Hey!Most of us are familiar with the story of Punyakoti. Here is a link to it on the YouTube.
The complete story is here.
Well, in this story, most of us feel for the cow and her calf. whereas Arbud the Tiger is pictured as a villain.
Is this tiger really a villain?
I think real hero of the story is Arbud, the Tiger. Tiger by nature has to hunt and eat. This time he picked Punyakoti. But when Punyakoti asked him that she wanted to get back to her shed and feed her calf, the Tiger generously let her go, even though he was very hungry. When Punyakoti came back, the Tiger who was very pleased of her truthfulness, jumped off a cliff and ended his life, out of guilt. Perhaps the guilt of him being a carnivore and guilt of stopping Punyakoti. Instead of quenching his own hunger, Arbud sacrificed his life and saved Punyakoti.
So, for me, the real hero of this epic tale is Arbud. He sacrificed himself to unite a mother with her child. In spite of this he is considered as a villain, how unfair is that??
Perhaps, I should call this blog as the story of Arbud, the generous Tiger.
Happy Winter,
Shashank
