Once upon a time, there lived a
Brahmin and his wife who had no
children. They prayed to God every day
in the hope that they would be blessed
with a child.
One fine day, the Brahmin's wife did
give birth to a baby, but it was a snake!
All the villagers, their friends and
relatives advised them to get rid of the
baby snake. But the Brahmin's wife did
not care that her baby was a snake. She
loved it all the same and refused to get
rid of it.
She reared the baby snake with tender
loving care and gave him the best of
things. After many years had passed,
the Brahmin's wife decided that it was
time to get her baby married. But which
girl would marry a snake?
One day, when the Brahmin returned
home, he found his wife sobbing. She
refused to tell him the reason, but just
continued weeping. Finally she told him
that she was crying because she
realized that he did not love his son
because he was not even thinking of his
son's marriage.
The Brahmin was shocked. He asked
her which person in his right mind
would agree to marry his daughter to a
snake. But seeing his wife crying
ceaselessly, he was forced to go out in
search of a bride for his son.
He traveled far and wide, but with no
success. Finally, he arrived in a big city
where his best friend lived. The
Brahmin decided to pay him a visit.
They were both thrilled to see each
other after such a long time. His friend
asked him what brought him so far
from home. The Brahmin replied that he
was searching for a bride for his son.
His friend told him to look no further
and immediately promised his
daughter's hand in marriage. The
Brahmin told him to first take a look at
his son. His friend refused saying that
as he knew the family, it was not
necessary. So he sent his beautiful
daughter with the Brahmin.
The Brahmin's wife was thrilled and
immediately started making
preparations for the wedding. Everyone
advised the girl not to marry the snake,
but she insisted that she must keep her
father's word.
And so the girl and the snake were
married. After marriage, the girl was
the epitome of a devoted wife. She
looked after the snake well. The snake
slept in his box at night.
Then, one night, when the girl was
going to sleep, she found a handsome
young man in the room. She was scared
and was about to run for help. The
young man stopped her saying that he
was her husband. Of course, she did not
believe him. So he proved it by getting
back into the snake skin. She was so
happy that she fell at his feet. After
that, every night the young man would
shed the snakeskin and spend time
with his bride. At daybreak, he would
slip back into the snakeskin.
One night, the Brahmin heard noises in
his daughter-in-law's room. So he kept
a watch and saw the snake turning into
a handsome young man. He rushed into
the room and threw the snakeskin in to
the fire. His son thanked him profusely
saying that he was freed from a curse
that forced him to stay in the snakeskin
until someone destroyed it without his
asking.
And so the handsome young man and
his beautiful bride lived happily ever
after.
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