English
A long time ago, there was a king named Habachandra and his advisor, Gabachandra. Both of them were not very smart. The king was known for being foolish, and his advisor was no better. They were a perfect match because they both made silly decisions. When the king needed advice on tough issues, Gabachandra would give such silly suggestions that only the king, who didn't have much sense, would follow them. Everyone in the country laughed at them. The king and his advisor made a lot of mistakes, and sometimes these mistakes hurt their people. It was hard to find fairness in King Habachandra's court. Usually, the people who did wrong got away with it, and the innocent ones suffered. In the king's city, it was hard to tell what was right or wrong. Everything cost the same, no matter what it was. One day, a wise man and his student visited the king's city. The wise man was thin, and his student was a bit chubby. They liked how the city looked and decided to stay for a while. They settled under a big tree, and the wise man sent his student to buy some sugarcandy and parched rice from the market. But the student came back with only sugarcandy. He told his teacher that in this city, everything cost the same, so he bought sugarcandy for both of them instead of the rice. The student was so happy and wished he could live in this city forever because of this. When the wise man found out, he was shocked. He told his student that they should leave immediately. He explained that it wasn't right for sugarcandy and parched rice to cost the same, because sugarcandy is usually delicious and expensive, while parched rice is plain and cheap. He believed that a place where there's no difference in the value of such different things can't be just. He mentioned an old saying that wise people should leave a place where valuable and ordinary things are treated the same. So, he urged his student to leave with him to avoid any danger. But the student, who loved good food and was happy with how things seemed in the city, didn't want to leave. He was excited about getting tasty and usually expensive food for almost nothing. He decided to stay in this city, which felt like paradise to him, so he could enjoy all the great food for a cheap price. The wise man tried many times to convince his student to leave, but the student wouldn't listen. He preferred to stay in the city than to follow his teacher. The wise man was upset that his student didn't listen to him, but before he left, he told his student to remember him if he ever got into trouble. Some time after this, a thief was trying to break into a house by making a hole in the mud wall. Unfortunately, the wall collapsed on him, and he died. The police of King Habachandra's city found a burglar dead under a collapsed mud wall the next morning. He had a tool for breaking into houses, which showed he was trying to rob a house when the wall fell on him. The king heard about this and quickly had the homeowner arrested.
The homeowner was brought to the king, who was sitting on a golden throne with his Prime Minister on a silver seat next to him. The king asked the homeowner why he built a wall so weak that it fell and killed a burglar. The homeowner, surprised by the question, said it wasn't his fault but the builder's, as he had paid for a good wall and didn't ask for it to be weak for burglars. King Habachandra said the homeowner wasn't to blame for the burglar's death and let him go. But he told the homeowner to point out the builder to the chief police officer. The homeowner was relieved and left quickly, thankful for escaping punishment. Soon after, the builder who made the wall was brought in. The king was angry and asked why the builder shouldn't be blamed for the burglar's death since the wall he built had collapsed. The worker who built the wall was really scared when he had to talk to the king. He said it wasn't his fault because he had tried his best to build a strong wall. He explained that the person who mixed the clay didn't do a good job. The clay was still full of holes and didn't stick together well. Hearing this, the king said the worker shouldn't be punished for someone else's mistake. He let the worker go, but asked him to tell the police who the person was who mixed the clay. Next, the police brought in the person who mixed the clay to the king's court. The king angrily asked him why he shouldn't be punished for the burglar's death, saying it was his fault for not mixing the clay well. The clay mixer was surprised to be blamed, but he calmly explained that he did his job well. He said the real problem was with the water containers, called kalsis, which were used to mix the clay. They weren't made well by the potter, and some water leaked out. This made the clay not as good as it should have been. He said it was the potter's fault, not his. The king then understood and said the clay mixer wasn't to blame. He let him go but told him to show the police who the potter was. The clay mixer bowed to the king and went with the police chief to find the potter. Soon, the police chief brought the potter to the king. The king was very angry and asked why the potter shouldn't be punished for the burglar's death, saying it was his fault. The potter was really scared and confused about why he was being blamed for the burglar's death. He respectfully told the king that he was ready to accept any punishment, but he wanted to know why he was being blamed. King Habachandra told the potter that the water containers (kalsis) he made weren't baked well, so they leaked water. Because of this, the clay for the wall wasn't mixed properly, and the wall fell on the burglar. The king said if the potter had baked the kalsis better, this wouldn't have happened. The potter replied that he always tried to do his job well, but the real problem was with the fuel he used to bake the kalsis. He explained that he bought bad fuel from a seller, and if he had better fuel, the kalsis would have been made