131. The Dog in Shiva's Temple

Laura Gibbs · 131. The Dog in Shiva's Temple

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There was a peasant woman who wanted to marry the king.
She followed the king when he left the palace and saw he bowed down to a sadhu.
"A sadhu will be an even better husband!"
She followed the sadhu to a temple where he kneeled before Shiva's image.
"I will marry Shiva instead!" she decided.
As she gazed at Shiva's image, a dog came and peed there.
"That dog is powerful!' she thought, so she followed the dog as it entered a peasant's house.
"He must be the most powerful of all!" she concluded, so she married the peasant.

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Inspired by: The Ocean of Story by Somadeva, translated by C.H. Tawney: Volume 5.
Notes: This is Story 103. In the story, the woman is a "chandala," belonging to the caste that handles corpses, and thus untouchable. You can find out more at Wikipedia. Compare the story of the The Mouse-Maiden.