Long ago, a Brahmin lived with his wife, in a village. Both of them led a very simple and happy life. Their only concern was that they did not have a child. Both of them prayed to God for a child for many years in the hope that God would bless them with a child. In the 13th year of their marriage, God blessed them with a baby but the child came to be a snake. They were really disappointed. Everyone in the village advised the Brahmin and his wife to get rid of the baby as they thought the child was a demon. How else could anyone explain a snake born to a human! The Brahmin too, agreed with the villagers.
But the Brahmin’s wife paid no heed to what the villagers thought or said about their child. She made it clear to the Brahmin that she would bring up the snake as her son and would always be a mother to the snake. The Brahmin tried to convince her to give up the snake but in vain. Ultimately, he too, relented and agreed that the snake may be brought up as their son. The Brahmin’s wife was delighted to hear this.
She started making arrangements so that the snake could stay comfortably in their house. She prepared a nice bed for the snake using a wooden box. She placed a small mattress and a blanket inside the box. She bought new utensils for the snake to eat and drink from. She made sure to plug all the holes on the floor and walls of the house so that the snake may not, mistakenly, slip out of the house and get into some danger. She was always scared that, if spotted alone, the villagers might kill her boy out of fear for their own lives. Slowly, years passed on and soon the snake became big and healthy.
One day, while attending a marriage in the village, the brahmin’s wife thought that she would also get her son married. The Brahmin was shocked when his wife requested him to find a suitable match for their boy. He tried to argue with his wife that it is impossible to find a girl who would marry a snake but to no avail. Next day, reluctantly, he left his house in search of a bride for his son.
He went to places far and wide but whenever he mentioned that he was looking for a bride for his son who was a snake, people would laugh at him and drove him away. Several weeks passed by. The Brahmin came to a town where his childhood friend used to stay. He visited his friend and mentioned the reason for his travel. His friend was not aware that the brahmin’s son was a snake and immediately offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. The Brahmin tried to convince his friend to visit his house once and meet his son. But his friend said that he was sure that the Brahmin’s son would be like his father and sent his daughter with the Brahmin to get married. When the girl found out that she has been married to a snake, she was disappointed. But not one to dishonour her father’s commitment, she decided to stay with the snake and be a devout wife.
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That night, when the girl was alone with the snake in the room, the snake shed his skin and turned into a handsome young man. He told his wife that he was under a curse that he could not come out of the snake’s skin till he married a girl. He also told that only after the sunset he could come out of the snake’s skin. He would have to get back into the skin at daybreak. The girl was happy that she could now have her husband by her side at least during night. So every night, the snake would shed its skin and turn into a man.
One day, the Brahmin heard some voices from his son’s room. He peeped in and saw his daughter-in-law sitting with a young man with the snake’s skin lying beside them. He immediately rushed into the room, picked up the snake’s skin and threw it in fire. The young man was delighted to see this. He told the Brahmin that the curse also said that if someone destroyed the snake’s skin, without him telling the person to do so, the curse would end. From that day, the boy never turned into a snake. The Brahmin and his wife were happy to have a son in human form. And so was his wife.
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