In a certain town, the homes of a rich man and a poor man were next to each other. The rich man never regretted having a poor man as his neighbor. The poor man's daughter, Rukmini, had grown up. One day, the poor man asked the rich man for a loan so he could get his grown-up daughter married. But the rich man refused. That very night, a thief broke into the rich man's house. The rich man and his wife were still asleep, so the thief hid there.
The rich man and his wife were talking among themselves. "Rukmini has become marriageable in no time," the rich man said.
"Yes, girls grow up like a pile of garbage; you never know when they become mature," the rich man said.
"Now, Rukmini's father should get her married. I wonder why her parents aren't thinking about it," the rich man said.
"They're thinking about it, but they're short on money. Rukmini's father asked me for a loan today," the merchant explained.
"So did you lend him money?" the merchant's wife asked. "No, I refused, thinking he was a poor man and how could he pay it back...but I think we should give Rukmini's father some money. Consider it a Kanyadaan (giving away of the girl in marriage). It would have earned me some merit, but I can't give it to him now. To someone I refuse money once, I don't give it again." Saying this, the businessman sighed. After a while, the husband and wife fell asleep while talking.
The thief stole the bundle of money from the businessman's house and left. After leaving the businessman's house, he remembered that his wife had asked him to steal some utensils. He had forgotten about them, but now he didn't feel safe entering the businessman's house again, so he decided to steal some utensils from the poor man's house. Thinking this, he entered the poor man's house with the intention of stealing utensils. The poor man's house was also awake. How could parents sleep if their grown-up daughter remained unmarried at home?
The thief crouched down.
"...So the businessman refused the money," the poor man's wife said.
"Yes! He refused, but he's right. He's a businessman. He has to deal with money. If we don't return the money on time, his business capital will be stuck. Now he has to think about himself too." The poor man sighed as he said this.
"But you know Rukmini is 16 years old, and that saintly baba said that if she isn't married off by the time she turns 17, she will die. Rukmini has only four months left to turn 17. Otherwise, our only daughter will leave us destitute in our old age and become dear to God." The poor man's wife sobbed. "Alas, my fate! I was born into a poor family, and Rukmini was cursed with it... What should I do... Where will I find the money to give her away in marriage... It would be better if God took my life instead of Rukmini's." The poor man sighed.
The thief was listening. He thought, "I steal for my own pleasure. This poor man really needs money, otherwise his daughter will die." He understood the pain of losing a child. Two years ago, his younger son had died from a snakebite. The rich man is better than me, who at least thought of giving him money.
He stole some utensils from the kitchen and put them in the bag he had brought with him. He took a piece of coal from the stove and wrote this in the courtyard, "Money given by the rich man for Rukmini's wedding,... a thief." He left the bundle of money with him and the stolen utensils and fled, avoiding the reproach of his wife. In the morning, both houses were in turmoil. The rich man's house was devastated by the theft, and the poor man's house was devastated by the discovery of the money and the stolen utensils. For a moment, the poor man thought, why not hide the money? I will marry Rukmini off... Then he thought, what will I say if people ask? Where did the money come from... and they will suspect I stole from the rich man's house. The thief turned out to be better than me, who, after listening to my plight, left the stolen money for Rukmini's wedding. If a thief can show such kindness, can't I be honest?
The poor man took the rich man's bundle of money to his house and told him the whole story. He even brought the rich man to his house and made him read what the thief had written.
The rich man thought, "Can a thief be so good? He leaves the stolen money for this poor man's daughter's wedding, claiming it's from the rich man. So, can't I give some money for this poor man's daughter?"
He gave the poor man half of the money from the bundle and said, "Take it...this money is for Rukmini's wedding, and it needs to be returned."
Hearing this, the poor man said, "Sir, you're very good."
"Well, neither I nor you are. Well, it was the thief who arranged for Rukmini's wedding. Even though I had the money, I couldn't give it to you...and he gave me the stolen money too. I wish there were more such good thieves." Saying this, the rich man embraced the poor man.
Read more : - The Golden Chariots: A Legendary Birth Story of King Dasharatha
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