Merchant with Two Wives

   There was a merchant. He married and brought a wife. They stayed for a few years. But they did not have any children. The merchant was a rich man. He waited for a child to be born. But it was in vain. So he told his wife, ‘See, we are having so much property. Unless we have a child, who will enjoy this property? Who will look after us in our old age? So I want to have another wife.’

   His wife said, ‘If you want to have another wife, you can have one.’ But in her heart, she was displeased with her husband. The merchant went in search of a bride. At one place, he met the father of a girl. The merchant begged the hand for his daughter. He said, ‘I want the hand of your daughter in marriage. I am a merchant of such and such village. I married once, but my first wife did not have any children. So with her consent I want to marry your daughter, do you agree?’

   The man said, ‘All right. You can marry my daughter.’ So he married and stayed there for two to three days. Then the merchant asked his wife, ‘You see, I am a rich person. I have got so many works to do. Unless I have a child, who will enjoy so much property of mine? So I cannot stay here any longer. I am going.’ By saying so, he returned home.

   While returning home, on the way after a few days, he met a sister and a brother. The sister was older than the brother. They did not have any parents or relatives. The sister was not married. So the merchant asked the elder sister, ‘I have heard you do not have anybody in your family or relatives. I am very much pleased to meet you. I want to marry you and take you home. I can take your brother also. I am a rich merchant. I can engage your brother in my work.’ They agreed.

   So the merchant, after marrying the girl, brought both of them to his house.

Side A ends

Side B starts

(Q: Yes. You start?)

   The merchant, after meeting the girl, married her and brought home the sister and her brother. Sir, he kept both of them at his house and brought some wealth. He engaged his brother-in-law in his trade. He went on his business. Again after two or three days he returned home. He stayed at home for many days. His first wife also was staying at that house. The second wife and her brother were also staying in the same house. The first wife did not have any children. But the second wife became pregnant after two to three months. Her younger brother was staying with her. When the first wife could know that the second wife was pregnant, she could not tolerate it. She thought, ‘Whether a boy or a girl will be born, nobody knows, but all wealth of this house, will be expended on the child. I am to find a way out.’

   You see sir, the first wife did not have any children. But when the second wife conceived, she became envious and in her mind she prepared a plan to get rid from this situation. The merchant being the only male member of the family, could not stay at home. He used to go very frequently outside. So at home only three people stayed, those were both wives of the merchant and the younger brother of the second wife.

   When the pregnancy came to term, the first wife made a plan, she went to the riverside taking an earthen water pot with her for filling. She filled the water pot. Then she roamed alongside the riverbank around the bushes. Then she found the egg of a snake. She was very happy. So she put the egg in her water pitcher and came home.

   The merchant returned home in the evening. The first wife was doing cooking. She prepared rice. Then made the curry. She made specifically snake egg curry for the second wife. All four of them ate dinner. The egg curry she gave to the second wife only. Early in the morning the merchant went out on his business.

   Afterwards, the second wife had labour pain and she delivered a son. It was a healthy child. After the birth of the child she became a snake, the lady, sister of the brother.

   (Q: Is it the lady?)

   Yes, the sister became a snake.

   (Q: The sister became a snake. What happened to the child?)

   The child stayed as a human being. But his mother became a snake. The first wife saw this. She thought, ‘My husband has gone out on his business. I do not know when he will return. By bringing a second wife he had created a problem for me. Now she has given birth to a son and become a snake. It will be problem for me. I am to drive all of them out.’

   So the first wife called for the brother of second wife and said, ‘Because your sister has become a snake, it is not possible for all of you to stay in this house. All of you go to the riverside. There is a neem tree as well as a sahada tree. I am giving you a big bundle of thread. You tie one end to the neem tree and unroll it. Go along side the riverbank. Where the bundle will be finished, you tie the other end to a tree and live there.’

   The brother of the second wife obeyed her. He took the thread bundle. He tied one end of it to the neem tree and unrolled the bundle, walked along the side of the riverbank. When the bundle was finished, he tied the other end of the thread on a tree and came back. Then he took his nephew on his lap, called his snake-sister and all three of them left home.

