Then, he questioned the second hand, “Who does this hand belong to?” “It is your father’s hand,” replied the hand. “Whose is the third hand?” the young man asked confusedly. “It is your father’s hand,” the third hand replied. Now, the young man was more confused. He asked bewildered, after hearing the two hands, each claiming to be his father, “How can I have two fathers?” Then the second hand, which belonged to the thief, told the young man about the past. The third hand said, “I brought you up for years till you became a young man.” The young man thought, ‘One father gave me birth and the other brought me up.’ He was confused. He did not know to which hand he should offer the paternal oblations.” Baital ended his tale here and asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram! You are a wise king.”
The Confusion
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