Court of Magadh
Abhaykumar and Matangpati
अभयकुमार और मातंगपति · અભયકુમાર અને માતંગપતિ
The mangoes that vanished at night, and the king who learned to stand before his teacher
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
Mangoes keep disappearing from Queen Chellana's guarded garden, and no one ever sees a thief. When Abhaykumar solves the mystery, King Shrenik discovers that even a king must learn to be a good student.
What it teaches Respect for Teachers Compassion Humility
The opening of the children's telling
Once upon a time, Queen Chellana had a beautiful garden. Its mango trees gave sweet mangoes all year long, even when it was not mango season.
In the same city lived a man named Matangpati, who swept the city streets. He knew two special tricks. He could become invisible, and he could ask a tree branch to bend down to him. One day his wife, who was going to have a baby, wished very much for a mango. So at night Matangpati went quietly into the queen's garden, bent a branch down, and took a few mangoes home.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Knowledge comes to those who honour the person who gives it, whoever that person may be.
To talk about together
Why could King Shrenik not learn the magic while he sat on his throne?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.