Week 11 Story: The Princess and The Servant

A long time ago, there was a small Indian kingdom that was ruled by a wise and gracious raja. The raja ruled alone, his wife having died young, but he had a daughter that he loved dearly. His daughter's name was Rani, and as much as her father lavished gifts and attention upon her, she remained humble and kind.

Because her mother had died while she was still a baby, Rani was raised by the female servants of the raja's palace. As a young girl, Rani played with the servant's children, especially Mitra, the daughter of the head servant. 

The two girls were constant companions from the moment they first met. Rani and Mitra ate every meal together and spent every afternoon by each other's side. Rani even begged her father to let Mitra be her personal servant, so that the young princess could share her luxurious quarters with her friend.

The years passed, and Rani and Mitra grew into beautiful young women. Soon, young princes were coming to the raja's kingdom to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. The men brought lavish gifts to impress Rani, but she denied every suitor. The princess was unimpressed with the opulent offerings, because the princes bearing the gifts were cruel and disrespectful men. Night after night, she lamented to Mitra about the wicked princes who practically demanded her to be their bride. One night, when the princess was especially morose from the day’s suitors, Mitra offered a suggestion.

“My friend, why do you need to marry a prince? You are intelligent and just, truly caring for the people of your father’s kingdom. Could you not rule as queen of this land after your father’s passing?”

Hearing her friend’s words, Rani was immediately determined to follow Mitra’s advice. The next morning, before the palace gates were opened to the day’s new suitors, Rani boldly entered her father’s throne room. The princess wore her finest robes; her arms, fingers, and neck were studded with hundreds of gleaming jewels. Mitra had skillfully woven golden threads into Rani’s long, dark hair, which pooled down her back. On her head, Rani wore a gold circlet, and her feet were encased in red silk slippers.

She approached her father’s throne, bowed deeply, and in a confident voice instructed him to send away all the suitors. She continued, “Father, why should I marry a ruthless prince who greedily covets my hand in hopes of laying claim to your kingdom someday? Allow me to remain unmarried, and rule this kingdom after you.”

At this bold proclamation, the raja was furious. "My daughter, I have given you lavish gifts and constant attention, and this is how you repay my love? I only ask to see you happily married, and instead, you insult the neighboring kingdoms' princes and subvert our traditions. How did you ever conceive of such an idea?"

Rani was shocked by her father's fury, but remained firm. "Mitra advised me after observing my distress at meeting the potential suitors. She is confident in my ability to look after this kingdom and continue the prosperity of your reign in the future."

At the mention of the princess' beloved servant, the raja grew even more livid. "A princess should not act on the advice of a common servant! You forget your station Rani, and now I must quickly remind you of it." The raja called for the head servant and told him that his daughter Mitra was to be given to a foreign royal family as a present. Both Mitra's father and Rani begged for the raja to reconsider, but to no avail. Before nightfall, a caravan carrying spices, silks, jewels, and Mitra left the palace for the foreign kingdom.

At the departure of her friend, Rani removed the lavish garments of her morning proclamation and returned each jewel to her jewelry chest. She removed the carefully woven gold from her hair and let her dark curls hang disheveled in front of her face. She covered herself in a roughly woven robe and her belt was a length of rope. She walked barefoot in the palace gardens, refusing food and water in favor of constant prayers to the gods for the return of Mitra. She refused to set foot in the palace, instead sleeping in front of a simple shrine in the garden.

(A woman praying in a garden shrine, Wikimedia Commons)

The first day Rani acted like this, the raja confidently decreed, "This will not last long, she will return to her senses." But after three weeks, the princess remained completely dedicated to her strict austerities. Observing her perseverance, the raja began to see his daughter in the same light that his subjects did; he recognized that she was indeed capable to rule his kingdom on her own someday. Rani's sorrow at the loss of her friend touched her father and he deeply regretted his rash actions. He was committed to make things right once more.

On the first day of the fourth week, the raja sent his fastest messenger to the palace of the foreign kingdom. The messenger carried a small fortune with him, a gift to the royal family in exchange for Mitra's freedom. After completing the exchange and explaining to Mitra all that had happened in her absence, the messenger raced Mitra and himself back to the palace. The pair reached the palace at nightfall. Mitra quickly dismounted from the messenger's horse, thanked him for his help, and ran into the palace gardens to find Rani. 

Rani was seated in front of the simple garden shrine and was finishing her evening prayers when Mitra found her. The friends embraced, and went hand in hand into the palace to thank the raja for reuniting them.

The raja kept his word and allowed Rani to remain unmarried. Many years later, The aged raja passed, and his daughter became queen. Rani ruled her father's kingdom with kindness, justice, and her trusted advisor Mitra.

Author's Note: This is my retelling of the jataka The Elephant and The Dog. My biggest desire with this retelling was to keep the close friendship of the elephant and the dog in the tale. The easiest way to do this was to create a sister-like bond between the two characters and create outside forces to separate them for a time until their friendship prevailed once more. There is also two secondary themes, that of remaining dedicated to your beliefs (such as Rani's dedication to her ideals when she chooses to fast and pray) and that of admitting when you are wrong (such as when the raja realized his error and  made it up to Rani and Mitra.)

Bibliography: The Elephant and The Dog from More Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt

Comments

  1. Hi Rebecca!

    I really enjoyed reading your story. I actually haven't read The Elephant and The Dog, so I had no idea what to expect. You did such a good job of making me understand how close these two young women were, as well as how the princess was feeling about all that was being expected of her. I also loved your imagery with what she wore to speak to her father, and then taking it all off to wear just the robe while she prayed for Mitra's return.

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  2. Hello Rebecca. I just read your story and I thought it was really cool. I liked how you showed what great friends Rani and Mitra were as it felt very authentic which helped make the story really good. I also liked the end of the story where the raja listened to his daughter and allowed her to make her own choice. Overall a great story.

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  3. Hi Rebecca, I think that your story is very enjoyable to read. The story showed that women is more than capable to rule the kingdom and that is a great point that you emphasized. It is rarely to hear about that, but you did a good job at that. The relationship between characters feel just right and it shows how close they are.

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  4. Hi Rebecca, I think this story is so enjoyable to read. You use so much descriptive language that it is really easy for me to imagine what is going on in the story. For example, whenever you described Rani's clothing it was so beautiful and added so much more to the story. While I have not read The Elephant and The Dog, I still found that this story was beautiful and described the close relationship between Rani and Mitra wonderfully.

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