| Sages,Rushis & Saints |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
NACHIKETA |
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| Why did
father act like this? One afternoon was set apart to give the cows as gift. The priests prevailed upon Vajashravas to send word to bring the cows. Vajashravas complied with it in no time. He rushed the aftenders to fetch the cows from the pen. Hundreds of cows were gathered in the pandal. A few of the cows among the herd were famished. They were too weak even to drink water. A few others had lost their teeth. Certain others were so old that their end could come at any time. The number of cows, which had gone dry, was not small. Nachiketa was aghast at the scene. He was puzzled by his father's action. "What does he mean by all this T' he said to himself. "What happened to all the useful cows? What does my father gain by gifting such useless cows? Or probably finding it difficult to maintain, is he simply transferring the liability? This is no, less than committing a sin. It is actually cheating. He intends to gain heaven by performing the sacrifice. But he will go to Hell instead through such actions." Nachiketa shuddered at the very thought of Hell. He could not contain his grief. "No, father should never be made to go to Hell. I must help him ' to avoid this. But how to explain all this to father now? He will certainly become angry. How to proceed?" mused Nachiketa. |
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