Once, there lived a king called Jairajan. He was peaceful and loved his kingdom. One day, he found that his relatives were planning to usurp his throne and kill him. To avoid violence, he went to live in a far-off village. There he met a beautiful girl and married her. They started living happily. One day, he saw many human bones on the path of his village. He hurried back home and told everything to his wife. She told that a wicked king was sacrificing young boys to the eagle, Garuda. Jairajan found out that next time, a boy named Shankar was to be fed to the eagle. He met Shankar’s parents and offered to sacrifice his life instead of Shankar’s. They agreed, though Shankar protested. Some days later, Garuda took away Jairajan. Shankar risked his life and ran to save Jairajan, but he was killed. When the news reached Shankar’s parents, they begged Garuda to leave Jairajan. Seeing their devotion, Garuda spared Jairajan’s life. Jairajan now asked Garuda to bring all the dead people back to life. His wish was fulfilled. This way, the sacrifice of brave Shankar saved many precious lives.
SHANKAR, THE BRAVE BOY
