A Giant In the Town
In the dense forest of Vindhyachala lived a lone giant. He was gifted with the power to assume any form at his sweet will. But he was disgusted with life. He desired to put an end to it. But how to do it? Whenever he wished to die, he had to assume his own form. That was the law. In his own form, he was so tall that a jump from a hilltop meant hopping down from verandah. The water of the deepest river did not touch his neck. But as days passed, his disgust for life grew more and more acute. He wept and howled. But that only scared away the beasts and birds, did not solve his problem. One day he met a sage and narrated his sorrow to him. The sage said, "I can understand your disgust for life. The age of giants is over. I wonder if there would be even half a dozen giants left in all the forests and hills of the world. But, you are blessed with a long life. All I can do is to let you take birth as some other creature. Till the end of that life - which will cover the remaining span of your life as a giant - you will remember that you are a giant's soul. But that is no problem, for you won't feel so desolate and disgusted. Tell me whether you would like to be born as an elephant, or a lion, or a tiger, or a human being." "What do you suggest?" asked the giant. "Take a human birth. Human beings are the foremost of all the creatures," said the sage.
The giant said that he would like to go and live in human society for some days before taking a final decision. The sage approved of his idea. The giant took a human form and reached a town that was the capital of a kingdom. The chief guard of the town Virsingh was famous as a heroic man. One day while Virsingh was roaming about in the outskirts of the town, the giant greeted him and said, "The people speak so much about your valor! Are you really that brave?" "Brave? Haha! It is a pity that there are no giants nowadays. That is why I cannot get a chance to crush them and win the glory of another super soldier," boasted Virsingh. Instantly, to Virsingh's horror, the giant assumed his real form and commanded Virsingh to walk around him thrice with hands folded and to bow down to him. Virsingh shivered like a cat in the rain and did as commanded. "So this is what you human beings call valor!" commented the giant and he went away. Soon he reached another town. Assuming the form of a charming young man, he met a wealthy merchant.
He knew the merchant was looking for an eligible young man to marry his daughter. "I am poor, but I am of your race and I am quite educated. Will you give your daughter in marriage to me?" he asked. "Not a poor man," said the merchant. "I love my daughter so much that I will give her only to a prince," "Really?" roared the giant as he assumed his real form. "I understand that your ship is in the sea. I'm going to sink it," said the giant. "Please, giant sir, I agree to your proposal," faltered out the merchant. "Haha!" laughed the giant while leaving. "This is the extent of your love for your daughter!" He walked, looking like an ordinary man, down to another part of the town. Before a landlord's house, there was a gathering. Some singers were singing devotional songs while the landlord, his eyes closed, sat chanting the Lord's name. After the session was over and all the people dispersed, the disguised giant went closer to the landlord and said, "You have chanted the lord's praise so long. Would you mind once abusing him?"
"How dare you propose such a grotesque thing to a sincere devotee like me? can I utter a word of abuse against the Lord even for my life?" shouted the landlord. The giant assumed his original form. "If you don't abuse the Lord, I am going to throttle you!" he said bringing his fearful hands near to the landlord's throat. "I'll abuse the Lord, I'll abuse the Lord, I'm at your command!" shrieked the landlord in panic. The giant laughed. "This is the extent of human devotion!" he murmured and left the town. Straight he returned to his forest and stood before the sage. As the sage looked up affectionately, the giant said, "My master, my trip to the human localities proved quite disappointing." He then narrated his experiences at length. "So, my child, what would you like to become?" asked the sage. "Well, grant me a human life!" said the giant. "What! In spite of such experiences?" asked the sage with some surprise. "Tes, because human beings, despite their shortcomings are never tired of life. They always build new hopes, new dreams, and new expectations. As a human being, I will not feel bored with life. Besides... " The giant stopped. "What is besides, my child?" queried the sage. "It is only among the human beings that sages like you are possible," replied the giant. The sage smiled and granted his wish thinking how a few days with mankind changed the giant's thinking.
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