Parables of Wisdom
The King Who Got Angry
क्रोधी राजा · ગુસ્સે થયેલા રાજા
A king who gave orders in a temper, and a monk who gave him one small rule
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
King Devsen of Ratnapur is a good ruler with a hot temper, and when a young servant spills ink on an important letter, he banishes the boy from the city. Then a wandering monk gives the king a strange piece of advice.
What it teaches Anger Forgiveness Kshama
The opening of the children's telling
Once there was a king named Devsen. He was a kind king, but sometimes he got angry very fast.
One day a young servant boy named Kanu was carrying a pot of ink. He tripped on the carpet, and the ink spilled all over the king's important letter. The king's face went red. He shouted, "Go away! Leave my city!" And poor Kanu had to go, crying all the way.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Anger shouts at night; wisdom answers in the morning.
To talk about together
What can you do to wait when you feel angry, before you speak?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.