Interesting short story [God Jhatpat]
I would narrate an interesting short story that could change your life.
The background of the story is rural Bengal. It was at a time when rural Bengal implied coconut trees, ponds, cow, muddy lanes, straw huts are more. People were mostly poor.
Introduction
There was a young lady who lived in a village in Bengal. She was very poor. The only source of her income was by selling oil. This is how she used to manage her family expenses.
It was a rainy day and she was walking through the muddy lanes of her village. She was going to the marketplace which was located a few miles away from her village.
While walking, she was thinking in her mind how she would manage her expenses when she slipped…
She slipped and fell down and all the oil that she was taking with her for selling fell on the ground.
She started crying…
“Now what will I do? My family will die out of hunger. How could I slip!”
An old Brahmin came near her and said –
“What happened, young lady? Why are you crying?”
The lady replied –
“Oh respected baba! I am an oil seller. I sell oil in the marketplace next village and with the earning, I manage my family expenses & feed my kids. Now, I was going to the market for selling oil but slipped and all the oil fell in the ground. I lost everything respected baba. Now, how will I feed my kids?”
The old Brahmin gave a patient hearing and said –
“Don’t worry young lady. I will give you a very easy solution. You will have to perform a puja. If you agree, I will explain the process. After performing the puja, you will get back everything you lost”
“But respected baba, I am very poor. How can I perform expensive puja?” said the young lady
The Puja Procedure
“It is not at all expensive my dear. Buy 2 betel leaves and 2 areca nuts and go home.
Take water in a small puja vessel and place the betel leaf over it. Take one areca nut and put it over the betel leaf.
Keep the other betel leaf, areca nuts, some batasha (small rounds made with sugar in rural Bengal), vermilion & a little bit of mustard oil on a plate.
Now offer puja to God Jhatpat. Tell him what has happened to you and offer your sincere prayers. After the puja is over, take the water from the vessel with the betel leaf and sprinkle it all over your hut. Now, eat the betel leaves but remember, do not spit anything outside. Don’t worry! You will get back everything you lost.”
Telling this, the old Brahmin vanished in the thin air.
The young lady bought the ingredients for the Puja and went back home. She performed the puja as per the instructions of the old Brahmin……
A milkmaid meets the young lady
Few months went by…
One day, a neighbour of the young lady, a milkmaid met her in the market.
While chatting, the young lady told the milkmaid about the entire incident.
How an old Brahmin appeared from nowhere. Told her about God Jhatpat and instructed her to perform a puja. After performing the Puja, she got back everything she lost.
She also told that by the grace of God Jhatpat, now she no longer has poverty.
But the milkmaid did not believe her story. She started to laugh and make jokes out of the story. The young lady repeatedly tried to convince the milkmaid. But the milkmaid made fun of her.
It was evening and the sun was setting on the western horizon… Everyone including the young lady and the milkmaid went back home.
The milkmaid got punished
It was late evening and someone was knocking on the door of the young lady. The young lady opened the door and saw the milkmaid.
“What happened? Why are you crying? Tell me please…what happened to you?” asked the young lady
The milkmaid could not stop crying. Then she replied –
“I made fun of your story, I did not believe you. And now I am being punished for the same.”
“Why? What happened” asked the young lady.
“After I went home from the market, I noticed that I am not hearing any noise from the cowshed. When I went to the cowshed, I saw that all my cows are lying dead in the shed. The cows were so dear to me….Now I am gone. I milk these cows and sell the milk in the market to support my family. I am punished…..should not have made this mistake. Now, what will I do?” said the milkmaid.
The young lady tried to console her but could not do anything.
Then she told the milkmaid-
“Dear, go home today, it is already very late. Tomorrow just before the sunset, you will have to perform the puja of God Jhatpat. You believe me, everything will be fine. I will tell you the puja procedure tomorrow. Go and take a rest now” said the young lady.
The next day morning, the young lady told the milkmaid the procedure of the puja. She also told her –
“After performing the puja, sprinkle the water in the cowshed over your cows with the help of betel leaf. Everything will be fine”
The milkmaid followed every instruction very sincerely. And, to everyone’s surprise, all her cows became alive after the puja was performed.
The Puja became Popular
Everyone in the village understood that the old Brahmin was none other than God Jhatpat himself.
Then the story of Jhatpat spread like wildfire in all the villages nearby.
The story goes like this…
“Jhatpat, Dharfar, and TeenNath were 3 brothers. Dharfar and Teen Nath were offered prayers but Jhatpat did not have any puja. Through these incidences, the puja of God Jhatpat spread all around the villages.
If anyone lost anything, to find it, the villagers would immediately remember the thought about God Jhatpat in mind. They would surely get back the lost treasure. And after getting back the lost treasure, they would have to offer prayers as mentioned in the story.
You can also perform this puja at home. Whenever you lose anything, perform this puja at your home. Narrating this story would take less than 10 minutes of your time. And ingredients are minimal as mentioned.
Photo credit :
Of his works, he is especially famous
Of his works, he is especially famous