Lay Followers
Sati Kaushalya
सती कौशल्या · સતી કૌશલ્યા
A late pot of holy water, a hurt heart, and an old man who taught a king about time
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
Queen Kaushalya, mother of Ram, feels badly slighted on a festival day when the holy water reaches every queen but her. What really happened surprises everyone, and changes the king as well.
What it teaches Anger and patience Old age Steadfastness
The opening of the children's telling
In the city of Ayodhya lived King Dasharath and Queen Kaushalya, the mother of Ram.
One day there was a big festival at the temple. Afterwards, the king sent some special holy water to each queen as a blessing. He gave Kaushalya's pot to his oldest helper, a very old man. The other pots went with quick young girls. Everyone was so happy and so busy.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Before we get angry, let us wait a little and find out what really happened.
To talk about together
Have you ever felt left out, and then found out it was a mistake? What did you learn?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.