Monks and Acharyas
Kapil Muni
कपिल मुनि · કપિલ મુનિ
Two grams of gold, and the wish that would not stop growing
- 4 min full story
- 3 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
A poor young scholar sets out for the king's palace hoping to earn two small pieces of gold. When the king offers him anything he wants, he discovers how far a single wish can travel.
What it teaches Greed Contentment Renunciation
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, in the city of Kaushambi, there lived a boy named Kapil. His father was the king's priest, a very learned man. But Kapil did not like his books. When his father left this world, someone else became the king's priest, because Kapil had not learned enough.
One day Kapil saw his mother crying. If only you had studied, she said. Kapil wanted to change. So he went to the city of Shravasti, where a kind teacher agreed to teach him. A family there gave him his meals each day, and a young woman of that house served his food. Slowly the two became close, and Kapil forgot his lessons.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Contentment does not come from getting more, but from wanting less.
To talk about together
Have you ever got something you wanted and then found yourself wanting more straight away?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.