar. Finally, Ganesha took his Vakratunda form. He used a weapon that entangled Matsar and he prayed to Vakratunda for forgiveness. Vakratunda said "I will forgive if you promise to return heaven and earth and never trouble anyone." Matsar promised and Vakratunda set him free.

Vaishno Devi and Bhairav Nath

Shridhar was a very devout devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi. Once Ma took the form of a girl. The girl asked him to organise a big feast for the devotees of Vaishno Devi Shridhar agreed and went out to http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...hairavnath.jpginvite people. He also invited Bhairav Nath, a sage, who asked him how he would make the arrangements.

On the day of the feast three hundred and sixty people were invited and ate in his small hut. Bhairav Nath was surprised by the divine powers of the little girl and he followed her to the Trikuta hills. For nine months he kept searching for her everywhere but couldn't find her.

Then, one day he saw the girl proucing water from a stone by shooting it swiftly with an arrow. On seeing Bhairav she entered a cave. Bhairav Nath quickly followed her into the cave. With a trident she opened a path on the other end of the cave and left the cave. But Bhairav adamantly continued to follow her.

Finally, she took her real form and cut off Bhairav Nath's head. Due to his powers, his head died but body remained alive. He begged the goddess for forgiveness. She not only forgave him but also gave him a boon that the devotees who would come to worship her in her holy cave would visit his temple thereafter.

Later a temple was built at the place where Bhairav's head fell.

Upamanyu

The great sage Ayodhyaumya had many disciples, but a young boy called Upamanyu was his favourite. One day, the sage decided to test Upmanyu's devotion and asked him, "You look very healthy, what do you eat?" In those days, sages and their disciples used to beg for food and alms. Upmanyu calmly replied, "I eat the food that I get by begging. " On hearing this, The sage instructed Upmanyu not to consume any food that he received as alms without asking for his permission first. Upmanyu was very obedient and from the next day itself, he offered everything that he received to the sage. The sage took away all the food and gave nothing to Upmanyu.

After a few days, the sage noticed that Upmanyu still looked very healthy. The sage then asked him, "I take away all the food that you get, so what do you eat?" Upmanyu explained that he offered the sage everything, and that he ate what he got the second time he went begging. The sage scolded Upmanyu and ordered, "You shouldn't beg twice, because then there will be nothing left for other students. you should not be greedy. " Upmanyu obediently followed what his teacher said.

After some days, the saint noticed that Upmanyu still looked hale and hearty and asked him, you still look healthy, what do you eat these days?" Upmanyu replied saying, "when I take the cows out to graze, I drink some of the milk that they give. " The sage immediately forbade Upmanyu from having milk from the cows. As usual, Upmanyu followed his teacher's instructions.

However Upmanyu's health still did not suffer. The sage approached him again after a few days and asked him what he ate. Upamanyu promptly replied that he ate the foam that the calves produced after having milk from the cows. The sage told Upmanyu that this would affect the health of the calves and he should not do so. Upmanyu followed Ayodhdhaymya's advice.

The next day, when Upmanyu took the cows for grazing as usual, he felt very hungry. When he couldn't control his hunger anymore, he ate the leaves of a plant called Aak. The leaves of this plant were very poisonous and Upmanyu became blind. He kept wandering in the forest and then fell into a dry well. When Upamanyu did not return in the evening, the sage was worried and went with disciples to look for Upmanyu. They found Upmanyu in the well and pulled him out. When the sage heard how Upmanyu had been blinded, he asked him to pray to the Ashwin Kumars, the doctors of the gods, and request them to restore his eyesight. Soon, the Ashwini Kumars appeared and gave Upmanyu a medicine. and said that he would not eat anything without Ayodhdhaumya's permission. The Ashwini Kumars tried their best to convince Upmanyu to have the medicine but Upmanyu said that he would rather stay blind forever than disobey the orders of the sage.

The gods were impressed by Upmanyu's love, respect, and devotion for his teacher and blessed him. They restored his eyesight. Ayodhdhaumya was also very pleased with Upamanyu and told him that he had passed the test. The sage blessed Upmanyu and gave him a boon that he wouldn't need to learn religious texts but would know them automatically.

