Sauti continued:
Ruru tightened his grip on the staff and glared at the old serpent.
“My wife,” he said, his voice trembling with rembered pain, “was as dear to as my own life.
She was struck down by a snake's venom.
On that day, as I stood beside her lifeless body, I swore a terrible oath.
I vowed that every snake I encountered would die by my hand.
That is why I have co to kill you.
Today, you shall lose your life.”
The old dundubha remained calm.
“O Brahmin,” the serpent replied, “there are indeed snakes that bite and kill human beings.
But not all creatures that bear the na of snake are alike.
We dundubhas do not harm mankind.
We possess neither the sa nature nor the sa behavior as the venomous serpents you hate.
You judge us all as one, yet we do not share the sa deeds.
We may share the sa misfortune of being called serpents, but we do not share the sa fortune.
We may share the sa sorrows, but not the sa joys.
A man who understands righteousness should know how to distinguish one being from another.
Therefore, you should not kill the dundubhas.”
The words struck Ruru unexpectedly.
This was not the speech of an ordinary serpent.
The creature spoke with wisdom and calm reasoning.
For a mont, Ruru hesitated.
A strange fear crept into his mind.
“What if this is no ordinary snake?” he thought. “What if it is a sage disguised by so curse?”
His anger began to cool.
Lowering his weapon, he chose not to strike.
Instead, he addressed the serpent respectfully.
“O snake,” he said, “your words are wise.
Tell , if you wish, how you ca to possess such unusual understanding.
Who are you really?
How did you co to exist in this form?”
The old dundubha sighed.
Then he revealed the truth.
“O Ruru, long ago I was not a serpent at all.
I was a sage nad Sahasrapat.
Through the curse of a Brahmin, I was transford into this form and condemned to live as a snake.”
Ruru listened with growing curiosity.
The hatred that had filled him only monts before gave way to wonder.
“A sage?” he asked.
“O noble one, what happened?
What angered the Brahmin so greatly that he cursed you?
And how long must you remain trapped in this body before the curse cos to an end?”
Thus began the tale of Sahasrapat, a story that would teach Ruru an important lesson about justice, anger, and the danger of judging all beings by the actions of a few.
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