SHRAVAN,THE DUTIFUL SON

        Long long ago, there lived a boy called Shravan. He was the only son of a poor and blind couple. Shravan loved his parents and his sense of duty towards them was very high. He made it his life concern to take care of his blind parents.He tried to fulfill their every wish.

     One day his parents expressed their wish to go on a holy pilgrimage to Kasi. It was a prevalent belief among hindus that a dip in the holy river Ganges would rid them of a life time of bad karma.

      Shravan at once made arrangements to take them ,he seated them in two baskets slung from either end of a wooden pole which he balanced upon his shoulders.

      The holy city of Kasi was a long way off and Shravan had to walk day and night for long hours.One evening they reached a forest ,Shravan's parents were very thirsty , they asked their son to fetch them some water. Shravan left the baskets under a tree and went to a small stream to get water.

      At the same time in the forest ,King Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya , was with his hunting party. King Dasharatha was celebrated for his fine marksmanship and could find his target just by hearing a merest whimper .As Shravan was filling his pot , it made a strange gurgling noise. King Dasharatha mistaking the noise for a wild beast ,aimed at the sound and shot his arrow .Only when the arrow hit the mark and Shravan let out a cry did king Dasharatha realize his mistake . He reached the spot as fast as he could and was disheartened to see that his arrow had pierced an young human. He tried to help Shravan but it was too late. Shravan wished King Dasharatha to take the water to his parents and died.

      King Dasharatha , very ashamed to face Shravan's parents went to them and offered the water and asked for their forgiveness for his terrible mistake.

Shravan's parents on learning that their sole caretaker and loving son gone would have none of King Dasharatha's apology, they cursed king Dasharatha to a similar fate as their's . Shravan's father cursed that King Dasharatha would also die of grief from separation from his son.Both Shravan's parents die of grief soon after.

      After many years the curse of Shravan's parents came true. King Dasharatha too died of grief after his son  Lord Rama went into exile to the forests for fourteen years.