A king had two queens, the favored Suorani and the neglected Duorani. Suorani, the favorite, would find the smallest fault to pick a fight, dividing the household and pushing her co-wife aside. Duorani’s days passed in sorrow.
Suorani had no children. Duorani had two sons, named Sheeth (Winter) and Boshonto (Spring). But for Duorani, her sons were a source of constant worry. As princes of the realm, they spent their days enduring the scorn of their stepmother.
One day, while bathing at the river ghat, Suorani called out to Duorani, “Come, let me wash your hair with cleansing paste.”
As she worked the paste into her hair, Suorani secretly pressed a magic pill onto Duorani’s head. Instantly, the poor queen transformed into a parrot and, crying “Tee, tee,” flew away.
Returning to the palace, Suorani announced, “Duorani has drowned in the river!”
The king believed her.
With the queen gone, the palace lost its light and fell into darkness. For the motherless Sheeth and Boshonto, there was no end to their sorrow.
Transformed into a parrot, the sad queen flew and flew until she reached another king’s realm. The king saw the beautiful golden parrot. His lovely young daughter said, “Father, I want the golden parrot.”
And so Duorani, the parrot, lived in a golden cage with the princess.
Days turned into years, and Suorani gave birth to three sons. But what sons they were! Each was as frail as a bamboo leaf, so fragile a puff of wind could blow them away, and a single touch might break them. Suorani’s laments flooded the kingdom. She raised her three stick-thin sons with a heart smoldering in rage.
Her own heart was full of venom, her belly full of envy. On her own sons’ plates, she would serve the richest creams and eight-course meals, with five kinds of savory dishes dripping with ghee. But for Sheeth and Boshonto, she would dump unsalted, dry, coarse rice and a pile of ash on top of plain boiled greens before walking away. Her co-wife was gone, yet her co-wife’s sons were healthy and robust, while her own three were like brittle sticks! The envy was so great that the queen could not enjoy her food, nor could she find sleep at night. The queen gathered dust from a crossroads, burned twigs from a three-cornered junction, and mixed them with ash from a cold hearth, placing it all on a broken winnowing fan and setting it afloat in the name of her stepsons, but it was all for naught.
Finally, one day, Sheeth and Boshonto were at their lessons; they knew nothing of the happenings at home. The moment they returned, their stepmother, a vision of fury, hurled insults at them and chased them away. Then the queen took her own three bamboo-leaf sons and threw them to the ground, smashing things in a frenzy. She tore at her own hair and flung off her jewelry. The maids and servants ran to the king with the news.
Trembling in fear of Suorani, the king arrived and asked, “What is this?”
The queen screamed, “What! It was my co-wife’s sons who insulted me! I will not bathe until I have bathed in the blood of Sheeth and Boshonto!”
The king immediately summoned the executioner and commanded, “Cut down Sheeth and Boshonto, and bring their blood to the queen.”
Who was there to see the tears of Sheeth and Boshonto? The executioner bound them and led them away.
In the heart of a forest, the executioner removed the princes’ royal garments and dressed them in the bark of trees.
Sheeth said, “Brother, this was our destiny.” Boshonto asked, “Dada (elder brother), where will we go?”
After all this time, Sheeth said through his tears, “Brother, let’s go. We will find our mother.”
Putting down his sword, the executioner unbound the two princes and said with tear-filled eyes, “My princes! It is the king’s order, what can I do? I helped raise you both, and now I must touch this sword to your golden bodies? I cannot do it, my princes. Whatever my fate may be, so be it. Put on these bark clothes and walk this forest path, and no one will recognize you as princes.”
With that, he showed Sheeth and Boshonto the path, killed two wild dogs, and brought their blood to the queen.
The queen bathed in that blood. Then, laughing maniacally, she sat down to a grand feast with her three sons in her lap.
The two brothers, Sheeth and Boshonto, walked and walked, but the forest never seemed to end. Finally, they sat down under a tree.
Boshonto said, “Dada, I am so thirsty. Where can I find water?” Sheeth replied, “Brother, we have come so far, but I have not seen water anywhere. You wait here, I will go look for some.”
