Once in heaven, there was a disagreement between Sani, the god of bad luck, and Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune. They both argued about who was of higher rank. Unable to resolve their dispute, they decided to consult a wise and just human. On earth, there lived a man named Sribatsa, known for his fairness and wealth, and they chose him to settle their argument.
Sribatsa was in a dilemma. If he favored Lakshmi, Sani would curse him, and if he sided with Sani, Lakshmi would abandon him. To avoid offending either, Sribatsa devised a plan. He prepared two stools: one of gold for Lakshmi and another of silver for Sani. When the deities arrived, he invited Lakshmi to sit on the gold stool and Sani on the silver one.
Sani, furious at this perceived insult, threatened Sribatsa, declaring that he would cast his evil eye upon him for three years to see how he fared. Lakshmi, however, reassured Sribatsa, promising to protect him. After they left, Sribatsa decided to leave his home to prevent misfortune from befalling his wife, Chintamani, because of Sani’s curse. Despite his pleas, Chintamani insisted on accompanying her husband, declaring that they would face the hardship together.
Before leaving, Sribatsa hid all their wealth inside a mattress, and they set out. Soon, they encountered a river, but there was no bridge to cross it. A ferryman offered his services but said he could only transport one person or item at a time. Sribatsa suggested sending Chintamani and the mattress first, but the ferryman insisted on taking the mattress alone. While in the middle of the river, a strong storm arose, and the mattress, the boat, and the ferryman disappeared without a trace. The river itself vanished, leaving dry land where water once flowed. Sribatsa realized this was the evil eye of Sani at work.
With no possessions, Sribatsa and Chintamani sought refuge in a nearby village inhabited by woodcutters. Sribatsa joined the villagers in their work, but while they cut ordinary wood, Sribatsa focused on sandalwood, earning more money for his efforts. Out of jealousy, the villagers forced the couple to leave.
They moved on to another village where the people were cotton spinners. Chintamani began spinning cotton and produced finer thread than the other women, earning more money. This sparked envy among the villagers once again. Sribatsa, to gain favor, invited the villagers to a feast, where Chintamani cooked such delicious meals that the men scolded their wives for not being as skilled. This deepened the villagers’ resentment toward the couple.
One day, while Chintamani was bathing with the village women by the river, she accidentally touched a stranded boat, which suddenly floated into the water. Amazed by this, the boatmen believed she had magical powers and kidnapped her. The other women, who disliked Chintamani, did nothing to help her. When Sribatsa learned of her abduction, he was overcome with grief. He decided to follow the river’s course in the hope of finding her.
While searching, Sribatsa spent the night in a tree and, in the morning, discovered a magical Kapila-cow beneath it. This cow, though never having calved, provided milk whenever desired, and its dung was made of pure gold. Sribatsa wrote his name on the golden bricks of dung, which he collected and stacked. The pile of golden bricks grew larger each day, resembling a hill of gold.
Meanwhile, Chintamani prayed to Lakshmi to save her from harm. The goddess answered her plea, and Chintamani’s beauty was transformed into a body covered in ugly, loathsome sores, repelling her captors. Disgusted, they threw her into the hold of the boat, where she lived miserably, but preferred that to losing her honor.
The boatmen soon sailed past the riverbank where Sribatsa’s hill of gold stood. Sribatsa, always keeping watch on the river, recognized the boat and hoped his wife might be aboard. The boatmen, spotting the gold, claimed it for themselves and took Sribatsa prisoner, throwing him into the hold of the boat alongside his disfigured wife. Despite her appearance, they recognized each other but communicated silently to avoid drawing attention.
The boatmen, fond of gambling, invited Sribatsa to play dice with them. Due to his skill, he consistently won, and out of envy, the boatmen threw him overboard. As he fell into the river, Chintamani tossed him a pillow, which helped him stay afloat. Sribatsa drifted down the river and eventually found himself in a garden by the water’s edge.
The garden belonged to an old widow who had once supplied flowers to the king. Recently, her garden had ceased blooming, but the morning after Sribatsa arrived, it was miraculously filled with flowers. The widow, believing Sribatsa was the cause of this blessing, took him in and cared for him. Grateful, she restored her position as the royal flower supplier and recommended Sribatsa to one of the king’s ministers.
Impressed by Sribatsa’s intelligence, the minister appointed him as the river toll collector. While discharging his duties as the toll-gatherer, Sribatsa, after a few days, saw the very boat in which his wife was held prisoner. He detained the boat and charged the boatmen with the theft of the gold bricks, which bore his name. At the mention of the gold bricks, the king himself came to the riverbank and was astonished to see bricks made of gold, each inscribed with the name “Sribatsa.”
At the same time, Sribatsa rescued his wife from the boatmen, and the moment she stepped out of the vessel, her beauty returned as it was before. The king, after hearing Sribatsa’s story of misfortune, entertained him in a princely manner for many days. Finally, the king sent Sribatsa and his wife back to their homeland with gifts of horses and elephants. The evil eye of Sani was now turned away, and Sribatsa once again became the Child of Fortune.
A folkstory from West Bengal sourced from the book ‘Folk-Tales of Bengal’ compiled by Lal Behari Day
Story edited by: Archie Joshi
Click here to submit a folklore.