   They reached their destination where the other end of the thread was tied. They stayed under the tree near the riverbank. What would they eat? There was nothing to eat? What the newborn baby would eat? What he would eat? What his sister [turned snake] would eat? The boy was under tremendous pressure. Moreover, there was another tragedy. The snake, as soon it as saw the river water, jumped into it. Only the uncle and the nephew remained.

   The boy [brother of the snake sister] could not tolerate any more. He started crying. He said, ‘What shall I do? How can I bring back my sister from river water? My nephew will die unless he gets mother’s milk. I don’t know where to go? I do not know the road. How my sister’s co-wife has driven us out of the house! She has troubled us a lot.’ Like this he waited keeping the newborn baby on his lap. The child also became hungry and started crying. Both of them were sitting under the shade of a tree.

   On the top of the tree, one "sankuni bird" [falcon] had built his nest. The bird heard the crying of both uncle and nephew. It came down and enquired and heard everything from the boy. Then he said, ‘If you cry like a "Ravana" [a demon with high pitched voice]. You will not gain anything. You will die and your nephew will also die. I shall teach you one song. If you sing that song, then your snake-sister will come and feed her son, can you sing that song?’

   The boy said, ‘Is it true? Will my sister come and feed her child? Please teach me.’

   [The narrator said, ‘Sir, I cannot remember the song.’]

   (Q: Tell us as much as you remember?)

   The boy asked the bird, ‘Tell me what is your name?’

   ‘My name is Sankuni bird. If you sing that song, your sister, at whatever distance she would be, will come immediately and feed her son.’

   The boy said, ‘Please teach me that song. I shall try to remember it. If she comes and feeds her son, I can manage myself by eating roots and fruits from this jungle. But how can I rear up this newborn baby? What shall I feed him in this jungle? Please teach me the song.’

   The Sankuni bird sang,

‘O my sister,
Your co-wife gave me a
Bundle of thread to tie
One end to the neem tree.
She sent us out of the house
With the thread bundle
The crow cries ‘caw’ ‘caw’
On the branches and bushes,
My sister,
Your son cries for milk
Come and feed him.’

   The bird said, ‘You remember it. If you sing it once, she will not come. If you sing this song three or more times, she will come. She will bring raw fish, raw meat for you. She will feed her son with milk. But you have to sing that song, not only once, but three times or more. Now I am to go. I cannot stay any longer. Am I to go for searching my food or am I stay here for the whole day? I am leaving.’

   On saying so, the bird left. Then the boy sang that song for three or four times. He sang:

‘O my sister,
Your co-wife gave me a
Bundle of thread to tie
One end t the neem tree.
She sent us out of the house
With the thread bundle.
The crow cries ‘caw’ ‘caw’
On the branches and bushes,
My sister,
Your son cries for milk,
Come and feed him.’

   The snake sister heard this song. It was a big river. She was at a long distance. Immediately she started coming back. After coming back she fed her son with milk. She had brought fish for his brother. She said, ‘You eat this fish by roasting it. After feeding my son, I shall go back into the river.’

   Then the snake after feeding her son jumped into the river. Like this, many days passed. The uncle and the nephew grew stronger day by day. The merchant stayed at his business place for months together. He neither could come to his house, nor he could get any information about the events happening at his home.

   The boy [uncle] used to call his sister three times a day, once in the morning, again at twelve noon and lastly in the evening. When it became twelve noon, the boy sang,

‘O my sister,
Your co-wife gave me a
Bundle of thread to tie
One end on the neem tree.
She sent us out of the house
With the thread bundle.
The crow cries ‘caw’ ‘caw’
On the branches and bushes,
My sister,
Your son cries for milk
Come and feed him.’

   The snake sister came and fed milk to her son. She had given fish to her brother. So both the uncle and nephew after their meal played happily. The snake sister jumped into the river and vanished. In the evening when the boy sang the song, she came and fed milk to her son. She gave fish to her brother and went away. Like this days passed. Both the uncle and nephew were growing and became stronger.

   After many days the merchant returned home. He could not see his pregnant second wife and brother-in-law. Only his first wife was at home. He asked her, ‘Why there is nobody at home? Where is my second wife and my brother-in-law? Where have they gone?’

