+Famous Moral Stories: The Miserly Merchant & The Story of Garuda and Sheshnaag.

Famous Moral Stories in English. Indian mythological moral stories for kids. indian mythology curse and boon stories. English moral stories for kids. 

The Miserly Merchant

There was a miserly merchant who had a servant named Shambhu. Shambhu was very generous by nature. He would donate a large portion of his salary to the poor and needy. The merchant would always tell him, "Hey fool! Save some money for yourself." But Shambhu would brush it off.

One day, out of frustration, the merchant gave Shambhu a stick and said, "When you find someone more foolish than yourself, give this stick to them." After that, the merchant often asked Shambhu, "Did you find anyone more foolish than yourself?" Shambhu would humbly reply, "No."

Sometime later, the merchant fell seriously ill, and his end seemed near. He told Shambhu, "I won't survive. In a few days, I will embark on the final journey." Innocent Shambhu said, "Master! Take me with you." The master lovingly scolded him, "You fool! No one accompanies you on that journey."

To this, Shambhu said, "Fine, don't take anyone. But at least take your money, horses, and carriages for comfort." The merchant, irritated, replied, "You fool! You can't take even a needle with you. You have to go empty-handed." Then Shambhu said, "Master, in that case, you should keep this stick yourself. After all, who could be a bigger fool than you? You spent your entire life earning and saving, but you neither donated nor did any good deeds. What was the point of hoarding so much if nothing will go with you?"

The Story of Garuda and Sheshnaag.

A symbolic story from the ancient texts beautifully explains the difference between pride and dignity. Garuda and Sheshnaag are considered so powerful that they can lift the heaviest of burdens. Once, Garuda became arrogant. He had lifted a massive mountain from Indra’s Nandanvan, which had potent medicinal herbs, to heal a fellow bird who had been badly injured. After the bird recovered, Garuda returned to the mountain and met Indra. In conversation, Garuda began boasting about his strength in front of Indra, saying, "I am the son of Vinata, daughter of Daksha, and the great sage Kashyapa. I have defeated many demons, including Shrutashri, Shrutasen, Vivaswan, Rochanmukh, Prasthut, and Kalakaksha. I carry Lord Vishnu himself."

After boasting, Garuda returned to Vaikuntha, where he met Vishnu, who had learned of Garuda’s prideful words. Vishnu decided to teach him a lesson. As soon as Garuda came near, Vishnu placed his left hand on Garuda, saying his hand was hurting. The moment Vishnu placed his hand on Garuda, he felt the weight of countless mountains and worlds fall on him. His back nearly broke, and he could barely hold back his scream. 

Garuda asked, "What happened to your hand today, Lord?" Vishnu replied, "There’s nothing wrong with my hand, Garuda. It’s your mind that’s been infected with pride, which is why you’ve started boasting. You know well that when I ride on you, I carry my own weight. When you lifted that mountain, I had taken its weight off because you were acting out of selflessness. But now, with the heavy burden of pride on your shoulders, how will you bear anyone else's burden?"

Garuda was deeply embarrassed. Vishnu had never spoken to him so directly before. He realized that all the glory of success fades away when pride overtakes it.

(M.M. Devarshi Shri Kalanathji Shastri)