The Fish Prince and the Hydra

 

The Fish Prince and the Hydra

 

Old Lavani told Agudumba:

Bangladesh is located in South Asia, bounded by the Bay of Bengal to the south and surrounded by Indian territory to the east, west and north. However, there are extensive water resources distributed in Bangladesh, and rivers such as the Ganges run directly into the Bay of Bangladesh. Water transportation is very convenient. Moreover, more than 80% of the land in Bangladesh is plain, with only a few hills. It can be said that , the entire country is a livable and rich area. Due to their affinity with water, Bangladeshis believe in the snake god Indra, the water god who protects the law.

Old Lavani began to tell Agudumba the story of Indra, the snake god and the fish prince:

Once upon a time, there was a king. His wife was beautiful and virtuous. The couple loved each other very much. Unfortunately, they had no children. Once, the servant bought back a lot of fish. Soon most of the fish died, leaving only one alive. The servant suddenly had a kind heart, so he fished out the fish and kept it in a basin. A few days later, the queen discovered this and started feeding the fish herself.

The queen named the fish Prince Fish. Under the queen's careful raising, the fish grew incredibly fast. After a few days, the water basin became too small. The queen specially asked people to build a small pond for it, but within a few days, the small pond seemed small again. The queen had no choice but to build a large, beautiful and strong pond. This time, the fish prince could swim in the pond to his heart's content. The queen visits the fish prince every day and feeds him personally.

As time went by, the queen developed a deep affection for the fish prince and regarded him as her own son. Every time the fish prince sees the queen, he will happily swim around in the water.

One day, the fish prince unexpectedly said: "Mother, I am alone in the water and very bored. Please marry me a wife." The queen saw that it was indeed very lonely, so she agreed to its request. She sent servants to various places to find a suitable wife for the Fish Prince.

The servants searched around and came to a small mountain village. There was a beggar in this village and his daughter was very beautiful. The servant persuaded the beggar to marry his daughter to the Fish Prince, so that they would get a lot of gold coins as a betrothal gift. This girl had a stepmother. The stepmother was jealous of money, so she persuaded her husband to agree to marry her daughter to the fish prince. The beggar was also very satisfied with this matter. With the gold coins, he would not have to worry about it in the future, and he would not have to be a beggar, so he agreed with his wife's opinion.

So the stepmother asked her daughter to take a bath in the river, wash and dry her clothes before putting them on, so as not to be disliked by others. When the girl came to the river to wash her clothes, she cried while washing her clothes, and her tears fell down.

There happened to be a snake cave on the shore, and a snake with seven heads lived in the cave. The girl's tears dripped from the cave onto its head. Seeing her crying so sadly, the snake king felt sorry for her, so he crawled out and asked her Why so sad. The girl didn't hide anything, so she told the snake king all about her misfortunes, and worriedly asked the fish prince if he would eat me.

After hearing this, the Snake King comforted her and said, "Don't worry, it won't eat you." The fish prince is not actually a fish, he was cursed to become a fish. Saying this, the snake king gave her three pebbles and asked her to hide them in her sari, and then explained to her some more.

Old Lavani continued to Agudenba:

When the girl arrived at the palace, she was received cordially and the queen was very kind to her. After the girl dressed up a little and became more beautiful, she sat in a basket and went down to the pond. The girl saw a small house on the wall of the pond. She walked in and saw that it was extremely elegantly and beautifully decorated, with many delicacies on the table. The girl sat on the bed waiting for the fish prince to arrive.

After a while, a big fish head appeared on the water. The girl followed the snake king's instructions, took out a stone, and threw it at the big fish's head. The fish prince immediately sank into the water; After a while, the big fish's head surfaced for the second time, and the girl threw a second stone, and the fish prince sank again; when it surfaced for the third time, the girl threw the third small stone again. Hit it in the head.

A miracle happened: the fish prince did not sink this time, but turned into a handsome young man! He stood before the girl, thanked her profusely, and told her that we would go ashore to celebrate the wedding tomorrow morning.

The next day, people saw a beautiful girl and a prince-like handsome young man sitting side by side in a basket. People were very surprised and sent someone to report to the king and queen, and quickly pulled them ashore. The fish prince told everyone what happened, and everyone was surprised and happy for them. The king and queen recognized the fish prince as their son and held a very grand wedding for them.

The two of them lived in love for quite some time. The girl's stepmother heard about her one day and heard that she was living a good life. She was very jealous, so she and her biological daughter conspired to kill the girl and let her biological daughter take her place. She ran to the palace early the next morning and told the girl hypocritically that her father missed her very much and asked her to go home and see her. The girl believed it and asked the prince to go home and see her father. Seeing that his wife was very filial, the prince readily agreed and told her to go early and come back early.

