Sai Jangchu Dorji and ashi Dunglidolma traveled for many days.
They crossed many valleys and climbed many mountains. One day they reached a big herd of cattle. Ashi Dunglidolma said, “I wonder whose cattle these are. Would it not be pleasant if we were the owners?”
“Perhaps it would,” came the languid reply.
Then he said that he would go to the herders’ camp to beg for some food. When he came back he brought hot and delicious food, saying how kind the herders were.
For the next few days they passed through fields of barley, wheat, and mustard and large herds of horses, sheep, and goats. Each time sai Jangchu Dorji would bring his wife good food from the kind herders. In fact all the animals belonged to him and his herders naturally gave the best to their prince. One day they reached a beautiful big dzong situated in a broad valley beside a silvery river that meandered through the entire valley. It was exquisitely beautiful. Ashi Dunglidolma thought, “This palace is even more grand than my father’s and the place more beautiful.”
Sai Jangchu Dorji as usual went into the dzong to beg for some food and ashi Dunglidolma waited outside the gate. As she waited for her husband she began talking to a man who said he was the sweeper of the palace. When she asked him who owned the dzong, the sweeper was surprised. “Don’t you know? This is sai Jangchu Dorji’s palace.”
Then ashi Dunglidolma asked, “Is sai Jangchu Dorji in his palace?”
“Did you not see him?” retorted the sweeper, even more surprised. “He just went into the dzong dressed as a beggar.”
Before ashi Dunglidolma could say anything more sai Jangchu Dorji came out of the gates and welcomed her to his palace. Then he explained to her that he had had to put her through the test because he wanted to be very sure that they were indeed destined to be king and queen. He added, “I wanted a queen who is kind and humble and you are truly the right queen for me.”
What followed in the next few days were lavish feasts and celebrations to commemorate the marriage of sai Jangchu Dorji to ashi Dunglidolma. Soon the news of the wedding was heard far and wide. When ashi Sarlidolma and ashi Yulidolma heard about it they came to extend their good wishes to the newly wed royal couple while their father, filled with remorse and shame, came to beg forgiveness for his ill treatment of them. Sai Jangchu Dorji and ashi Dunglidolma not only forgave him but showered him with precious gifts.
The Princess with Three Breasts
After an emotional and tearful parting the princess and her husbands crossed many valleys and climbed many mountains.
Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. there were a king and a queen who were getting old and they worried a great deal because they had no children. Their agony suddenly came to an end one day when, way past her childbearing days, the queen rejoiced on realizing that she was pregnant with their first child. The birth of the daughter was celebrated with feasts and festivals throughout the kingdom. But when the royal astrologer was summoned to come and make the princess’s horoscope a sudden uneasiness fell upon the kingdom as he gloomily warned the royal couple, “The princess has three breasts and the significance of this is very bad for the country. It is said in the books that the day such a freak appears there will be deaths, famines and other catastrophes. We must get rid of the princess.”
“There must be some remedy,” exclaimed the king and queen in disbelief. How could fate be so cruel? They had had to wait so long for a child and when the child finally came along they had to get rid of her. They were grief stricken.
Time passed quickly and the princess grew into a beautiful girl.
But there was no way of remedying the significance of the third breast. Every day the king’s ministers and especially the royal astrologer reminded him about the ill omen of the third breast. The king would sit and think of ways to save his daughter from being killed. Then suddenly he had a plan. He issued a royal proclamation which said that anyone who would marry his daughter and leave the country would get half his wealth. Nobody dared to come forward and days passed. Then one day two men stood at the palace gate. “We will marry the princess,” they announced.
What a blow it was for the royal parents to see their daughter’s suitors, for one of them was blind and he was being led by a hunchback! The king knew that this was his last chance to save his daughter so he agreed to let her go. He gave them jewels, gold, silver, cattle, and grains and told them to go as far away as possible from the kingdom.
After an emotional and tearful parting the princess and her husbands crossed many valleys and climbed many mountains before they finally settled down in a valley. They lived together for many days and were quite happy. Both the men were very fond of their wife. But it so happened that the hunchback grew jealous of the princess’s affections for the blind man and he contrived to get rid of him. One day he brought some meat and said, “Here’s some meat I got for you. Fry it and eat it.”
The blind man gratefully accepted the gift and right away set to fry it. But being blind he accidentally dropped some water in the pan in which the meat was already sizzling in the hot oil. The oil sputtered into to his face. The pain was agonizing, as it stung and burned. He covered his face and ran for water. After splashing water repeatedly on his face the stinging and the burning subsided but his eyes hurt and tears ran out of them uncontrollably. Eventually when he felt sure that his eyes would fall out a strange thing happened. The pain gradually subsided and he saw light, then objects became recognizable. He saw the stove, the fire, the pots and pans. He could see! What was this magic that had cured him? He looked into the frying pan and was appalled, for the meat in front of him was from a poisonous snake, he recognized it for he had seen snakes before he became sightless after a long illness. The friend had not even bothered to skin it, for a blind man would never see it. The meat which was to poison him had cured him. How strangely fate worked!
