Lay Followers
Dhola and Maru
ढोला मारू · ઢોલા મારુ
A desert princess, a forgotten promise, and a camel that ran through the night
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
Maru, a princess of the Rajasthan desert, was married to Prince Dhola when both were small children, but Dhola grew up and forgot her. This old Rajasthani tale, retold by the Jain monk Kushallabh in Jaisalmer, follows the long road that brought them back together.
What it teaches Faithfulness Patience Keeping promises
The opening of the children's telling
Long, long ago, in the desert of Rajasthan, there lived a little princess called Maru. When she was very small, she was married to a little prince called Dhola from a faraway green kingdom. Then each child went home to grow up.
Dhola grew up and forgot all about the little princess. But Maru did not forget. Every day she looked down the long road, waiting for him to come.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
A promise is a thread that ties us; distance and difficulty are not reasons to cut it.
To talk about together
Is there a promise we have forgotten that we could still keep?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.