The Divine Pool

The kingdom of Dharanipur
was ruled by King Karunisa.
Once he defeated an enemy king
in battle and was returning to
his kingdom. On the way, as
the army was crossing a patch
of desert, the king felt thirsty.
So his soldiers fanned out in
all directions to search for water.

Soon in their search, they
came across a valley in which
they saw a rocky well brimming
with clear water. When they
drank the water, it tasted sweet
and fine. So the king quenched
his thirst and the army pre-
pared to move out. But a
hermit came to the spring, and
said to the king, " Oh King!
This water is divine. Once for
miles around everything was



arid. Then it rained. A
sparrow that flew overhead un-
able to bear the heat of the sun
came down and pierced the
earth with its beak. Then an
eagle scopped up the earth. At
once this spring came up.
Then all the animals of the
desert and the nearby forest
came here to drink water. This
spring is the life line for all
God's creatures here."

Having said this, the hermit
went his way. .

The king thought there must
be a perennial spring under
ground. He determined to
build a tank there and earn
fame for himself.

So work began and after
some months a lovely tank was



built. Close by he built a'
choultry for tired travellers.
On an auspicious day the tank
was named Dharaniswar tank.

But when people came to
draw water, they found that the
water tasted sour and brackish.
Soon it became unfit for human
consumption and people used it
only to wash themselves. Even
the hermit who had used it
formerly now ceased to come
there. The king became un-
happy when he heard this and
ordered his soldiers to find the
hermit and bring him to the
palace.

After a long search fhe hermit
was found and escorted to the
king's presence.

The herm't asked, "Oh!
King! Why have you brought
me here?"

The king said, " Holy sir, I
understand that you no longer



use the pool 1 have built. You
no longer drink water from
there. What can be the
reason?"

The hermit replied, " Oh
King! Let me tell you then.
The waters of the pool are no
longer divine. The dumb crea-
tures of God made that pool
with their own efforts. They
did not expect any reward for
their work. But you built a
wall round the pool and wanted
to add to your fame. The
animals in the forest could no
longer quench their thirst.
Hence the pool lost its sanc-
tity. Its waters turned sour at
your selfishness."

The king felt ashamed to
hear his guilt pointed out to
him in this fashion. So he
demolished the wall, and the
pool became once more, a
natural spring fit for. God's
creatures.