   The first wife said, ‘After your departure, I do not know what she ate, either a snake or a snake’s egg. Then she delivered a child. After that she was transformed into a snake. Her brother tied a thread to the neem tree and all of them left the house with the child by holding the thread of this neem tree. After that I do not know where they have gone. You go along the thread of this neem tree and see where have they gone?’

   The merchant said, ‘Oho. How unfortunate am I? For my good fortune I got a son, but now I have lost it. Who will enjoy such a large property of mine after my death? For a son only I married for a second time. Why did you trouble them?’

   She said, ‘No I have not troubled anybody. She herself ate something for which she became a snake. She had already given birth to a son. I did not tell them to leave the house. After she became a snake, they themselves left the house.’

   The merchant cried. Then holding the thread tied to the neem tree, he proceeded. At the end of the thread he saw his brother-in-law and son: both were playing. He saw his son was strong and stout. He addressed his brother-in-law and asked, ‘How your sister became a snake? What shall we do?

   The boy said, ‘After you left, my sister delivered a son. Then how she became a snake I do not know. Your first wife has given her some medicine. After taking that she became a snake. How can I bring your son to this place? You married my sister. After you left we were put into trouble. My snake sister daily brings fish for me. I roast it and eat it. She feeds milk to her son daily. I am always looking after the child. Otherwise, I could have gone for begging or for labour for my livelihood. Where can I leave the child and go? If you want to eat, fish is there, you can eat it. Only when my sister brings fish, I eat it and sustain myself. I am both father and mother for this child. I am also a servant for him.’ Then he narrated everything to his brother-in-law.

   The merchant said, ‘It is all right. Now, what shall we do?’

   The boy said, ‘Now it is going to be twelve noon. My sister will come to feed her son. The Sankuni bird had taught me a song that I sang. But she did not come out. Probably she saw you.’

   The merchant said, ‘All right, I am climbing on a tree and hiding myself. You sing the song again and try to make her come out.’ The merchant then climbed a tree and hid himself. The boy sang:

‘O my sister,
Your co-wife gave me a
Bundle of thread to tie
One end to the neem tree.
She sent us out of the house
With the thread bundle
The crow cries ‘caw’ ‘caw’
On the branches and bushes,
My sister,
Your son cries for milk
Come and feed him.’

   He sang the song three times. The snake sister came. She threw fish towards his brother. She fed milk to her son. The merchant hiding behind the leaves and branches of the tree saw his wife turned into a snake. He thought, ‘My first wife is responsible for all these mishaps. She had to be taught a lesson.’ When the snake went away, the merchant came down from the tree. He kissed his son a lot. Then patted on the back of his brother-in-law and said, ‘You stay here with the child. I shall go back to my house and find a solution for this.’

   So the merchant returned home holding the thread tied to the tree. While returning home, on the way he found a sword. He picked it up and reached home. His first wife seeing him said, ‘You eat rice, you drink sherbet, you take betel leaf;’ like this.

   The merchant said, ‘I have taken an oath, unless I see my son. I am not going to take a drop of water from this house. What rice and curry you are showing me? If my son will be here, I shall get lots of rice and curry. My son is worth lakhs of rupees.’

   The merchant brought one Kg of salt. Then he applied it on the sword, Cleaned it and sharpened it. It looked like a sharp blade. It dazzled. Then holding the sword, he told his wife, ‘I am going in search of my son. I am not going to eat anything in this house. I am not hungry and thirsty.’ After saying so he went away holding the sword.

   Then he reached near his son and brother-in-law. He asked his brother-in-law to call his sister. He said, ‘Hey, you call your sister. You sing that song. She will come.’

   The boy said, ‘Now the child is not hungry. How can I call her? I shall call her in time. Moreover, when you are there, she may not come, whether I sing or I do not sing.

   The merchant said, ‘No, no, I am hiding myself behind the hut. She won’t see me. You sing the song when my son is hungry.’ The merchant concealed himself behind the hut. Sir, it was like a hunter waiting for his prey. When it was time, the boy sang.

