Tag: Newari Folktale

Long, long ago there lived four great mystics in a Newari kingdom. It was an era of intellect, brilliance, and a thirst for knowledge. Society flourished, transforming the kingdom into a beacon of enlightenment, tranquility, and prosperity. Among the citizens of the realm, these four mystics stood out as epitomes of wisdom and intellect, unrivaled in their mastery of various subjects. They could understand the past and present, and make predictions of the future. Their predictions were always unfailingly accurate, earning them profound respect even from the King.

Periodically, the wise men convened to discuss on a range of topics, including their calculations to forecast future events. Almost invariably, their discussions concluded in a consensus, upon which they promptly alerted both the citizens and the King to undertake necessary measures. Through this method, the wise men consistently succeeded in averting floods and famines within the kingdom.

On a particular summer day, the four intelligent mystics jointly forecasted an imminent peril: a giant storm approaching the kingdom. However, this tempest was unlike any other, originating from the forbidden depths of the mountain caverns, where wicked spirits resided. Its fierce winds threatened to engulf the entire realm, driving its inhabitants to madness. After the tempest’s fury waned, the madness would give way to a pervasive state of stupidity and ignorance.

They proceeded to inform the populace, instilling terror in their hearts. Recognizing that only the King held the key to resolving this calamity, they sought an audience with him.

“This is a serious dilemma,” remarked the King. “What course of action do you propose?”

“We could initiate city evacuations,” suggested one wise man.

“That’s impossible,” countered the King. “Undertaking such a massive task is beyond our means. We lack the necessary resources.”

“Your Majesty, if evacuation is not possible, then our only recourse is to excavate tunnels and shelter all citizens underground until the storm abates,” implored the wise men.

“Even if it were feasible to conceal a few individuals, we cannot possibly shelter the entire population underground,” the King reasoned.

Despite the persistent pleas of the wise men, the King remained dismissive. “Perhaps the wind will not cause significant damage,” he reassured them.

Undeterred, the wise men embarked on a campaign throughout the city and villages, urging residents to excavate shelters in the earth. However, their appeals fell on deaf ears.

In the end, the four mystics resolved to excavate shelters solely for themselves and retreat underground until the passing of the storm.

As foretold, the stirring sounds of powerful winds descended from the mountain slopes, swiftly shrouding the once-blue sky in a veil of darkness. Closer and closer approached the tempest, while the citizens stood out in the open, anticipating the storm’s passage. Meanwhile, only the four wise men remained entrenched deep within the earth’s depths.

After the wind abated in a matter of days, the four men emerged from their subterranean refuge. To their dismay, they beheld a kingdom plunged into madness. Citizens had abandoned their duties and dwellings, filling the streets with frenzied dancing. As the men traversed through streets, markets, temples, and palaces, they encountered only madness-stricken individuals lost in ecstatic dances. Amidst this chaos, only the four men remained sane and normal.

Upon arriving at the city’s central square, they were met with jeers from the populace: “Lunatics! Lunatics!”

Everywhere they journeyed, they were approached with taunts of “Crazy people! Lunatics! Mad men!” Unable to endure the relentless contempt, the four wise men made the difficult decision to depart the kingdom forever.

In the old days, there lived Jamun Gubhaji, a spiritual master, in the city of Patan. Patan was rife with merchants, consumers, artisans, and entertainers from the plains to the mountains. One day a magician from the grasslands arrived in Patan. This self-proclaimed magician bragged about his grand magic and claimed that none could stand before his miraculous powers. He stood at the center of the city gathering a large crowd of onlookers as he cut open the belly of his assistant and took out his heart and liver, and placed it upon a banana leaf on the ground. The crowd gasped in amazement. 

Jamun Gubhaju, being a great magician himself, stood among the crowd and understood the magician’s illusions. To teach this conceited magician a lesson, Gubhaju transformed himself into an eagle. Then, he pounced upon the heart and the liver that lay upon the banana leaf and flew high up in the air. 

The helpless magician looked on as the eagle soared above the clouds, clearly out of everyone’s reach. He knew that his assistant would soon die without the heart and liver. The people of Patan knew about Gubhaju’s powers and told the magician to seek him and ask for forgiveness. For a long time, the magician kept on searching for Gubhaju’s house in the labyrinthine alleyways of Patan. When he finally found the Gubhaju’s residence, he frantically knocked on the door. 

As soon as he knocked on the door, a Myna bird announced, “The swindler has arrived.” The magician, completely startled, reached inside but could not believe his eyes when he saw that Gubhaju’s wife was firing up the oven to brew alcohol, using both her feet as firewood. The awestruck magician expressed his distress to Gubhaju’s wife who then directed him to her husband could be. 

 “Go deep into the forest, and upon a grassland, you will find him grazing the goats,” she said.   

The magician went to the forest and spotted Gubhaju. From a distance, the magician saw that Gubhaju had placed his left foot upon the trunk of the tree, and with his power, the tree had bent, and the goats were happily eating the leaves. The magician approached Gubhaju and begged for forgiveness. He promised to never boast of his magic again.  Gubhaju then handed the heart and the liver over to him. The assistant was brought back to life. With his pride now reduced, the magician soon returned to his land.