Who Among These Three Would Be the Eligible Groom?

Another story from the Vikram Vetal series.

The reason you should listen to these stories is because they give you lot of clarity — clarity of thought and wisdom.

There was a family: husband, wife, son and daughter.
The daughter came to marriable age. She was very beautiful.

Once the father went travelling. He found a good boy and committed that he would marry his daughter to him.
At the same time, the brother also was travelling. He also met a good prospect and committed that he would get his sister married to him.

While both the father and brother were away, another boy came to their place looking for the father. The mother liked him. She told him to stay back:
'Let the father and brother come back. I will give my daughter’s hand to you.'

The father came back with the boy whom he had promised. The brother also came back with the boy he promised.
Now there were three prospective grooms at home. They didn’t have any idea what to do.

Each of the three boys, after seeing the girl, was very keen to get married to her.

In the meantime, a snake came in and bit the girl.
All five — the three boys, the father and the brother — rushed out looking for a doctor.
Each of them came back with a doctor.

The first doctor said – nothing can be done. Panchami, Shashti, Ashtami, Navami and Chaturdashi — snakebite on these five tithis will be fatal.
The second doctor said – nothing can be done. Snakebite on Saturday and Tuesday — there is no cure.
The third doctor said – Krittika, Rohini, Aslesha, Makha, Visakha, Mula — these six nakshatras: snakebite victims cannot be saved.
The fourth doctor said – if the snake bites on the lips, cheeks, neck or stomach — there is no escape.
The fifth doctor said – I don’t think even creator Brahma can save this girl.

The girl died.

They all together went to the cremation ground and burned her body in the funeral pyre.
The three boys were completely sad and disillusioned.

One of them collected the bones from the pyre and started roaming from place to place, sad about his fate.
The second boy collected the ashes from the pyre, built a hut in the cremation ground itself and started living there.
The third one just started wandering about. He decided to be a sanyasi.

He, this third boy, once reached some place where one family offered him food.
While food was being served, the child of the host came and started disturbing the mother, pulling at her dress, crying.
The father told the child to remain silent, but the child did not listen.
After some time, the father in a rage picked up the child and flung him away.
The child fell on the fireplace, caught fire and died.
The father continued eating and the mother continued serving as if nothing happened.

The boy was shocked to witness all this. He got up.
The host asked, 'What happened? Why are you getting up?'
'I can’t take one more grain of food from this house. You both don’t seem to be humans. You are monsters. You are demons.'

The host firmly told him to sit down.
After he finished his food, the host got up, washed his hands, came back with a book, opened the book, chanted some mantras and sprinkled water over the burned body of his son.
The boy came back alive as if nothing happened and started playing around.

That was Mritasanjeevani Vidya.

The boy thought, 'If I have what is there in that book, I can revive that girl also and get married to her.'

In the night, when the family was asleep, the boy picked up the book and left silently.

When he reached back the cremation ground, the boy who was living in the hut was already there.
Also, the other one who had left with the bones had also come back.

The bones and the ashes were put together.
The book was opened. The boy did exactly as his host had done.

The girl came back alive.

The three started fighting: Who will marry her?

The one living in the hut said, 'If I had not lived here this long with her ashes, she would not be alive now.'

The boy who had gone with the bones said, 'If I had not brought back the bones, she would not be alive now.'

The boy with the book said, 'If I had not taken all the trouble and got Mritasanjeevani Vidya, she would not be alive now.'

The Vetal asked Vikramaditya – Who do you think is eligible to marry her?

Vikramaditya:
Someone who carries the bones of a cremated body is like a son — so she cannot marry him.
Someone who gives life is like a father — so the boy who brought the book also cannot marry her.
Who is left?
The one who opted to stay back in the cremation ground — he is eligible to marry the girl.

Was this also your answer?

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi