For a moment, there was a stunned silence. Then, both the zamindar and his wife stepped forward, proclaiming their willingness to take upon themselves their daughter’s ailment. But the tantrik, after staring at each one in turn, finally declared, “I’m sorry, but neither of you is fit for this experiment!”
The next moment, Arjun stepped forward to tell the tantrik that he was ready to accept the disease so that Radhika would get cured. The tantrik muttered some incantations and splashed some water on him. Lo and behold, the next moment Radhika got up from her bed, the picture of perfect health! But Arjun groaned in pain and collapsed on the ground as if he was about to die.
Before long, the priest Ramanand heard of what was happening in the next village and reached the zamindar’s house to meet Arjun. He said, “Surely Arjun could be cured by the air of the hundred-tree grove. But what a pity that I have no more seeds left! Ah, well, Arjun is as
great a philanthropist as his father. May God come to his rescue!”
As the days passed, the seeds sown by Arjun took root and grew into large trees. Arjun was taken to sit in the shade of the grove. By evening, he was fully cured of the disease!
Meanwhile, Radhika had fallen in love with the largehearted young man who had so selflessly taken her sufferings on himself to help her. Her parents, who too were impressed by Arjun’s sacrifice, fell in with her wishes and got the two married.
Concluding the story at this point, the vampire shot the following questions at King Vikram: “Parmeshwar might have got his disease cured by his philanthropy, but he lost all his wealth. As for Arjun, his selfless service caused him to reach the verge of death by a dreaded disease! So, what good did it do him? Secondly, how did Arjun get cured by the trees though there were only
99 of them? And finally, why did the tantrik say that Radhika’s parents were unfit to take the disease on themselves? Answer my questions, O King, or else your head would explode into a thousand fragments!”
King Vikram calmly replied, “Helping others is definitely a noble and desirable thing. Although initially it might be difficult to practise, ultimately it brings good results. Remember that Parmeshwar was cured of a dreaded, incurable disease only by virtue of his philanthropy! In Arjun’s case, too, although he had to undergo so many travails, eventually he was rewarded for his nobility by becoming the heir to the zamindar’s wealth. This is the answer for your second question also – obviously, the merit earned by his piety was what cured Arjun though there were only 99 trees. And lastly, Radhika’s parents volunteered to take on her disease out of selfish motives – because she was their daughter and it was, after all, their duty to look after her. But Arjun’s readiness to accept the disease speaks volumes about his totally unselfish nature!”
As soon as he had finished speaking, the vampire, along with the corpse, got off his shoulder with a jerk and flew back to the tree. With a little sigh, King Vikram squared his shoulders and retraced his steps towards the tree, his dogged determination evident in his steady gait.