Gradually bitter resentment and anger swelled in his heart as he realized that his friend had intended to kill him. What should he do now? Before he could think further he heard the hunchback and the princess coming into the house. Impulsively he hid behind the door, thinking, “What should I do?” The next moment he sprang out, caught the princess and picked her up and threw her at the hunchback, shouting, “You two wanted to kill me, but you see I don’t die so easily!”
The princess crashed against the hunchback and both fell to the floor. They rose slowly from the ground in total shock staring at the blind man, who now looked at them boldly. In silence they stood together and faced each other for they realized that great miraculous changes had taken place in them. The impact of the princess’s body crushing against the hunchback had straightened his body while the same impact had burst her third breast. They stood there staring at each other perplexed and confused, feeling and studying their own bodies for a long time. Eventually they realized, as if waking from a long dream, that they were each free of their handicaps.
It was the strange and incomprehensible twist of fate that they had been born to suffer their own agonies and then had been brought together through unusual circumstances to help each other to find freedom from the physical bond ages which had so far ruled their lives.
The Adventures of the Poor Boy
For the drum was a molam gang tab nga or a wish-granting drum.
Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. there was a boy who had neither parents nor a home. So he was free to travel and seek out adventures as he pleased. A life of travel and adventure had made him alert and prudent. Armed only with his wits and discernment the poor boy would walk from village to village and he always found enough food to eat and a warm shelter wherever he went.
One day while he was crossing a huge open field he saw two young men who were engaged in an intense tug of war over a piece of cloth. As he drew nearer to them he recognized the object of their contention to be not a simple piece of cloth but a ragged cap. Rather amused, he asked them why they were fighting over an old worthless cap. They explained, “This is no ordinary cap. It is
the dipshing moguli. The wearer of this cap can become invisible.”
The boy immediately wanted to have the cap and he had an idea. He said, “Listen here, I can help you. As neither of you trusts the other I will hold the cap and stand here. You two go down to the end of the field and when I count three you race back to me. Whoever gets here first shall keep the cap.”
The men thought that this was a good idea and willingly agreed. As soon as their backs were turned the poor boy put on the cap and disappeared with it.
With this wondrous object now in his possession he did not have to plan how he would get every meal as he used to do in the past. Whenever he grew hungry or thirsty he simply put on his cap and helped himself to the food and drink of his choice.
The carefree life became even more appealing and he continued to travel widely throughout the mountain ranges and the abundant valleys of Bhutan. During one of his travels he chanced to come upon two old men who were pushing and shoving each other violently. But both of them clutched the sides of a wooden bowl. The bowl was old and worn out, the sey or lacquer polish was all but completely gone, and the bare wood showed through. The poor boy watched them and thought, “I wonder what is so special about the old bowl. But if two grown up people can fight so intensely over it must be worth something.” He went over to them and asked them why they were fighting over an old bowl. They told him that this was no ordinary old bowl. It was a zsa shong dem shong bowl and it could produce any kind of food any time the owner asked for it. The poor boy again suggested that he hold the bowl while they go to a distance and run back to him and he would then give it back to the person who reached him first. The men thought that this was a good idea and agreed immediately for they were both tired of fighting the tedious battle. But the moment he got the bowl he put it into his gho and put on the dibshing moguli and became invisible. In the same way he also acquired a nga or a large drum used during religious rites and rituals that he could ride on. For the drum was a molam gang tab nga or a wish-granting drum. With these three very precious things the poor boy traveled effortlessly, ate well, and had everything that he desired. Now his life was easy and the challenge that motivated his rovings was gone and he decided to settle down to the conventions of a normal life, at least for a while.
He married a poor girl and lived with her in her house. He did not tell her about the three precious objects he had but he provided her with everything that she required for them to live comfortably. After some years he became restless and decided to go and meditate. He chose a small cave in a cluster of white rocks in a lake, which was far away from all settlements. The only way to get to the cave was by crossing the lake. The poor boy blindfolded the girl eyes and made her ride on the drum with him across the lake.
The couple lived and meditated in the cave for many days. But now the girl grew suspicious and wondered how her husband could produce food without lighting a fire and travel without having to walk. She cajoled and coaxed him to tell her about his magical powers. He trusted her fully now and told her about the drum and the bowl but he did not tell her about the cap. Years passed by and the girl became intensely lonely and she missed her parents very much and longed to see them. So she decided to run away. She stole the drum and the bowl and flew across the lake. The poor boy was bitterly angry but also totally helpless when he found out that she had not only run away but also stolen his possessions! There was no food for him and he was very hungry and could no longer meditate for his stomach growled and his head felt dizzy for want of food. He went in search of food but he could find nothing for the rocks were bare and devoid of any vegetation.