Boshonto waited while Sheeth went to find water. After walking a long way, Sheeth discovered a lake in the middle of the forest. He worried about how thirsty Boshonto must be, but he had nothing to carry the water in. So he took off the bark shawl from his shoulders and stepped into the lake to soak it.
The king of that country had recently died. He had no son, no heir, and the royal throne was empty. The people of the kingdom had placed the ceremonial throne on the back of a white royal elephant and set it free. The elephant would roam, and whoever’s forehead it marked with the rajtika (the mark of a king) would be brought back on the throne to become the new ruler of the kingdom.
The white royal elephant, carrying the throne on its back, had wandered the earth but had not found a worthy forehead. Finally, it galloped into the same forest where Sheeth and Boshonto were. There, it saw a prince soaking his shawl in the lake to carry water. On the prince’s forehead was the rajtika. Seeing this, the white royal elephant immediately extended its trunk, lifted Sheeth, and placed him on the throne.
“Brother Boshonto! Brother Boshonto!” Sheeth cried out again and again.
But the elephant paid no heed. Crashing through the forest and jungle, the mighty elephant carried Sheeth away on its back.
His brother went to get water and did not return. Boshonto got up and searched the entire forest, calling out “Dada, Dada,” until he was hoarse. Boshonto did not know that an elephant had taken his brother away; he cried and cried until he was exhausted.
Finally, the day passed, evening fell, and night came. Tormented by thirst and hunger, and heartbroken at having lost his brother, Boshonto lay down on the dusty ground under a tree and fell asleep. The treasured jewel of a grieving mother lay tossing in the dust and ashes.
Early the next morning, a sage, a Muni, came to the lake to collect water for his morning rituals. He saw a supremely beautiful prince lying on the dusty ground beneath a tree. The Muni gently lifted Boshonto in his arms and carried him away.
On the back of the white royal elephant, Sheeth arrived at the kingless kingdom. As he arrived, all the people of the kingdom came and touched their heads to the ground. The ministers, courtiers, and soldiers all came and bowed their heads, then led him to the royal throne and made Sheeth their king.
His beloved brother Boshonto was somewhere, and Sheeth was somewhere else. The two jewels of a sorrowful mother were plucked from the stem and fell in two different places.
Becoming a king, Sheeth began to rule with wealth, jewels, elephants, horses, and soldiers. One day he would defeat a king and take his kingdom, the next he would conquer another. Some days he would go hunting, other days on expeditions of conquest; this is how his days passed.
Meanwhile, Boshonto lived with the Muni. He would wander the forest gathering firewood for the sage. He ate fruits from the trees and drank water from the lake. Then Boshonto would decorate the Muni’s hut with forest flowers and spend the day drinking their nectar. Later, as evening approached and the birds of the forest returned to their nests, he would sit beside the Muni and listen to him speak of scriptures and mantras. This is how his days passed.
Sheeth on his royal throne with his kingdom, and Boshonto in the forest with his woods; as days and moments passed, neither remained in the other’s memory.
Within three nights, Suorani’s sins caused the king’s throne to tremble. Before long, the king lost his kingdom and his throne. Having lost everything, the king could no longer bear to look at Suorani’s face; he left for a life of exile in the forest.
Suorani’s punishment was severe. With her three sons, dressed in rags, she went from door to door, only to be shooed away with cries of “Go away! Go away!” With her three children, Suorani wandered the streets, her path washed with tears.
Wandering, Suorani reached the shore of the sea. In the blink of an eye, a wave from the seven seas came and swept her three sons away. Suorani’s cries split the sky. Beating her chest and forehead, mad with grief and sorrow, Suorani struck her head against a stone and ended all her suffering. Not a single ant cried for Suorani, not a single blade of grass moved. The waters of the seven seas receded for seven days’ journey. Where was Suorani, where were her three sons? Nothing remained.
That golden parrot—and that king’s daughter! It was time for the princess’s Swayamvar, a ceremony to choose her own husband. From many lands, countless princes arrived with vast riches and treasures. They sat in a great assembly, but the princess had yet to make her appearance.
