In the Molasses Belt is a city called Sugarcane City. In it lived two friends, a weaver and a carpenter. Since they were past masters in their respective crafts, they had earned enough money by their labours so that they kept no account of receipt and expenditure. They worked nine hours a day. After that they dress like kings and diffused odours of camphor, aloes, and musk and met peoples of the city and enjoy the time. And so the time passed.

One day there was a great festival. The entire population, wearing the finest ornaments that each could afford were enjoying the festival. The weaver and the carpenter, like the rest, put on their best things, and wandered everywhere. And they saw the princess seated at the window of a stucco palace. The Princess was very beautiful like Apsaras.

And the weaver, on seeing her beauty, fell in love with her at first sight. He went to bed with burning sighs and could not sleep. On the next day, the carpenter, came as usual to the weaver’s house and found the weaver lamenting and weeping.

Finding him in this condition, carpenter asked the reason. But the poor weaver, though questioned repeatedly, kept quiet. Then the doctors were summoned. After testing the doctor said,”Friend! if my diagnosis is correct, your condition is not the result of fever, but of love.”

Then the weaver sat up in bed and related his whole experience from the moment he saw the princess. And the carpenter, after some reflection, said: “The king belongs to the warrior caste, while you are a business man. Have you no reverence for the holy law?”

But the weaver is persistent on marrying the princes.

At last the carpenter said: “I will invent something such that you will enjoy with her the delights of love without loss of time.”

Then the weaver, hope reviving at his friend’s promise, rose and returned to seemly living. And the next day the carpenter came bringing a brand-new mechanical bird, like Garuda, the bird of Vishnu. It was made of wood, was gaily painted in many colours, and had an ingenious arrangement of plugs.

“Friend!,” he said to the weaver, “when you mount the bird and insert a plug, it goes wherever you wish and stops where you pull out the plug. It is yours. This very night, when people are asleep, disguise yourself as Vishnu, mount this Garuda bird, go to the maidens’ balcony of the palace, and make whatever arrangements you like with the princess. I have ascertained that the princess sleeps alone on the palace balcony.”

When the carpenter had gone, the weaver spent the rest of the day in a hundred fond imaginings. He disguised himself as God Vishnu. He adorned himself with a diadem and other jewellery. And when the night came clear, he followed the carpenter’s instructions.

Meanwhile, the princess lay in her bed alone on the palace balcony. She gazed at the moon, her mind idly dallying with the thought of love. All at once she saw the weaver, disguised as Vishnu and mounted on his heavenly bird. At sight of him she asked him the reasons of his visit to earth. For that Weaver in Vihnu’s clothes said that he wants to marry her and only for that he came to earth. Princess believed it and he married her by the ceremony used in heaven. Everyday weaver will visit the princess and make love happily.

One day having noticed this, the guards reported this to their King. Upon this information the king pondered with troubled spirit. Then he consulted the queen.

The queen went and saw the princess in her apartment. She confirmed the matter after noticing her daughter with lips sore from kissing and with telltale traces on her limbs. And she cried: “You wicked girl! You are a disgrace to the family! How could you throw your character away? Who is the man that comes to you? Tell the truth.” Then the princess, with shamefaced, drooping glances, recounted the whole story of the weaver disguised as Vishnu. On hearing the facts from the queen, the King was happy. The King and the Queen planned to find out who the culprit is.

When night came, the king and queen stood hidden in the window niche and waited. The king saw a man coming from heaven, mounted on Garuda, grasping the conch-shell, discus, mace, marked with the familiar symbols. The king was ver happy and said to the queen: “Lord Vishnu is our son-in-law! All the desires nearest our hearts are granted. Now, through the power of our son-in-law, I shall reduce the whole world to subjection.”

At this juncture envoys arrived to collect the yearly tribute for King Valour, monarch of the south. But the king, proud of his new relationship with Vishnu, did not show them the customary honour and the king showed them his bare bottom, so that they grew indignant. And they returned to their own country, exaggerated the matter a hundred thousand fold, and stirred the wrath of King Valour. Then King Valour with his troops marched against the king.

On the following day the forces of King Valour arrived and invested Sugarcane City, and the matter was reported to the King.

The king said to the public: “Don’t get panick. Tomorrow morning You will see how I am going to destroy that army.”

After this address, he told them provide adequate defense for the walls and gates. Then he summoned Princess Lovely and with respectful coaxing tone asked her to get the help of her husband Vishnu to destroy the enemy.

So Lovely delivered to the weaver at night her father’s message, complete in every particular. On hearing it, the weaver laughed and said: “Dear love! It is little matter for me. Don’t you know I have destroyed so many demons and asuras. Go, then, and say to the king: ‘Dismiss anxiety. In the morning Vishnu will slay the host of your enemies with his discus.'”

So she went to the king and proudly told him all.

Meanwhile the weaver, forgetting love’s allurements, took counsel with his brooding mind: “What am I to do now? Suppose I mount the machine and fly away, then I shall never meet my wife again. King Valour will drag her from the palace after killing my poor father-in-law. Yet if I accept battle, I shall meet death, who puts an end to every heart’s desire. But death is mine if I lose her. Why spin it out? Death, sure death, in either case. It is better, then, to die game. Besides, it is just possible that the enemy, if they see me accepting battle and mounted on Garuda, will think me the genuine Vishnu and will flee.

When the weaver had thus resolved on battle, the genuine Garuda made respectful representations to the genuine Vishnu in heaven and said,”O Lord! You know everything happening in Sugarcane city of the earth. If the weaver meets death in battle, then scandal will arise in the mortal world to the effect that blessed Vishnu has been killed by the king of the south. Thereafter sacrificial offerings will fail, and other religious ceremonies. Then atheists will destroy the temples of the Lord, while pilgrims of the triple staff, devotees of blessed Vishnu, will abstain from pious journeyings. Such being the condition of affairs, decision rests with my Lord.”

Then blessed Vishnu, after exhaustive meditation, spoke to Garuda: “O Garuda! your reasoning is just. This weaver has a spark of divinity in him. Therefore he must be the slayer of yonder king. And to bring this about, you and I must befriend him. My spirit shall enter his body, you are to inspire his bird, and my discus, his discus.”

“So be it,” said Garuda.

Both the armies are ready to fight in the battle field. When the war started the weaver, mounted on Garuda and threw the discuss and killed most of the enemies.

At this point all the gods were drawn to the spot by curiosity to see the fight and surprised to see Lord Vishnu fighting. The rest of the survivors prostrated at the feet of the weaver who bore the form of Vishnu: “O Lord, spare our lives. Command us. What are we to do?”

The Weaver Ordered,”Whatever commands you receive from the local king, my father-in-law, you must on all occasions unhesitatingly perform.” And all the kings humbly received his instructions, saying: “Let it be as our Lord commands.”

Thereupon the weaver bestowed all his rival’s wealth to his father-in-law. He enjoyed all known delights with the princess.

❖ The gods will become friends to a man who climbs the heights of Determination.

❖ The motions of a blameless heart decide of right and wrong, when reason leaves us blind.