Then one day as he sat in his cave some food crumbs fell from above him. He picked up the food and ate it. On investigation, he found out that there was a nest of garudas at the top of his cave and the food he got was what had dropped while the mother fed the chicks. The garuda mother would fly across the lake and bring food to her chicks. Now he was completely dependent upon the garudas. One day he saw a vicious snake that had crawled up the rocks and begun to attack the chicks. Although garudas are actually supposed to kill snakes the helpless young chicks were no match for their adversary. The poor boy quickly put on his cap, became invisible, and killed the snake. On finding out how the meditator had saved the chicks the father and mother garuda were grateful to him and asked him what they could do for him. This was his only chance so he said, “I wish to be taken across the lake to the other side.” The garuda couple joined their powerful wings together and carried him across the lake.
He did not go to his wife’s house right away. He wanted some time to think. So he wandered around as he used to do in the earlier days until one day he saw a most intriguing sight. He was sitting near a solitary tsamkhang or hermitage when he saw a tsampa or meditator come out of the hut. The tsampa went towards a gigantic cypress tree. Around the tree there were some flowering plants. The tsampa plucked a yellow flower and caressed his body with it. Instantly he was transformed into a monkey who climbed up the trees and fed on the fruits and nuts. The boy was completely awestruck and watched patiently and attentively. After the monkey had eaten enough he came back to the tree and plucked a white flower with which he caressed his body. The monkey was transformed into the tsampa and went into the hut to resume his meditation. The boy went to the tree and plucked one yellow flower and one white flower and headed towards his wife’s home with a smile on his face for now he had a way to punish her for her dishonesty.
Once near her house he put on his magical cap and waited for her to come. Just as she was stepping over the threshold of her house he touched her upper body with the flower and watched her change into a monkey. The mother and father screamed in shock and dread and fell into a state of panic on seeing their daughter who was now half-human and half-monkey. The poor boy took off his cap and walked into the house, pretending that he was unaware of anything. As he was dressed like a gomchen they immediately begged him, “We are so glad you have come, Lopon Gomchen. Please do some divinations. Something terrible has happened to our daughter.”
Feigning concern and sympathy, he solemnly held his prayer beads to his forehead and proceeded to do some divinations and said, “All this has happened because you have things that do not belong to you. You have some stolen goods in the house. Is this true?”
“It’s true, true,” they confessed and hastened to bring out the bowl and the drum. They asked him to give them to the meditator who lived on the white rocks. He agreed to do so. Then the girl was brought in and he rubbed the white flower on her and she was instantly transformed to her original self. Before the girl could regain herself completely and recognize her husband, the holy gomchen had already turned his back and was leaving the house with the three precious objects.
Mekhay Doma
But she was soon confronted by a big surly leopard who roared, “Whay, Bomed, I am going to eat you.”
Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. there was a young girl called Mekhay Doma who had to carry food provisions to her parents who were meditating far away in the mountains. Their tsamkhang or hermitage was a long way from home but the girl did not mind the journey. Her parents were aged and could no longer work on their little farm so they had decided to spend the rest of their lives in prayer and meditation. Every month she would prepare a huge load of flour, butter, tea, and vegetables. Bent almost double under this heavy load she would struggle up the mountainside, for this was just one way of fulfilling her dinlam or repaying her parents for what they had done for her. The forest on the mountain was full of wild animals. Some of the animals had watched this girl with interest for several months now. One day they positioned themselves along her usual path and waited for her.
As she trudged up the mountainside carrying her heavy load she first met a wild boar who greeted her, then grunted and said, “Whay, Bomed, I am going to eat you.”
“No, no, not now. Look at me. My skin is stuck to my bones. I am thin and full of sinews. When I come back from my parents I’ll be f
at and tasty. Then you can eat me,” pleaded Mekhay Doma.
The boar grunted once more, looked at her skeptically and then agreed, “Ya, ya.”
So Mekhay Doma walked on until she met a monkey who came by, chattering and screeching wildly in front of her. “Whay, Bomed, I want to eat you,” he said as he hung upside down from a branch, all the time scratching himself.
Once again the girl replied, “No, no, not yet. Look at me. My skin is stuck to my bones. I am thin and full of sinews. You can eat me when I come back from my parents. At that time I’ll be fat and tasty.”
The monkey too agreed and swung through the trees screeching and chattering as he went.
Then Mekhay Doma walked on quickly, hoping that this was the last animal she would meet before she reached her parents’ tsamkhang. But she was soon confronted by a big surly leopard who roared, “Whay, Bomed, I am going to eat you.”
“No, no, not yet. Look at me. My skin is stuck to my bones. Eat me when I come back from my parents. I’ll be fat and tasty by then,” pleaded Mekhay Doma.
The leopard walked past her. Then he cocked his head to one side, “I’ll be waiting for you,” he reminded her.
Mekhay Doma finally reached her parents and gave the food provisions to them. They were happy to see her but soon they realized that she was very forlorn and cheerless and refused to eat any food at all. The mother was anxious and asked her, “Something is worrying you. Tell me. Maybe I can help you.”
Folktales of Bhutan Page 7