The beautiful princess, in her own chamber, was parting her hair, applying alta and kohl. She called to her golden parrot and asked, “My golden parrot, tell me, what else do I need?”
The parrot replied, “You would be well-adorned, oh princess, if you had golden anklets to wear!”
The princess opened a box, took out a pair of golden anklets, and put them on. The anklets chimed musically on her feet.
The princess said, “My golden parrot, tell me, what else do I need?” The parrot replied, “You would be well-adorned, oh princess, if you had a peacock-feather sari to wear!”
The princess brought out a chest and put on a sari woven with peacock feathers. The color of the sari lit up the room, its beauty as captivating as the princess herself.
With a solemn face, the parrot said, “Princess, princess, what is this pride for; when you don’t wear a hundred-stringed diamond necklace around your neck!”
The princess put on a hundred-stringed diamond necklace. The hundred diamonds on the hundred strings sparkled brilliantly.
The parrot said, “A hundred strings are but ashes! A flower for your nose, an earring for your ear, you need the jewel for your hair parting!”
The princess wore a pearl nose stud and adorned her hair parting with a gem-studded ornament.
Then the princess’s parrot said, “Princess Rupavati, your name was given by your mother. The Gajmoti would make your beauty whole. What kind of groom has come who hasn’t brought the Gajmoti? Princess Rupavati’s Swayamvar is but ashes!”
Hearing this, the beautiful princess tore off her jewelry, her anklets, her peacock sari, her earrings, and fell to the ground, weeping. What Swayamvar, what ceremony!
Word went out to the assembled princes that the Princess Rupavati would not hold her Swayamvar. The princess had made a vow: whichever prince could bring her the Gajmoti—a mythical pearl from an elephant’s head—would win her hand. If they failed, they would have to remain as her servants.
All the princes set out in search of the Gajmoti. Countless elephants from many kingdoms were brought, and many elephants’ heads were cut, but the Gajmoti is not found in just any elephant. The Gajmoti was not found.
The princes heard that there was an elephant by the seashore with a Gajmoti in its head. All the princes went together to the seashore. No sooner had they arrived than a herd of elephants appeared, killing many princes and maiming many others. Can a mere human retrieve the Gajmoti? The princes fled.
Having returned, what could the princes do? They remained as servants to the beautiful princess.
The news reached King Sheeth’s ears. He declared, “What! The princess has so much audacity, keeping princes as her servants? Seize the princess’s kingdom.”
The princess became a captive in King Sheeth’s hands.
Days pass. Boshonto remains in the Muni’s forest. News of the world does not reach Boshonto, and the world does not receive news of him.
In the Muni’s leaf hut live a male and a female parrot, Shuk and Sari.
One day, Shuk says, “Sari, Sari! It’s so cold!” Sari replies, “Pull your shawl tighter!” Shuk says, “The shawl is torn, the cold is far away, where, oh Sari, is the riverbank?” Sari answers, “The milk-white Dhaval mountain stands on the shore of the Milky Ocean—from there, the crimson light of the Gajmoti showers down. Beneath that light, on lotus leaves, the milky water plays, and thousands of golden lotuses are in bloom.” Shuk exclaims, “That golden lotus, that Gajmoti! Who will bring it back, who will win the beautiful princess!”
Hearing this, Boshonto said, “Shuk and Sari, my dear uncle and aunt, what are you saying? I will bring the Gajmoti and the golden lotus.” Shuk and Sari said, “Oh, dear child, can you do it?” Boshonto replied, “Why wouldn’t I be able to?” Shuk said, “Then go to the Muni and ask for his trident!” Sari said, “There are clothes and a crown in the Shimul tree, take those with you.”
Boshonto went to the Muni and said, “Father, I am going to bring the Gajmoti and the golden lotus. Please give me your trident.”
The Muni gave him the trident.
Bowing at the Muni’s feet, Boshonto took the trident and went to the Shimul tree. There he saw that the tree held clothes and a royal crown.
Boshonto said, “Oh tree, if you are a true tree, then give me your clothes and your royal crown.”
