Citraketu Learns Detachment

Dadi: "Guddu, have you ever wanted something so badly that you thought you'd never be happy without it?"

Guddu: "Yes! Like when I really wanted that bicycle..."

Dadi: "Tonight's story is about a king who had everything in the world - except the one thing he wanted most."

Guddu: "What was that?"

Dadi: "A son. King Citraketu ruled the entire earth. He was handsome, educated, wealthy, and had ten million wives!"

Guddu: "Ten MILLION?! That's a lot of weddings!"

Dadi: "*laughs* Indeed. But not a single wife could give him a child. Despite all his riches, Citraketu was miserable inside."

Guddu: "What happened?"

Dadi: "A wise sage named Angira visited him. He saw the king's sadness and offered to help. But he also gave a warning: "I can give you a son, but this child will bring you both great joy AND great sorrow.""

Guddu: "That's mysterious! What did the king do?"

Dadi: "He was so desperate for a child that he ignored the warning. The sage blessed one of his queens, and soon a beautiful baby boy was born."

Guddu: "The king must have been so happy!"

Dadi: "Overjoyed! He named the boy Harsa-Soka, which means "Happiness-Distress." He showered all his love on the child and his mother."

Guddu: "But... happiness AND distress?"

Dadi: "The other queens became jealous. They were ignored now that the king only cared about his baby and his favorite queen. Their jealousy grew and grew... until they did something terrible."

Guddu: "What did they do?"

Dadi: "They poisoned the child while the mother was away. When the king found out his baby had died, he went mad with grief. He couldn't eat, couldn't speak, couldn't function. His whole world collapsed."

Guddu: "That's so sad, Dadi."

Dadi: "The sage Angira returned with another great sage, Narada. They asked Citraketu, "Why are you crying? Who exactly are you crying for?""

Guddu: "For his son, obviously!"

Dadi: "But then Narada did something extraordinary. With his spiritual power, he brought the soul of the dead child to speak."

Guddu: "The baby spoke?!"

Dadi: "The soul - now fully conscious - said something shocking: "In which lifetime were these people my parents? I have had countless mothers and fathers across infinite births. No one is truly my parent. We are all just souls traveling together, meeting and separating like waves in an ocean.""

Guddu: "That's... confusing."

Dadi: "The soul explained that attachment causes suffering. We think "my son," "my father," "my possessions" - but these are temporary relationships. The soul is eternal. It moves from body to body. What we call "death" is just a change of clothes."

Guddu: "So the king shouldn't have been sad?"

Dadi: "The teachings helped him understand that his grief came from attachment to something temporary. His love for his son was beautiful, but clinging to what cannot stay causes pain."

Guddu: "Did the king feel better?"

Dadi: "He was transformed. He realized the truth about life and death. He stopped clinging to worldly things. The sage Narada taught him a sacred mantra, and Citraketu eventually became a great spiritual being himself - so elevated that he traveled through the cosmic realms!"

Guddu: "That's quite a journey from crying over his baby."

Dadi: "It is. The loss of his son led him to wisdom he never would have found otherwise. Sometimes our greatest pain opens the door to our greatest growth."

Guddu: "But Dadi, should we not love people because they might die?"

Dadi: "No, beta. Love fully! But understand that all relationships are temporary in this world. Love without clinging. Enjoy without grasping. And know that the soul - yours and everyone's - is eternal."

Guddu: "That's hard to understand."

Dadi: "It is. Even great kings need lifetimes to learn it. For now, just remember - when things change, when people leave, the love you shared was still real. It just takes a new form."