Reading Notes: Sacred Tales of India, Part B

Image information: Lotus flower, Image credit: Unsplash

In the story “Goddess Who Devoured Elephants” from the book Sacred Tales of India written by D.N. Neogi, the author begins the story of a rich merchant, Ratnakar Sadhu, married to two wives, Lahana and Khullana. However, Lahana being the younger one, was loved and adored more than Khullana, in which she used it as an advantage to banish Khullana from her home.
One day, curious as she heard the sounds of cymbals and conchshells, Khullana followed the sounds to a nearby village that lead to a pujah, in which they told her that they were worshipping the goddess Mangal-Chandi and she could do anything for her worshippers. Hearing the stories of what the goddess has done for her worshippers, Khullana wanted nothing more than to worship her. However, she was extremely poor. With that being said, she gave the goddess everything that she had as an offering. Nevertheless, after a few days, she saw her husband before her and sling for her to home return.
Years went on and Khullana gave birth to a son named Sadanand, in which she loved very much. Unfortunately, her husband was unable to share her joy for he left on a trading expedition when he was first born. As the boy grew up, he always wondered who his father was. One day, while the kids were talking about their fathers, Sadanand ran home frustrated because he did not know who his father was.
Fruthermore, the story goes back into how his father was thrown prison by the king after trying to make a profit of what he had seen by the river side. Moreover, remembering bout the goddess that his mother had worshipped, Sadanand sought her out for her help. Nonetheless, as the king was walking by the river, he saw what the merchant had told him, a beautiful woman sitting on a lotus holding two elephants in each of her hands. With that being said, that same day, the son was finally able to meet his father.
I thought this story was extremely heart-felt. The son, growing up fatherless, did what he did to find his father and meet him. With that being said, I didn’t like how the author began the story with Khullana kicked out of her own home by the second wife. In my version of the story, I would change it so that she wouldn’t have to live a lonely life. I thought that she didn’t deserve that in the story.

Bibliography:
“Goddess Who Devoured Elephants” by D. N. Neogi. Website: Freebookapalooza