The Feather Light Princess

Once upon a time there lived a king who earned fame for his brevity and skills as a warrior. His only vice was his fondness for hunting. Hundreds of innocent animals were killed during his hunting expeditions. The poor animals did not know how to save themselves from the sharp arrows of the king. All they could do was pray to God for protection.

One afternoon the king and his companions were returning through the forest after a hunting expedition. Everybody was tired and eager to return home and take rest. Suddenly they saw a huge Rakshasa (ogre) standing in front of their way. Most of the men were terrified at the sight of the ferocious Rakshasa, but the king was brave enough to face him.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked the king.

"I am Kalasura," boomed the Rakshasa. "I am hungry. Hence I have come to devour you and your men."

"But you cannot do that without defeating me," said the king lifting his bow.

"I'm impressed by your courage," said Kalasura. "But you cannot defeat me as I am protected by Lord Brahma's boon. No ordinary weapon can harm me."

The king aimed his sharpest shafts at Kalasura but none of them could even make a scratch on his body. Exhausted, the king folded his palms and said, "You cannot be an ordinary Rakshasa. Are you a celestial god in disguise? Please enlighten me about your real identity."

"O king," said the Rakshasa. "You please me with your brevity and courage. Hence I shall give you a chance to save either your own life or the lives of your men. The choice is left on you."

"The lives of my subjects are far more important than my own life," replied the king. "Tell me how can I save them?"

"You are a good king and you care for your subjects," said Kalasura. "I will tell you what you should do to save their lives. Follow the road that leads to the north. After many miles you will come across a big river named Narayani. Cross the river and travel for some more miles in the north till you reach the kingdom of Libra. In that kingdom lives the Feather Light Princess. Bring her to me and I'll let your men free. And if you're quick enough I may set you too free as well. Hence don't waste time and hurry. Your men will safely remain with me until you return."

The king took leave of his men and mounted his horse. He travelled till it became too dark for him to see the road. He spent the night under a banyan tree beside a lake. In the morning as he went to the lake to wash his face, he saw a small ant in the water, struggling hard to survive. The king felt pity for the helpless ant and gently threw a banyan leaf towards it. The ant slowly climbed up on the leaf and tried to dry itself. The king brought the leaf towards the shore with the help of a stick and thus saved the ant from getting drowned. Before departing the ant bowed at the king and said, "Thank you for saving my life. If you ever need my service just utter, 'Pipilika, I need you,' thrice and I'll be there before you."

The king resumed his journey again. After travelling for the whole day he reached near the river Narayani. It was evening and the king decided to spend the night under a tree again. He left his horse to graze in the field and lay down tiredly on the soft grass. In his doze he heard someone talking above. Actually there were two voices conversing among themselves.

Male voice: "We are indeed unlucky. Otherwise why our son should be born blind?"

Female voice: "But the holy hermit said that he can get back his eyesight if a person belonging to a royal family cuts his finger and allows a few drops of blood fall on his eyes."

Male voice: "Yes, that's what he said. But shall we ever get such a big-hearted person? We have travelled to so many places but did we find a single royal person who has agreed to donate his blood to our poor son?"

Female voice: "You're right. We're indeed unlucky."

The king could not contain his curiosity any longer.

"Who's talking up there?" asked he. "I'm a king and I think I can help you."

Two huge birds flew down from the tree and introduced themselves as Byangoma and Byangomi. They were extremely happy when the king agreed to donate his blood to bring back their son's eyesight.

True to the holy hermit's words, the baby bird's eyesight was restored when the king cut his thumb and let a few drops of blood fall on his eyes. The ecstatic parents thanked the king for his big-hearted gesture. Before leaving Byangoma said,

"Should you ever need my service just call my name thrice and I'll be there to help you."

The following morning, upon reaching the Narayani river, the king looked for a boatman to ferry him and his horse across the river. But he was disappointed to find no one. A very old man, it seemed, was also waiting for the boatman. When the king asked him about the timing of the ferry service he said, "There is no ferry service in this river. Swimming is the only way to cross it. I am too old and weak to swim. Would you be kind enough to carry me on your back and help me to cross the river? If you do so then I'll reward you with ten gold coins."

