Parables of Wisdom
Learning About Cheating
धोखे के बारे में सीखना · છેતરપિંડી વિશે શીખવું
Kiaan wrote a bigger number on his mala sheet, and won a prize that felt strangely heavy
- 3 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
At Kiaan's pathshala in Nairobi there is a prize for whoever counts the most Navkar malas during Paryushan. Kiaan finds that it is very easy to write down a number that is not quite true.
What it teaches Honesty Truth Self-Respect
The opening of the children's telling
Kiaan's pathshala had a special game. Every time a child said the Navkar Mantra on a full mala of beads, they coloured in a box on a sheet. Whoever had the most boxes would win a lovely wooden mala.
Kiaan wanted to win. But he played football, and his cousins came, and he forgot to say his malas. He looked at his sheet. He had only nine boxes. His friend Rushil had twenty-four. "Nobody counts the beads except me," Kiaan thought. "Nobody would ever know."
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
When no one is watching, my own soul still is.
To talk about together
Why do you think the prize felt so heavy to Kiaan, and why did it feel light once he gave it back?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.