Vishvamitra

Once, King Kaushik, who was also called Vishvamitra, was touring his kingdom with his army. He reached the ashram of Sage Vashistha, who invited him for meals. Vishvamitra asked him, http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...ishvamitra.jpg"Do you have enough food to fed my army?" Vashistha said, he had a cow called Nandini to prepare a big feast for Vishvamitra and his army. Surprised at its powers, Viswamitra said, "What will you do with the cow in this forest? This cow will be more useful to a king. Give me this cow as a gift. " When Vashistha did not agree to his demand, Viswamitra forcefully captured the cow.

Separated from the sage who was like a father to her, Nandini was so sad that she ran away from the king's palace . She went back to Sage Vashishtha. Vishvamitra then went to a forest to perform a long tapasya to get Nandini . After ten years of tapasya , Shiva was very pleased and gave him many weapons. Vishvamitra took all the weapons to fight Vashistha. But he could not defeat Vashistha because he absorbed all his weapons using one powerful weapon. Vishvamitra went back to the forest to perform more tapasya. He meditated for many years and became a brahmarishi. Now he had all the powers to get Nandini, but he had attained such mental peace that he no longer wanted the cow .

Vishwamitra and Menaka

Once Sage Vishwamitra was perfoming a very difficult tapasya. Indra, the king of gods, was afraid that once completed, the tapasya would make Vishwamitra very powerful and he would even http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...ges/menaka.jpgbe able to conquer heaven. So Indra sent Menaka, a beautiful dancer of his court, to earth.

Meanwhile, Vishwamitra had performed all the rituals and was engaged in meditation, which would complete his tapasya. Menaka went to the forest where Viswamitra sat with his eyes closed. She sang, danced, made garlands of fragrant flowers and put them around Vishwamitra's neck to attract his attention. All this disturbed Vishwamitra and he opened his eyes. His meditation was broken. When he saw the beauty of Menaka he wished to marry her. They got married and had a daughter.

Once Menaka's purpose on the earth was over, she went back to heaven, leaving behind a sad Vishwamitra

Worms in Rice

Once, there lived a great saint, named Vedanta Deshikar. He was very simple had no love for wealth and comfort. He loved to live his life like a religious person, and devoted himself completely to http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...ms_in_rice.jpgGod. Everybody praised him for his simplicity and virtuousness.

Each day, Deshikar went from door to door and begged for alms and food. There lived a man in the same town who respected Deshikar a lot and wanted to gift something expensive to him. But he knew very well that he will not accept.

One day , when the sage came begging at the man's door , he put a few gold coins in the rice that he put in Deshikar's begging bowl. Deshikar went home with the rice but when he saw the gold coins he told his wife. "There are worms in the rice. "He carefully separated the rice from the coins away and then ate the rice.

Yama kumar

Once Yama, the god of death, married a woman of earth and started living there. They had a son called Yama Kumar. Yama soon realised that his wife was very cunning. She always quarled with him, so he went back to his kingdom. His wife did not teach Yama Kumar anything so when he grew up he was not able to earn his living.

One night, Yama appeared before his son and said that he should http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...yama_kumar.jpglearn about medicine. Soon Yama Kumar became a doctor. Yama said , "Every time you see me near a patient , You will know that the patient is going to die. You must refuse to treat that patient." So yama kumar treated only the patients who were going to survive. He became very famous.

One day the princess fell ill. Many doctors came from far and wide and tried to cure her, but failed. When Yama Kumar went to see her, he found his father there and realised that the princess is going to die. She is so young and beautiful." Yama replied , "I have to fulfil my duty, but for my sake you will take her after three days."

Yama Kumar made a plan to save the princess. When Yama returned, he shouted, "Mother! Father is here, you can meet him." Yama did not want to meet his wife, and on hearing this he was so scared that he ran away without taking the princess.

Yama Kumar saved the princess's life. The king was so happy that he got his daughter married to Yama Kumar.

Yudhishthira Is Crowned

The Pandavas had finally won the Mahabharata war and Yudhisthira was the rightful heir to the throne of Hastinapur now. But he felt that many people had lost their lives in the battle and he was not at peace with himself after the war and wanted to lead an ascetic life. His brothers tried to cheer him up and on Sage Vyasa's insistence and advice, Yudhishthira eventually agreed to take charge of Hastinapur.