Out of benevolence the king agreed to carry the old man across the river. Being a king he was not allured by the reward of the gold coins.

The man was quite light weight when the king picked him on his shoulders. But, as the depth of the river increased, so did the weight of the man. By the time the king reached mid-river, the old man's weight increased at least three-fold making it difficult for the king to swim. Once the king felt he was drowning and was tempted to throw the heavy old man off his shoulders. But he controlled himself and felt ashamed of having such thoughts. He tried hard and managed to reach the other side of the river. Surprisingly, the old man's weight reduced again as the king swam towards the shore. He got off the king's shoulders and appreciated him for the successful completion of his difficult deed.

"Many greedy men have tried to carry me across the river without success. Notwithstanding my weight they threw me off their back in the middle of the river and I turned them into stone statues for their treachery. But you did not do so and passed the test successfully. Hence I'll reward you with a hundred gold coins."

The king disclosed his identity and politely refused to accept the reward.

"I only wanted to help an old man in distress," said he. "I suggest that you distribute the gold coins among the poor children of your locality."

The king's reply impressed the old man.

"My name is Madhusudan," said the man. "If you ever face danger call me thrice and I I'll help you get over it."

The king had to travel for another day before he reached the kingdom of Libra. He did not know anyone in that kingdom and that posed a problem for him. He was wandering in the market when his eyes fell on a small crowd around a couple of women. An elderly woman, whom everyone addressed as Malini Mausi, was shouting at a young maiden carrying a big basket of flowers.

"Are those all you could collect?" yelled Malini Mausi. "How many garlands can be made from those handful of flowers? It seems I'll lose my job in the palace just for your negligence."

The young woman tried to give some excuses but her feeble voice was lost under the torrent of words uttered by Malini Mausi. From her words the king collected that the old woman maintained her livelihood by supplying flowers and garlands in the palace. She lived all alone in a small hut near the royal palace. She had no one in this world except a nephew who was lost in a fair decades ago.

The king had seen and heard enough. He left his horse at the care of a paid stable and then walked over to the market. He bought ordinary clothes suitable for a commoner and spent the night in an inn.

The following morning the king dressed up like a commoner and went to meet Malini Mausi. He introduced himself as her lost nephew Ramesh and showered her with many small gifts. The king's sweet words and handsome looks easily convinced the lonely old woman and she welcomed her 'nephew' with open arms. She was even happier when 'Ramesh' said that he would be staying with her for some time.

Soon Ramesh became quite popular in the neighborhood. He helped Malini Mausi in her work and chatted with her in the evenings. Very cleverly he learnt a lot about the Feather Light Princess. Mausi said that the princess was very beautiful and was as light as a feather. She had never seen a man in her life apart from her father. A hermit once said that her weight would increase if she saw any other man before her wedding. Hence the king of Libra kept her hidden from the world of men. Only women had the allowance to enter her palace. The princess was also very fond of flowers. Everyday Malini Mausi made special garlands for her but it was very difficult to please her.

One day Malini Mausi caught cold and developed a fever. She was too weak to make garlands for the princess. Ramesh gave her some herbal medicine and asked her to sleep. Then he made garlands for the princess. In the afternoon Malini Mausi felt better and decided to go to the palace to deliver the garlands to the princess.

The princess was extremely impressed to see the garlands that day.

"Who made these garlands Mausi?" she asked.

"My nephew Ramesh," replied Malini Mausi. "I had fever. So he helped me today."

"Tell him that I like these very much," said the princess.

From that day the princess often asked Malini Mausi to request Ramesh to make her garlands. This continued for a few months. Then suddenly one day Ramesh announced that he would be leaving after three days. He sent a letter to the princess through Malini Mausi requesting her to meet him once before he left. The princess thought for a while and agreed.

