"I heard the man cry again piteously, 'Who can be my enemy? Never have I
done any harm to anyone. Who then could want to kill me thus as I was filling my pitcher
with water? What could he gain by this? Why should anyone bear hate against one living his
innocent hermit life in the forest? What is to happen to my old blind parents now, with
none to look after them? O misery!'
"Horror-struck, I stood trembling in
every limb. My bow and arrow slipped from my hands. I approached the place from where the
voice came and I found a young ascetic lying on the ground with dishevelled hair, covered
all over with blood and earth. Beside him Jay an upturned pitcher. The look of his eyes
was as fire. When he saw me, he cried, 'O Sinner that has killed me! Why did you aim your
arrow at me that was taking water from the stream? My old blind parents are thirsty and
are waiting for me in the aashrama, thinking that I would return with my pitcher
filled. |
