Long ago, there was an elephant in King Chandrasen’s stable. Her name was Mahila Mukh. Mahila Mukh was a very intelligent, obedient, and kind elephant. All the people of the kingdom were very pleased with Mahila Mukh. The king was also very proud of her.
After some time, thieves built their hut outside Mahila Mukh’s stable. They would loot and plunder all day and boast of their bravery at their camp at night. By listening to the thieves, it seemed that they were all very dangerous. Mahila Mukh, the elephant, would listen to their conversations.
After a few days, the influence of the thieves’ conversations started affecting Mahila Mukh. She began to feel that being cruel to others was true bravery. Therefore, Mahila Mukh decided that she would also behave like the thieves. First, she attacked her mahout and killed him.
Seeing such behavior from such a good elephant, everyone was troubled. Mahila Mukh was out of control. Even the king was worried seeing this new behavior of Mahila Mukh. The king called a new mahout for Mahila Mukh. But Mahila Mukh attacked and killed that mahout too. In this way, the once well-behaved elephant killed four mahouts.
No one could understand the reason behind Mahila Mukh’s behavior. When the king couldn’t find a solution, he appointed a wise doctor to treat Mahila Mukh. The king urged the doctor to treat Mahila Mukh as soon as possible so that she wouldn’t become a cause of destruction in the kingdom.
The doctor took the king’s request seriously and started closely observing Mahila Mukh. Soon, the doctor realized that the change in Mahila Mukh’s behavior was due to the influence of the thieves. The doctor explained to the king the reason behind Mahila Mukh’s behavior and suggested organizing continuous religious gatherings at the thieves’ camp so that Mahila Mukh’s behavior could be corrected. The king followed the advice.
Now, religious gatherings started happening outside the stable every day. Gradually, Mahila Mukh’s mental state began to improve. In a few days, Mahila Mukh the elephant became as kind and gentle as before. When the king saw that his favorite elephant had recovered, he was very pleased. King Chandrasen praised the doctor in his court and gave him many gifts.
Lesson from the story:
The influence of company is very strong and deep. Therefore, we should always stay in the company of good people and behave well with everyone.