That evening Ramesh dressed up as a woman and accompanied Malini Mausi to the princess' chamber. But before meeting her he removed his disguise. He was the second man the princess met and his handsome appearance made a great impact on her. Ramesh was also mesmerized by her beauty. On that evening they mostly looked at each other and talked very little. Unknown to anyone, the weight of the princess increased a little after this meeting.

They met again on the following evening, this time at the request of the princess. They talked a lot and the princess' weight increased a bit more. This continued for a week and soon the change in her weight caught the attention of the queen. She reported this to the king and upon measurement it was seen that the princess' weight had almost doubled in the past few days. The king suspected foul play and decided to keep watch on her. That evening Ramesh got caught when he came to meet the princess in the guise of a woman.

Ramesh revealed that he was a king and wanted to marry the princess. The king of Libra said that he would get his daughter married to the king or prince who would be able to pass the three tests set up by him. No one had been able to pass these tests so far. Ramesh, or the king, accepted the challenge.

The king's first test was on the following night. He was asked to enter a dark room where a mixture of rice and pulses was heaped on the floor.

"You have to separate the rice from the pulses within this night," said the king of Libra. "This will be your first test."

Then he left, leaving the king alone inside the dark room.

The king thought a lot and then remembered his friend, the ant he had saved.

"Pipilika, I need you," he uttered thrice and the ant appeared in front of him. The king told him about the test and asked for his help. Pipilika called his friends and hundreds of ants appeared in no time at all.

"Don't worry and go to sleep," said Pipilika, "we'll complete your work before morning."

Next morning when the king awoke, he saw that the rice and pulses were separated in two neat heaps on the floor. There was no trace of a single ant. The king silently thanked Pipilika and waited for the king of Libra who appeared soon after.

"You have done an impossible job," exclaimed the king of Libra. "Well done. Tonight you shall have your second test."

That night the king was brought in front of a huge fire. A large wok full of boiling oil was set upon it.

"You have to swim in that boiling oil and come out of it unscathed," said the king of Libra. "That will be your second test."

The king remembered the old man Madhusudan whom he had helped to cross the river Narayani.

"Madhusudan, I need you," said he thrice and the old man appeared out of nowhere. He touched the king with his stick and said, "Go, jump into the oil and swim. Nothing will happen to you."

The king maintained his faith in Madhusudan and jumped into the wok. Surprisingly nothing happened to him as he swam in the boiling oil and he came out unscathed.

"Unbelievable!" cried the king of Libra. "I have never seen anything like this before. Anyway, congratulations! You have qualified for the third and final test which will commence tomorrow night. If you can pass it my daughter will become your wife."

The king spent the night in Malini Mausi's hut and returned to the palace on the following evening.

"Fifty miles from this palace there is an old temple of Devi Durga," said the king of Libra. "You have to go there, worship the goddess and seek her blessings. Then you should return with her blessed sindoor (vermillion), apply it on my daughter's hair and make her your wife. But remember, you have to do all this within this night, before sunrise."

The king remembered his friend, the Byangoma bird, and called him thrice. He appeared within minutes. The king told him about his mission and asked for his help. Byangoma speedily carried him to the Durga temple. The king worshipped Goddess Durga and asked for her blessings. Then he returned to the kingdom of Libra just before sunrise and applied the blessed sindoor on the princess' hair.

Thus the king passed all the tests and married the Feather Light Princess.

Two weeks after the wedding ceremony the king returned to the forest where Kalasura was waiting for him. To his great surprise the Rakshasa was turned into a handsome man the moment he saw the princess. He thanked the king and said,

"I am the Forest God who turned into a Rakshasa due to a hermit's curse. He said that the sight of the Feather Light Princess would relieve me of my curse. Today you and your queen helped me to get rid of my curse. You are a good king who care for his subjects. I request you to nurture the same feelings for the helpless animals who are also your subjects. May God bless you."

The Forest God vanished and the king returned to his kingdom with his queen and men. He realised his mistake and banned hunting of animals in his kingdom.