‘O my sister,
Your co-wife given me a
Bundle of thread to tie
One end to the neem tree.
She sent us out of the house
With the thread bundle.
The crow cries ‘caw’ ‘caw’
On the branches and bushes,
My sister,
Your son cries for milk
Come and feed him.’

   Then the snake came with a fury. She threw the fish. She started feeding his son. When the child had drank milk to his hearts content, the brother took the child to his lap when the snake was trying to go away, the merchant came running out of his hiding and gave a blow to the snake making her three pieces. The snake died.

   The merchant kept the three pieces in alignment and joined it. Then he sat there and prayed to God. He said, ‘O God, what shall I do without my wife? You have to make her alive. If you do not make her alive my son will die without food. My brother-in-law and I will also die. We three will die along with my wife. You please make her alive. The prayer was intense.

   Lord "Iswar" [Shiva] and mother Parbati heard this prayer. Both of them came down to the earth in the guise of a fisherman and woman. Both of them held fishing nets in their hands. They kept some fishes in their net and a frog. Both of them appeared before the merchant and his family. They threw the fishes out of their nets and kept the frog.

   The merchant could not recognize them. He asked, ‘Who are you? Are you a Brahmin, or Baishnab or a hermit? How is it you are throwing the fishes from your net and keeping the frog inside? Will you eat the frog?’

   Iswar said, ‘How it happened? What is your problem? Why are you howling so much? What mishap is troubling you? What is the matter, tell me? Why so many people have gathered here?’

   The merchant narrated everything to mother Parbati. He said, ‘Mother, we have been in so much trouble. You see, I killed my snake wife with this sword in three pieces. I am praying to God to give her life as a human being. Otherwise, my son will die without mother’s milk. We both will also die here.’

   Iswar, Parbati said, ‘All right, we will see what we can do for you.’ They chanted some mantras and kept the live frog over the dead snake.

   Immediately the dead snake became a young woman and searched for her son. She said, ‘I am not going to leave my son any longer. I have not fed him long since. Please give him to me.’

   Then both Iswar Parbati said, ‘Now you are alive, you are alive, you are alive. Look at that road. Something is getting away.’ When all of them were looking at the road, Iswara and Parbati vanished.

   The merchant cried, ‘O lord, I could not recognize you. You saved me and my family.’ All of them bowed in the name of lord.

   The merchant had taken his son to his lap and held the sword on his hand. He, his wife, his brother-in-law, and son, all four of them returned to their house happily.

   After coming home he asked his first wife, ‘You bring four fistful of water in a jug. We will wash our hands and feet.’

   His wife asked, ‘How many of you have come today?’

   The merchant replied, ‘We four have come today. Myself, my wife, my brother-in-law and my son.’

   ‘O, so many persons have come today,’ his first wife asked.

   ‘Yes, yes, yes, all four of us have come,’ the merchant replied.

   The merchant and his family members washed their hands and feet. Then they sat on a bed and started talking among themselves. The first wife asked, ‘Shall we eat now?’

   The merchant said, ‘No, we do not want to eat. We will eat afterwards. First, I want to know how and why this happened? Unless you tell me in detail, we are not going to eat. Why we suffered so much? Today eating food is not my priority. I got back my son. I am happy. I do not want to eat anything. You are the root cause of all these troubles. When my second wife became pregnant, you could not tolerate her, so your hand was there in her becoming a snake. You blasted woman, you will get your punishment.’

   (Q: How could the merchant know it?)

   The second wife told him. She said, ‘When I became pregnant, your first wife was envious of me. When the time came for delivery, she prepared good curry for yourself, my brother and for herself. But for me she had given curry of snake’s egg. After eating that curry, I delivered the child and became a snake. Unless God had given me a new life, I would have been a snake still now. I am telling this in her presence. You just ask her whether this is true or false?’

   The first wife became stunned. When asked, she said, ‘Yes, what she said is correct. I have given her snake egg curry after eating of which she became a snake. Otherwise, she would not have been a snake.’

   After listening to her confession, the merchant became furious and cut her neck with the sword he held. The first wife died. The second wife, her brother, her son and the merchant stayed happily there after.

   (Q: Is your story finished?)

   Yes Sir, my story is finished.