Court of Magadh
The Compassion of the Elephant
हाथी की करुणा · હાથીની કરુણા
A great elephant stands on three legs to save one small rabbit
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
Long before he was born as Prince Meghakumar of Magadh, a soul lived as a mighty elephant in a forest that feared fire. When the flames came, one small rabbit put his kindness to the test.
What it teaches Compassion Ahimsa Self-sacrifice
The opening of the children's telling
Once upon a time, in a big green forest, there lived a kind elephant named Meruprabh. He was very big and very strong, and he looked after all the elephants in his family.
One summer the forest was very dry, and a fire began. Meruprabh got away safely. Then he thought, "If a fire ever comes again, we need a safe place." So he made a big empty field. He pulled out all the grass and bushes with his trunk, so that fire could not burn there.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Compassion for the smallest life is never wasted.
To talk about together
The elephant could have put his foot down and no one would have known. Why do you think he kept it up?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.