Parables of Wisdom
Who Is Right?
कौन सही है? · કોણ સાચું?
A peacock, or a mess of dots? It depends where you stand
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
Best friends Hetvi and Anaya make a giant Diwali rangoli together and then have their worst quarrel ever about what it looks like. Hetvi's grandfather has an idea that involves two staircases.
What it teaches Anekantavada Friendship Listening
The opening of the children's telling
Hetvi and Anaya were best friends. At Diwali, they made a big rangoli together. They used blue and green and gold powder. They made swirls and dots and curls, all afternoon.
When it was done, Anaya ran upstairs to her balcony and looked down. "It's a peacock!" she shouted. "A beautiful peacock!" But Hetvi was standing right next to it. She only saw lines and dots. "It's not a peacock," she said. "It's just patterns. And some lines are wobbly."
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Before I say 'you are wrong', I can ask 'how does it look from where you stand?'
To talk about together
Can you remember a time when you and a friend saw the same thing in two different ways?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.