The tree gave Boshonto the clothes and the royal crown. Boshonto shed his bark garments and put on the new clothes; he placed the royal crown on his head. Then, Boshonto set off towards the Milky Ocean.
Walking and walking and walking, Boshonto crossed many mountains and forests, many lands near and far, and after twelve years and thirteen days, he reached the milk-white Dhaval mountain. The peak of the Dhaval mountain was thick with creamed milk, and streams of milk flowed down its sides. Boshonto climbed the mountain.
Climbing to the top, he saw the Milky Ocean below the Dhaval mountain.
The waves of the Milky Ocean swell and surge— A hundred thousand lotus flowers bloom in rows. Amidst the waves and golden lotuses, what is there? On the head of a milk-white elephant—the Gajmoti!
Boshonto saw that amidst the lotus flowers, a milk-white elephant was playfully spraying milky water. On its head was the Gajmoti. Like gold, like a jewel, like a diamond, the brilliant light of the Gajmoti cascaded down. The light of the Gajmoti created a festival of a thousand moons in the Milky Ocean, and golden rays played on every leaf in the lotus forest. Seeing this, Boshonto stood there, amazed.
Then, tightening his clothes and gripping the trident firmly in his hand, Boshonto leaped from the top of the Dhaval mountain and landed on the Gajmoti.
Instantly, the Milky Ocean dried up, and the lotus forest withered. The milk-white elephant turned into a golden lotus and asked, “Prince of which country, where is your home?”
Boshonto replied, “I live in the forest, I am the son of a Muni.” The lotus said, “Place the Gajmoti on your head, and the golden lotus on your chest. May the beautiful princess live happily in her home!”
Boshonto picked up the golden lotus and placed it on his chest, then he took the Gajmoti and placed it on his head. With that, Boshonto started walking across the sands of the now-dry Milky Ocean towards his own country.
Suddenly, from beneath the sands of the Milky Ocean, voices called out, “Brother, brother! Take us with you.”
Boshonto dug into the sand with his trident and saw three golden fish! Taking the three golden fish, Boshonto continued on his way.
Wherever Boshonto went, the light of the Gajmoti illuminated the land. People would say, “Look, look, a god is passing by!” Boshonto walked on.
King Sheeth had gone out hunting. After searching all the forests in his kingdom, he couldn’t find even a single deer. Sheeth handed his horse over to his soldiers and sat down under a tree.
The moment he sat under the tree, a shiver ran down his spine. Sheeth realized this was the very same tree! It was under this tree that the two exiled brothers had rested after being spared by the executioner. It was here that his brother Boshonto had asked for water, and Sheeth had gone to fetch it. Everything came back to him. Tossing aside his royal crown, flinging away his sword, Sheeth began to cry out “Brother Boshonto! Brother Boshonto!” rolling in the dust.
The soldiers were astonished. They brought a palanquin and carried the king back to the kingdom.
Illuminating the land with the light of the Gajmoti, Boshonto arrived in the kingdom of the beautiful princess. The people of the kingdom ran out, shouting, “Look, look, who has come!”
Boshonto said, “I am Boshonto, and I have brought the Gajmoti.” The people of the kingdom cried, “A king named Sheeth has imprisoned our princess.”
Hearing this, Boshonto went to King Sheeth’s kingdom. He sent the three golden fish to the king with a message: “Let the order be given to open the gates to the beautiful princess’s kingdom!”
Everyone said, “A god has brought the Gajmoti. But our king is mad with grief for his brother; the gates will not open for seven days and seven nights.”
Trident in hand, the Gajmoti on his head, Boshonto sat before the gates, illuminating them, for seven days and seven nights.
On the eighth day, the king was feeling a little better. A maidservant sat down to gut the golden fish.
Suddenly, the fish said, “Ash on our scales, ash in our eyes, don’t cut us, dear aunt, the king is our brother!”
The maidservant, terrified, dropped her knife and ran to give the news to the king.
“The king is our brother?” the king exclaimed. “Where, where is the golden fish!? Where is the man who brought them?”
The king took the golden fish and ran stumbling to where Boshonto was waiting.
Seeing him, Boshonto said, “Dada!” Sheeth cried, “Brother!”
