Saturday, December 28, 2013

ORIGIN OF THE CAT

There was a hermit staying in the forest at the top of a mountain. One day, the hermit meditated and found that a nymph had been born in a lotus flower in a pond to the North. The hermit then went to take her to be raised and taken care of. And he named her “Odor Bopha (Northern flower).”

When she reached 15 years old the hermit felt pity for her, as she had to companion. She he thought he should create another flower by magic to be her companion.

The hermit thought if he took another flower to create a human being, they would have the same origin-flower so he wanted to create a companion from her own element. The hermit told her, “When you start to menstruate, you should get a piece of cotton soaked with it and give it to me so that I can create a companion out of magic for you.”

When it was time that she had her period, she gave it to the hermit as he had told her. The hermit then meditated and created a three-colored cat out of magic, and he gave it to her. He told her that this animal was called Chhama (cat). She loved the cat so much, and she often took it with her like a human being.

The hermit then set the rule for women that women should not kick cats, or beat them with a broom or stick for fish grill. Walking over a cat is also prohibited, for it was made out of the woman’s attribute. Any women who violate the rule shall be called women who lack attributes.

Fourteen months later, Chhama gave birth to a male kitten. Those two cats were the father and mother of all cats.

Talking about the King named Sortoat who was crowned by his father at the Kingdom of Takaseila, the newly crown King reigned without a wife.

One day, he went for a visit in the forest and enjoyed himself there. On the third day, he drove his royal vehicle to a pond. He saw a path and thought to himself, “This forest is so quite. Why is there a path for humans to walk on?”

The king walked along the path till he arrived at the hermitage and he entered it. The hermit was eating, while Odor Bopha was sitting in front of him. When the King approached the hermitage and she saw him at a glance, she ran into the room. The hermit asked, “Why do you run into the room?” She murmured, “There’s a stranger coming in.”

The King entered to salute the hermit and told him everything. The hermit then called out his granddaughter to greet the King. Seeing each other, they fell in love. The hermit said that the King was the destined partner of her from the previous incarnation. The King responded, “I really love your granddaughter.”

The hermit asked the King to build three huts decorated with flowers in seven different colors. Then the King sent a soldier parade with music to march Odor Bopha from the hermitage to the pavilion. The hermit chanted and scattered the flowers in seven colors to bless the newlyweds.

Three days later, the King and his wife said farewell to the hermit shed tear, for she missed the hermit, as she had never been apart since her birth.

The hermit told her that when she arrived at the temple, she should hug the cat and walk around the temple three times before entering the temple so that she would live with peace and prosperity.”

When she arrived at the palace, she followed the hermit's words before she entered the temple. And she lived in peace and prosperity forever.

- The END -

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