अमरफल

Summary

A king in the ancient kingdom of Avadh had three learned and wise sons. To test them, he asked what punishment a betrayer of trust should receive. The eldest two sons advocated for immediate execution. The youngest son agreed that death was the proper punishment, but insisted that guilt must be proven completely before sentencing, as an innocent person could otherwise be killed. To illustrate, he told a story. In the kingdom of Vidarbha, a king had a clever pet parrot named Himshuk, who could speak many languages and often advised the king. The parrot lived freely and one day visited his parents in the forest. After fifteen days, his father brought him a magical immortality fruit from a distant hill as a gift for the king. Returning at night, Himshuk hid the fruit in a hollow tree trunk, which was a venomous snake's home. The snake bit the fruit, leaving its poison on it. The next morning, the parrot delivered the fruit to the king. The king, overjoyed, decided to eat the fruit in court. His minister advised testing it on an animal first. A crow died instantly after eating a piece. The minister declared the fruit poisonous and accused Himshuk of attempted murder. The king, in a rage, immediately killed the parrot. He ordered the fruit buried outside the city. From it grew a tree with beautiful golden fruits, which the king declared poisonous and had guarded. An old, poor couple, tired of their miserable life, decided to eat the fruits to die. They stole two fruits, ate them, and lay down to die. Instead, they woke up the next morning healthy and young. The king, seeing this, realized the fruit was truly the immortality fruit and that he had killed his innocent parrot in haste. The youngest prince concluded his story, emphasizing the need for certainty before punishment. The king, pleased with his wisdom, made him his heir.