The golden fish fell from his hands. Sheeth threw his arms around Boshonto’s neck and began to weep. Tears flowed freely from the eyes of the two brothers.
Sheeth said, “Brother, because of our stepmother, we were separated for so long.”
The three golden fish transformed into three princes. They bowed at the feet of Sheeth and Boshonto and said, “Dada, we are the unfortunate sons of Suorani. For our sakes, please forget our mother’s crimes.”
Sheeth and Boshonto embraced their three half-brothers and said, “What is this, brother, you had become like this! How is our stepmother, how is Father?” The three brothers replied, “What can we say of that—Father is in exile, and Mother has died. We three brothers were turned into golden fish at the bottom of the Milky Ocean.”
Hearing this, the hearts of Sheeth and Boshonto broke. Weeping, the five brothers went to the palace together.
The princess’s golden parrot paced in its cage, repeating over and over, “The treasure of a sad soul, a jewel dredged from the seven seas, has been brought back!”
The princess said, “What has happened, what has happened, my golden parrot?” The parrot replied, “My precious one has come, my dear, bringing the Gajmoti!”
And it was true; a maidservant came with the news that King Sheeth’s brother, the prince, had brought the Gajmoti. Hearing this, the beautiful princess laughed and kissed the parrot’s beak.
The princess said, “Servant, oh servant, bring milk from the Kapila cow, and grind fresh turmeric; I will bathe my golden parrot!”
The servants brought the milk and turmeric. The princess sat down with a golden and silver perch and a fine linen towel to bathe the parrot. As she bathed it with turmeric, her finger brushed against the parrot’s head, and the magic pill fell off.
Instantly, the room filled with light. The parrot’s form vanished, and Duorani became herself again.
Having become human again, Duorani embraced the princess and said, “My dear child, Rupavati! It is because of you that I have regained my life.” Startled, the princess buried her head in the queen’s lap.
The princess said, “Mother, I am so frightened. Are you a fairy or a goddess, to have stayed with me all this time as a parrot?” The queen replied, “Princess, Sheeth is my son, and Boshonto, the one who brought the Gajmoti, is also my son.”
Hearing this, the princess lowered her head.
The next day, the beautiful princess sent a message to King Sheeth: “Open the gates. I will go and welcome the one who has brought the Gajmoti.”
The king opened the gates.
With music and fanfare, the beautiful princess’s grand palanquin arrived at King Sheeth’s kingdom. Drums sounded at King Sheeth’s royal gate, and banners flew over the palace. The beautiful princess accepted Boshonto as her husband.
Sheeth said, “Brother, I have found you again. What will I do with a kingdom? I give this kingdom to you.”
Dressed in royal attire, with the Gajmoti placed on a golden plate, Boshonto, Sheeth, and the others sat in the royal court. The princess’s palanquin arrived. The palanquin was adorned with colorful drawings and covered with a screen of peacock feathers. When the screen was opened, everyone saw a celestial goddess sitting inside, holding the beautiful princess in her lap.
The magnificent court fell silent.
Tears welled in the celestial goddess’s eyes. She kissed the princess, and with tears streaming down her face, the goddess called out, “Where are you? My Sheeth and Boshonto, where are you?”
Leaving the royal throne, Sheeth stood up and saw—it was his mother! Boshonto stood up and saw—it was his mother! Suorani’s sons saw—this was their Duorani-ma (stepmother)! They all ran stumbling towards her.
Then, on one side, everyone in the royal court wiped away their tears, while on the other, music filled the entire palace.
Sheeth and Boshonto said, “Oh, if only Father were here at this time, and if only Suorani-ma were here!”
Suorani-ma was dead; she would not come back. But hearing everything, the king returned from his exile and embraced Sheeth and Boshonto.
Then the king’s kingdom was returned to him, all the kingdoms became one, and the Gajmoti shone brilliantly around the princess’s neck, lighting up the palace. The sorrows of the long-suffering Duorani were over. The king, Duorani, Sheeth, Boshonto, Suorani’s three sons, and the beautiful princess all lived their days in happiness.