The girl returned home and was happily reunited with her family. The day before she returned to the palace, the girl and her half-sister came to the river to bathe together. The younger sister said to her elder sister: Your clothes and jewelry are so beautiful! Can you let me try? The elder sister looked at the envious look on her younger sister's face and, not knowing what was going on, took off her clothes and jewelry and asked her to put them on. The two of them looked at the water and admired their shadows in the water. Taking advantage of her sister's inattention, the younger sister pushed her behind and pushed her into the water. The older sister, who could not swim, sank into the water and never floated again.

After the sister returned home, her cruel mother was very proud to see that the plot had succeeded. After she dressed her daughter up, she led her into the palace pretending to be her sister. She said to the prince: How did I take her away at first, and how did I bring her back now. After saying that, she went home alone.

When the prince was about to welcome his wife, he suddenly realized that this was his wife. She was clearly a dark and ugly woman. He immediately thought that there must be something wrong with his wife, and it must be related to this ugly woman. In a rage, he beat up the ugly girl. The angry prince spent three days and finally investigated the matter clearly. He sentenced his wife's vicious stepmother to death to avenge his beloved wife. Take revenge. But where is his beloved wife now?

Old Lavani said to Agudengba again:

After the prince's wife was pushed into the water, she was rescued by the seven-headed snake king. The snake king's family sympathized with her plight and decided to let her stay in his home temporarily.

Time flies, and three years have passed unknowingly. During these three years, the prince searched for his wife everywhere, but there was no trace. The prince was very sad and disappointed, and he was uneasy all day long.

On this day, the disappointed prince came to the village where his wife originally lived. Here, he met a man selling bracelets. During the conversation, the prince casually asked him where he came from. The man replied that I had just given an anklet to a man who lived in a snake cave.

Snake hole? Who lives in the snake cave? asked the prince in surprise.

The bracelet seller replied, "She is a young and beautiful woman, and she is bringing a three-year-old child. The child is extremely beautiful. I have never seen such a cute child." He wore a bracelet on his foot, but he always broke it. His mother often bought him bracelets.

The prince asked: What is the child's name?

Fish Prince. The bracelet seller replied.

When the prince heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. Based on his intuition, he thought that the child might be his own child. He hurriedly asked the bracelet seller to take him to the snake cave. He wanted to see with his own eyes whether they were the ones he was looking for.

The bracelet seller agreed to take him to the snake cave, and the two came to the entrance of the snake cave. Selling bracelets, selling bracelets. The bracelet seller started shouting. Before he finished speaking, the prince heard someone in the cave say in a gentle, kind and familiar voice: Let's go, child, let's buy a bracelet.

At this time, the prince stood in the cave. He suppressed his inner excitement and said to the inside: I'm sorry, madam, can you come out and let me have a look?

Hearing this all-too-familiar voice that she had been thinking about day and night, the woman hurriedly ran out: My dear, you are finally here. Then he told the story of how his stepmother and sister tried to kill her. As they talked, they cried with joy and hugged each other tightly.

The Snake King was very happy when he saw that the prince came to pick up his wife in person and the young couple were reunited. He reluctantly said: "You two have brought me a lot of joy during the time you have been here with me!" You are going home now, and I wish you all the best. The snake king gave the prince a lot of money and clothes.

The prince happily returned to the palace with his wife and the little fish prince. Together with the king and queen, they lived happily ever after.

When the old man Lavani talked about this, he sang a Bengali song "Naga":

 

Naga,

The snake god in Indian mythology,

It is also part of the traditional culture of Southeast Asia.

 

Naga, shaped like a huge snake,

It has one head or seven heads.

Nagas are spiritual creatures,

Naga is associated with water.

the bottom of wells, lakes and rivers,

It is the entrance to the underground palace of the snake god.

Naga is the protector of rivers.

It will bring good harvest to the worshipers.

When Naga is treated disrespectfully,

Will cause floods and droughts.

 

Naga,

The dragon king in Chinese legend,

It is also part of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism culture.

 

Buddhism was introduced to China from India,

Naga became the Great Chinese Dragon Clan.

Asia with Buddhist origins,

People are no strangers to Naga.

They confused snakes and dragons,

Tibetans equate Naga with Lu.

Chinese Buddhism calls Naga a dragon.

It is one of the eight branches of Tianlong.

The Naga Snake King is called the Dragon King,

Dragon tribe sentient beings are responsible for protecting the Dharma.

There is also the concept of the Dragon King in Taoism.

The Dragon King of the East China Sea originates from Sajiluo.