An elaborate ceremony was arranged to crown Yudhishthira and http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...is_crowned.jpgdeclare him the new king of Hastinapur. The entire city was lit up. The palace was decorated and grand arrangements were made for the coronation ceremony. The people of the kingdom rejoiced and the sages blessed the new king. After his coronation, he went with Krishna to meet Bhishma who was lying on abed of arrows on the battlefield. His brothers also accompanied him. Bhishma blessed Yudhisthira and advised him to always follow the path of truth and justice. Finally, Bhishma passed away peacefully and Yudhishthira returned to rule over his kingdom.

Yudhisthira and the Faithful Dog

While Yudhisthira was walking towards the gates of heaven, a dog followed him. The other Pandavas, along with Draupadi, had died on the journey across the Himalayas, but the dog accompanied him throughout. Finally, Yudhisthira reached the gates of heaven. There, Indra appeared with a chariot and Yudhisthira mounted it. The dog was about to jump in too, but Indra got angry and declared that there was no place in heaven for a dog. Hearing this, Yudhisthira calmly got off the chariot and announced that he would not go to heaven unless the faithful dog was allowed to come along with him. Suddenly, the dog was transformed into Dharmaraja. He praised Yudhisthira for his wisdom and blessed him. Then Yudhisthira went to heaven.

Yudhisthira Gets Boons

Yudhisthira had answered all the questions of Yama and saved his brothers. Yama was very happy with him and promised him two boons. Yudhisthira said, "We had come here to get the igniting sticks of a Brahmin that were stuck in a stag 's horn. As my first wish please help me get those sticks." Yama replied, "That stag was no one but me in disguise. This whole incident was just to test you." Saying so. Yama returned the two sticks. Then Yudhisthira said , "We have to spend the thirteenth year of our exile in hiding. As my second boon , please grant us that we are not found out while we are in hiding." Yama granted him the boon and instructed. "All of you should go to Viratnagar. Nobody will be able to trace you there."

Yudhisthira Passes the Test

Indra took Yudhisthira to heaven in his chariot. As soon as he stepped into heaven, he was surprised to see Duryodhana there and he asked Indra how a person like him could be in heaven Yudhisthira couldn't see Draupadi and his brothers anywhere and he questioned Indra about them. Indra called a guard and asked him to take Yudhisthira to his brothers and Draupadi. The guard took Yudhisthira through a foul-smelling path strewn with the bodies of dead animals. Yudhisthira was finding it very difficult to follow the http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...s_the_test.jpgguard but did not say a word. Suddenly, he heard some cries and familiar sounds. He heard a voice saying , " I am Bhima" and another one said, "I am Abhimanyu." Yudhisthira realised that his brothers and wife were in hell. Furious to see his loved one suffering he said, "I have no right to live in heaven while my loved ones are suffering here."

Suddenly, Dharmaraja appeared and the foul smell changed to a sweet fragrance. He blessed Yudhisthira and said that he had put Yudhisthira through a test by showing him that his brothers and Draupadi were suffering in hell. Since Yudhisthira had decided to stay with them in hell., Dharmaraja had come to bless Yudhisthira in person. He continued, saying, "None of your loved ones are in hell. This is just an illusion to test you. You have always been an ideal king and it is essential for you to see the suffering people go through in hell." Yudhisthira was delighted to hear that his brothers and Draupadi were in heaven and he joined them there.

Yudhisthira Seeks Blessings

As the Kaurava and Pandava armies stood face-to-face, ready for the attack, there was sudden uproar in the Pandava army.

Everybody was surprised to see that Yudhisthira had placed all his weapons on the ground and was moving towards the Kauravas. http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fa...s_bessings.jpgArjuna and Krishna ran behind him fearing that Yudhisthira might call of the war. Yudhisthira went through the Kaurava army to the place where Bhisma was standing on his chariot. He touched Bhishma's feet and said, "We are being forced to fight against you because of the stubbornness of Duryodhana. I request your permission to fight and your blessings." Bhisma was overjoied. He permitted Yudhisthira to fight and blessed him. Then Yudhisthira went to Dronacharya, Kripacharya, and his maternal uncle Shalya for their blessings. All of them blessed Yudhisthira.

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