Lay Followers
Surasundari
सुरसुंदरी · સુરસુંદરી
Can you really buy a kingdom with seven little shells?
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
A proud remark about seven cowrie shells, made by a princess in her school days, comes back years later when her husband leaves her alone on a far island. With faith in the Navkar and her own courage, she sets out to prove her words true.
What it teaches Chastity Courage Forgiveness
The opening of the children's telling
Once there was a princess named Surasundari. At school, a boy named Amarkumar took seven little shells from her scarf and bought sweets for everyone.
Surasundari was cross. She said, With those seven shells I could buy a whole kingdom! Amarkumar did not forget those words.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Faith can carry us through every storm, and forgiveness brings us home.
To talk about together
Was Surasundari's boast about the shells wise? What else in the story shows her true strength?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.