Lay Followers
The Generous Grandmother
उदार दादी · ઉદાર દાદી
Dev thought Vimlaba never spent a rupee, until the prize-giving day
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
Dev's grandmother mends her old sarees and refuses to buy anything new, and Dev is embarrassed by how careful she is with money. A school prize-giving in the gardener's village shows him a side of her no one in the family knew.
What it teaches Dana Humility Non-possessiveness
The opening of the children's telling
Dev had a grandmother called Vimlaba. She wore old, soft sarees, and when they tore, she sewed them with tiny stitches. She never bought anything new. "Ba never spends any money," Dev grumbled.
But Vimlaba did small, kind things every day. She sent warm rotlis to the watchman, who lived alone. She kept sweets for the children who came to visit. And once a month, she went out by herself and came back saying, "Just some errands."
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
The quietest gifts often grow the tallest.
To talk about together
Why do you think Vimlaba wanted to give without anyone knowing?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.