Long, long ago, there lived a poor Brahman who went around begging for money from rich people to get married. He got married after collecting and saving up enough money to hold a wedding. After marriage, he took his wife home.
A few months later, he told his mother that he had decided to travel to faraway lands to make more money. He got his mother’s blessings and bid adieu to his wife.
After he left, a ghost turned up at his house disguised as the poor Brahman. The new bride was surprised to see him back so soon.
‘It wasn’t an auspicious day to travel. Besides, I already have some money to support us,’ said the ghost.
The ghost soon began to lead a comfortable life with the Brahman’s unsuspecting mother and wife. Everyone in the village believed the ghost to be the poor Brahman.
Years passed by. One fine day, the Brahman returned home. He was taken aback to see his lookalike in his house. The ghost asked the Brahman who he was and what he was doing there. The shocked Brahman replied that it was his house and he lived there with his mother and wife. The ghost threatened the Brahman, chasing him away.
The Brahman went to the king’s court and sought his help to get his home, mother, and wife back. The king had no idea how to resolve this bizarre situation, so he asked the Brahman to come back the following day. Every day, the Brahman appeared in the king’s court and went back empty-handed.
Every day, while walking to the palace and on his way back home, the Brahman would see cows grazing on the meadow. The cowboys would gather under a tree and play the game of king and his courtiers. They all took the roles of the king, his prime minister, the police, and so on. For several days, they saw the Brahman go back home wailing and weeping.
The cowboy acting as the king ordered his constables to bring the Brahman to his court. The Brahman told the herd-king his story. After patiently listening to him, he asked the Brahman to seek their actual king’s permission to find a solution to his problem.
After getting the go-ahead from the real king, the herd-king made both the Brahman and the ghost appear for trial. The herd-king brought a phial with a narrow neck. After listening to both of them, the herd-king pronounced his verdict.
‘Whoever enters the phial will be the rightful owner of the house,’ declared the herd-king.
‘How can a human enter a phial?’ asked the Brahman, puzzled.
The herd-king turned to the ghost and asked him to give it a try. The ghost instantly transformed into an insect and entered the phial. The herd-king made the most of this opportunity to seal the phial with a cork. He then asked the Brahman to dump the phial at sea, which he did. The Brahman spent the rest of his life happily in his house with his mother and wife.
Kalai is passionate about reading and reinterpreting folk tales from all over the country. Write to her at kalai.muse@gmail.com to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from The Project Gutenberg.