The foolish sage is another story from the infamous Panchatantra tales. The story starts with a sage who goes by the name of Deva Sharma. The sage lived in a temple on the edges of the village. The sage was respected and several people visited him every day to receive his blessings.
The people who visited the sage would also bring gifts to him. They would offer money, food, gifts, and also garments for the sage to wear. The sage would sell the gifts that he was offered and not make use of them. He would sell the gifts and make a lot of money. The sage trusted no one and kept all the money in a bag.
The sage would carry the bags all the time because he trusted no one. One day, a fraudster saw the sage who was always carrying the bag. The fraudster thought that the bag contained lots of money and he planned to steal the bag from the sage.
To steal the bag, the fraudster decided that to get the bag, he had to win the trust of the sage. So he approached the sage by using his sweet words. He planned to make the sage accept him as his disciple and get close to him to steal the bag. The fraudster thought that after he had gained the trust of the sage, it would be easy to steal the bag of the sage.
Then after a few days, the fraudster came to meet the sage. He fell on the feet of the sage and pleaded with him. Then he grew tired of his life and wanted peace, so he planned to find a way to achieve it. He asked the sage to guide him along the right path and he pleaded with the sage to accept him as his disciple. He told the sage that he would do anything the sage asked him to do.
The sage was pleased with the fraudster’s words and he accepted him as his disciple. The sage said that he would meditate at night and that he wanted to spend some time alone. He instructed his disciples to sleep in a hut which was at the gate of the monastery.
The fraudster would help the sage in all his daily activities and help him massage his hands and legs. The sage was pleased with his disciple. Days after, the fraudster saw that the sage never left the bag. This frustrated the fraudster as days passed and he didn’t get his hands on the bag.
The fraudster thought of killing the sage and at the same moment, a little boy entered the temple. The little boy wanted to invite the sage for a thread ceremony. The little boy happened to be the son of the saint’s followers. The sage then accepted the invitation of the little boy and the sage started heading to the village along with his disciple.
On their way to the village, both the sage and the fraudster disciple came across a river. The sage thought of doing all his daily chores and then wrapped his bag in a shawl and tied a rope to the bag. The sage then asked the fraudster to take good care of the bag until he had returned from the river.
As soon as the sage left for the bushes, the fraudster took off with the bag. After the sage returned, he couldn’t find the bag and the fraudster. This shocked the sage and he was anxious. The sage searched everywhere for the disciple and the bag and couldn’t find either of them. The sage, with great disappointment and empty-handed, returned to his temple the next morning.
Moral Lesson From The Foolish Sage
The moral lesson of this story teaches us to be careful of whom we trust. Even though the sage was wise, however, he made a very foolish decision by trusting someone who only wanted something from him. The sage had only known the fraudster for only a short while and yet he trusted him blindly. Someone swindled the sage, resulting in his loss of all the money he had earned from selling the gifts people offered him.
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