The story which I am going to tell you is a story within a story. Generally, when we read history or mythology, we find the writings dull and uninteresting but we forget that all present literature in one way or the other is indebted to the past writings. I have tried to rewrite historical and mythological accounts in fictional style with another story to support.

It was the month of June and the sun seemed to be pouring fire. In our village most of the schools remain closed during the months of June and July because the summertime heat is almost unbearable. The parched land cries for rain and the villagers look for shade under the oak or bunyan trees which are found in plenty in and around our village.

The year was 1972 and I was studying in High School in a town nearby. We would often swim in the river which flowed along our village and the summertime was the best time for the kids, swimming, chasing butterflies, climbing trees, and sometimes visiting the old man who lived in a small hut outside the village. People said that the old man was a professor but he had gone mad and started living in that village. For us the old man was a treasure trove of stories.

One day we heard that the old man was about to die. All the kids from the neighboring houses started running towards the hut of that old man. I was also with them. When we reached there , we saw that the old man was lying in a make shift cot under a big tree and the elders of the village were sitting beside the cot.

When the old man saw us, he tried to smile. He called us with a gesture of his right hand. We came near and sat on the ground beside the old man’s cot. As before he started telling a story. The story is as follows:

King Suddodana ruled the kingdom of Kapilavastu, located in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. One night his pregnant wife, Queen Mahamaya, dreamt of a white elephant with six tusks entering her body. When she woke up, she told the king about her dream. The king consulted the wise men, and they predicted that the child would either be a great king or would renounce the world to become a holy man.

The child was born and was named “Siddhartha” which means every wish fulfilled. Siddhartha was the only heir to the throne and, king Suddodana did not want him to renounce the world. He decided to keep the prince within the walls of the palace so that he would not be exposed to any holy man who may influence him. Unfortunately, Qeeen Mahamaya died soon after childbirth. Siddharata was then raised by his aunt with great love and care.