Page 278 - Kailaspati: Paramhans Hansdevji Avadhoot

the way, he came across a sage. The moment he saw the sage, he bowed in reverence and obeisance. as he stood up, the sage said, “What do you want?”
“i want to be cured of my disease”, said the King.
“Okay, do as directed. Just one year from today i will offer you a remedy and you will be fully cured,” said the sage to the King. The King asked him, “May i seek your suggestion about what
i should do now?”
The sage replied, “Go back to your kingdom. Get two houses
built, worth living for you adjacent to your Palace. it must be enclosed by high walls on all sides. There must be only one entrance and a hole. after you have moved in the newly-built house, get its gate closed with a wall. and whatever you will need, things like food and clothes, will reach you through that hole. There would be no attendant, be he or she.”
“Who would take care of me?” asked the King. “None but your widowed daughter”, replied the sage.
“There would be no other except i and my daughter?” asked the King.
“No, no other than you two”, replied the sage.
With an obeisance at the feet of the sage, the King took leave of him. On returning to his Palace, he ordered the minister to do the needful. Within a week, a small house was built in the royal garden, adjacent to the Palace. The King and his daughter moved into that house. The door was kept shut by erecting a wall there. he was given his food and clothes through the hole.
Days rolled by. The attendants whispered among themselves about the King and his new arrangement. They then began to whisper that since the King was staying there with his young daughter, it was really suspicious. With every passing day, the gossip reached the women of the palace. idle as they were, they got excited about the gossip. From the ladies their sisters too came to know about it, and from their wives their husbands too heard it. in the Palace too, the women and the men took it to be an act of shame and cruelty. in course of time, the rumour spread beyond the Palace. People of every locality thought and spoke ill
248 Kailashpati