Parables of Wisdom
True Age
सच्ची उम्र · સાચી ઉંમર
Great grandfather is ninety one, but he says he is only about forty
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
On his ninth birthday, Vihaan learns that his great grandfather counts his age in a very strange way, and decides to try counting his own.
What it teaches Kindness Good deeds Family
The opening of the children's telling
It was Vihaan's ninth birthday. He ran to his great grandfather, Moti Dada, and said, Dada, I am nine today! And you are ninety one! Moti Dada smiled. My body is ninety one, he said. But my soul is only about forty.
Vihaan's eyes went wide. How can that be?
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
The days that truly count are the days we were kind.
To talk about together
If you counted only your kind days, how old do you think you would be? What could you add tomorrow?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.