properly, and the accident wouldn't have occurred.Hearing this, the king decided not to punish the potter and asked him to show the police who sold him the bad fuel. He believed that the seller of the bad fuel was the real reason the burglar died. The potter was allowed to leave without being hurt, but he had to help the police find the person who sold him the fuel. Not long after, the man who sold the fuel was brought to the king. King Habachandra was really angry and asked the fuel seller why he shouldn't be put to death for causing the burglar's death. The fuel seller was shocked and confused. He didn't understand how he could be blamed for a burglar's death, so he asked the king to explain.The king angrily said that the fuel seller was the main cause of the problem. He explained that because the seller gave bad fuel to the potter, the potter's water containers weren't baked properly and leaked. This caused the clay for the mud wall to be mixed poorly. So, when the burglar tried to break through the wall, it collapsed and killed him. The king believed it was all because of the fuel seller's bad fuel. The fuel seller was really scared and tried to defend himself, but the king wouldn't listen. King Habachandra was convinced that the burglar died because of the fuel seller's dishonesty. He told the fuel seller that if he had given better fuel to the potter, the burglar would still be alive. The king refused to hear any more excuses and decided that the fuel seller should be punished by death. He ordered the executioner to take the fuel seller away and carry out the punishment immediately. The fuel seller, who was in big trouble because of the king's decision, was taken away to a place called Dakshin-mashan. This place, usually found at the southern end of a city, was where people were executed a long time ago. People in those days believed the south was where Yama, the god of death, lived, so they used the south side for executions. The way they executed people back then was really harsh. They used a long iron rod with a sharp point, called a Sul, which was stuck upright in the ground. The person being punished had to sit on the sharp point, and because of their body weight, they would slowly slide down the rod. The rod would go through their body and come out of the top of their head. This was a very painful and slow way to die, and it was also scary for anyone watching. After the person died, their body was left there. So, the fuel seller, who was being punished because the king thought he caused the burglar's death, was taken to the execution place. But, because he was really skinny and light, the sharp point of the Sul didn't go through him. Everyone watching found this strange and didn't know what to make of it. The executioners were surprised and embarrassed because they couldn't do their job. One of them left the execution place to go and tell the king about what happened. The king, not expecting this, was really confused and didn't know what to do next and decided to ask his Prime Minister, Gabachandra, for advice. Gabachandra thought about it for a while and then came up with an idea. He suggested that if the skinny fuel seller couldn't be executed on the sharp iron rod, they should find a heavier person to take his place. The king thought this was a great solution and was very happy with his minister's idea. He then told the executioner to find a fat person to replace the thin fuel seller. Meanwhile, the student who had decided to stay in King Habachandra's city to enjoy the cheap food had become quite overweight. As he was walking by the execution site, the executioners noticed him because of his size. They quickly grabbed him, thinking he would be perfect for the execution. They let the skinny fuel seller go and started getting ready to put the student on the sharp rod. News about this strange switch spread quickly, and people were surprised by the king and his minister's decisions. The student, now close to being executed, realized too late that he had made a big mistake by staying in the city. He regretted not listening to his teacher, who had warned him about the dangers of a place where sugarcandy and parched rice were sold for the same price. He felt really sorry and remembered his teacher's advice as he faced his unfortunate situation. The wise teacher of the student who was about to be executed happened to be visiting the city to check on his student. When he arrived, he was upset to learn that his disobedient student was in big trouble. He rushed to the execution site just as the executioners were preparing to put the student on the sharp iron rod. The teacher shouted for them to stop, saying that the student didn't deserve to die and that he himself wanted to be executed on the rod.Everyone at the execution site was surprised by the teacher's words, especially because they couldn't disrespect or ignore him for fear of being cursed. The executioners quickly went to tell King Habachandra about this new development. The king and his Prime Minister, Gabachandra, came to the execution site. The king asked the teacher why he wanted to die for someone else, which seemed very odd to him. The teacher explained that he believed the iron rod had a special power to send whoever died on it directly to heaven. He said he had learned this through meditation and wanted to take this chance to go to heaven. Then the Prime Minister, Gabachandra, also asked to be executed on the rod, hoping to go to heaven. But King Habachandra thought about it and decided that he wanted to be the one to go to heaven. He believed the rod would send him straight to paradise, so he had himself placed on it. After the king was executed, the teacher left the city with his student. The student now fully realized the wisdom in his teacher's warning about the dangers of a place where sugarcandy and parched rice were sold for the same price. He understood that such a place could lead to foolish decisions and dangerous situations.