According to Budjadha Darshan, the Jataka tales are representations of the thoughts, practices, values and attitudes of our ancestors. It is an amalgamation of his life stories, representations, sermons, legends and religious discourses. This renaissance reveals the importance of connecting the latest generations to the values, religion and culture of their ancestors.
The Story of Two Swans ~ Jatak Tales In English
In 'The Story of Two Swans-jatak tales', two prince brothers were separated but eventually reunited as two swans. The elder prince forgave their unjust king father and encouraged his brother to do the same, leading to the downfall of the unjust king and the establishment of a new kingdom ruled by the two brothers. The story emphasizes the importance of forgiveness and the power of familial love and brotherhood and teaches that love and compassion can conquer obstacles and bring about peace and harmony.
Manasarovar, which is now situated in China, was once world famous by the name of 'Thamanas-Sarovar' and the swans living in it were more captivating than the shade of white clouds in the blue sky. His tweets were more melodious than the nupur sounds of beautiful dancers. Two golden swans also lived among those white swans. Both the swans looked exactly alike and the size of both was also slightly bigger than the other swans. Both were equally virtuous and polite. The only difference was that one of them was a king and the other was his loyal general. The king's name was Dhritarashtra and the commander's name was Sumukh. Both the swans used to be discussed frequently among Devas, Nagas, Yakshas and Vidyadhar Lallanas.
Once, after the rainy season, when the autumn season started and the color of the sky started turning blue, then two swans of Manas were flying over Varanasi. Only then his eyes fell on the lake built by the king. The beauty of the lake and the freedom of the beautiful birds swimming in it easily attracted him. Immediately they came down and enjoyed the safety, beauty and freedom there for months. Ultimately, before the start of the rainy season, he again left for Manas. After reaching Manas, he praised the artificial lake of Varanasi among his companions so much that all the swans got ready to go to Varanasi after the rain.
King of swans Yudhishthira and his commander Sumukh did not consider this plan of other swans as appropriate. Yudhishthira did not approve of his proposal, saying that birds and animals have a tendency. They express their feelings through their screams. But the animal which is called "human" cleverly presents its expressions which are exactly the opposite of their expressions.
Nevertheless, after a few days, Hans-Raj had to bow down to the stubbornness of the swans and he left for Varanasi with all the swans of Manas after the rainy season. When the swans of Manas arrived in the lake of Varanasi and the king came to know about it, he appointed one of his nishadas to catch those two special swans.
One day, when Yudhishthira was taking a free walk on the banks of the lake, his feet fell on the net laid by Nishad. Leaving the worry of being caught, he asked his fellow-swans to leave immediately with his loud screams, so that all the swans of Manas disappeared from there within a moment. Only his loyal lookalike Senapati-Sumukh is left. Hansraj also ordered his commander to fly away but he thought it appropriate to live and die with his king with determination. When Nishad reached near those swans, he was surprised because he caught only one swan, yet the other was standing fearlessly in front of him. When Nishad asked the other swan the reason for this, he was even more surprised, because the other swan told him that his loyalty and devotion to his master was more important than his life. Nishad had a change of heart after hearing such a thing from the mouth of a bird. He was a human; But man was not faithful to religion. He had adopted the path of violence and used to live his life by suicide. Soon that Nishad freed both the swans under the influence of his awakened humanity.
Both the swans were not ordinary swans. He knew from his foresight that that Nishad would undoubtedly become a part of the king's wrath. If Nishad had spared his life, then he too had to save Nishad's life. So immediately he got on Nishad's shoulder and asked him to go to the king. When both the swans reached the royal court riding on Nishad's shoulders, all the courtiers were astonished. The swans, which the king had tried so hard to catch, themselves came to him. When the astonished king heard his story, he immediately rewarded Nishad by freeing him from the punishment. He again provided hospitality to those wise swans and kept listening to their teachings with respect in the royal court.
In this way, after accepting the hospitality of the king for a few days, both the swans returned to Manas again.
We can learn several important lessons including:
- The importance of forgiveness: The elder prince forgave their unjust father, which inspired the people of the kingdom and led to the downfall of the unjust king.
- The power of familial love and brotherhood: The two prince brothers were reunited and ruled the kingdom together, demonstrating the strength of their bond and the power of brotherly love.
- The qualities of a true leader: The elder prince's wisdom, compassion, and determination to be reunited with his brother serve as examples of the qualities of a true leader.
- The value of perseverance: Despite the challenges the elder prince faced, he never lost hope and remained determined to be reunited with his brother.
- The impact of compassion and love: The elder prince's act of forgiveness brought about peace and harmony in the kingdom.
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