The Dwarf

Posted on: 9th Jan, 2008Author: chandamama.com

When Brahmadutta was King of Benaras, Bodhisattva was born as the son of a
Brahmin. As he was short statured, he was called ‘Dwarf’. At an early age, he
went to Takshasila and studied archery and attained mastery in that science. On
completing his education, Dwarf set out to earn a living as an archer. He
travelled to many lands, met many kings, and offered to serve under them. But,
seeing his short stature, no one took him seriously, and Dwarf remained
unemployed. He wondered how he would use his talent to make a living.

One day, while he was passing through the weavers’ street of a certain village,
he saw a muscular man sitting at his loom and weaving. Dwarf approached the
weaver and asked him, “Friend, may I know your name?” “I’m Bhim,” the
weaver replied. The name suited him. “You’re so tall and well built, the name
suits you,” Dwarf remarked. “You shouldn’t be wasting your time weaving, do
something better!” “But what do I do? This is the only thing I know,” he said.
“Come with me,” Dwarf said, “and I’ll
show you a decent way of living.”

Bhim was glad to go with Dwarf, he

hated weaving anyway and had always
wanted to see the world and show off his
muscular body. They travelled to
Benaras. “Go to King Brahmadutta, tell
him that you’re an expert archer, and
offer your services to him. The king will
notice how tall and well-built you are, and will give you employment,” said the
Dwarf. “But I don’t know any archery!” Bhim protested. “That does not matter.
I’m an expert archer. Make me your aide. I’ll help you whenever you require
me,” Dwarf said. So Bhim went to the King of Benaras, told him that he was an
expert archer was and he gained employment as the king’s archer on a salary of
a thousand rupees a fortnight. Dwarf got employed as an aide to Bhim. Both
began to live comfortably on Bhim’s earnings. After a time, a tiger began to
haunt the highway that led to the city of Benaras, and to pounce on the
wayfarers. There was panic among the people and the king had to do something
about it. He sent word to Bhim the archer. “O Bhim, there’s a tiger menacing
travellers. Go at once and kill it!” Bhim took leave of the king, and came home.
“Now I’m in a fix,” he told Dwarf. “How am I going to kill this tiger? Help me
out.”

“Listen to me carefully,” Dwarf said. “You won’t be able to kill the tiger
without any help. Gather a hundred villagers and take them to the tiger’s haunt.
When you hear the tiger roar, hide in the bushes. The villagers will kill the tiger.
Make sure that the tiger is dead, before you come out of your hiding place with
a length of creeper in your hand. On seeing the tiger, pose as if you’re angry and
shout, ‘Who killed the tiger? I intended to tether it with this creeper and show it
to the king! If I wanted to kill it I could have done it myself without your
assistance. Now tell me, who is the scoundrel that killed the tiger so that I can
get him beheaded!’ The villagers will be frightened. They’ll deny that they had
anything to do with the killing of the tiger. You can then come back to the city
and claim that you killed it yourself, without the fear of anyone contradicting
you!”

Bhim just followed the instructions of

Dwarf. He hid in the bush, while the
villagers killed the tiger. He then came
out with a long creeper. He made a lot of
fuss and scared the villagers. The
frightened villagers slipped away. Then
Bhim returned to the city, met the king
and told him, “Sir, the highway is now
safe for pedestrians!”

The king was mightily pleased with Bhim’s valour. His glory spread. Soon, the
fool really began to believe in his own valour and treated his aide with
contempt. Dwarf observed this change but ignored it. Some time later, an
enemy king laid siege to Benaras. His envoys met the King of Benaras. “Will
you surrender or fight?” they asked. The king sent for Bhim. “Take the
necessary forces and drive away the enemy!” Bhim was clothed in battle
fatigues. Dwarf knew that Bhim was in danger. He armed himself with a bow
and arrows, and sat behind Bhim, on the elephant. The elephant marched to the
battlefield surrounded by cavalry and infantry.

Bhim began to shake with fear as soon as he saw the orderly lines of the enemy
soldiers advancing towards him. He began sweating profusely, while his hands
and feet went numb with fear. He made an attempt to slip off the elephant. Had
not Dwarf caught him and tied him up securely to the elephant, Bhim would
have been trodden to death under the hooves of the horses. Now Dwarf took
command of the situation. He spurred the elephant on into the enemy ranks,
raining arrows on the enemy. No one could stop him and he made straight for
the enemy's king, scattering the enemy forces. Soon the king was wounded,
defeated and taken prisoner. As soon as Dwarf returned victorious from the
battleground, the king realised who had defeated the enemy. He made Dwarf the
archer in Bhim's place. Dwarf gave Bhim a good number of gifts and sent him
away.