Monks and Acharyas
Arya Rakshit
आर्य रक्षित · આર્ય રક્ષિત
A scholar comes home in glory, and his mother asks for something more
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
Rakshit returns home as the most learned young man in the land, honoured by the king himself. But his mother is not impressed. She wants him to learn something far deeper, and a bundle of sugarcane seems to say how far he will go.
What it teaches Learning A Mother's Wisdom Humility
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, a clever young man named Rakshit went far away to study. He studied for many years and learned so much! When he came home, the king gave him a ride on a big elephant, and the whole town cheered.
But when Rakshit found his mother, she did not cheer. He asked, "Mother, why are you not happy?" She said gently, "My son, you have learned many things. But you have not yet learned about the soul. Please learn the teaching that helps the soul be free."
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
The best learning is the kind that makes the soul freer, not only the name bigger.
To talk about together
Why do you think Rakshit's mother was not happy when the whole town was cheering?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.