Pankaj's Short Stories

Penance 🌿

There was a person named Raghuman. When he was eighteen years old, he left his studies and took blessings from his parents and left for the forest to do penance. He used to do penance by staying in the forest. His parents also did not know which forest their only son had gone to. He used to fill his stomach by eating leaves of trees and plants. He used to quench his thirst by drinking water from lakes and waterfalls. Days passed like this. After a few years, Raghuman's father died. The villagers searched for Raghuman to perform the last rites of his father. But Raghuman was not found. Raghuman's mother performed his last rites. Some days passed. Raghuman was engrossed in his penance. He did not even know that his father had died. His mother mortgaged her house. With the money received from mortgaging, she arranged for a feast. People from the entire village came to the feast. It was evening. Everyone went home after eating. Raghuman's mother was lying on the cot. She was remembering her husband and son. Time passed like this. Now the ration of the house was over. Raghuman's mother started sleeping on an empty stomach. After a few days, Raghuman's mother stopped breathing. The villagers cremated his mother. Forty-two years passed. Even after doing penance for forty-two years, Raghuman could not find God. He was now sixty years old. His hair, beard and moustache had become long and white. Raghuman had now become old. He came to his village. But people could not recognize him. Raghuman reached his house. The house was locked. Raghuman asked a person - Brother, why is there a lock on this place? And where did the people living here go? The person told him everything. Raghuman came to know that his parents are no longer in this world. He was deeply shocked. Raman sat there and started crying bitterly. Now the house also belonged to the landlord. Raghuman wiped his tears and sat under a banyan tree. He was now regretting. He was thinking to himself. If I wanted, I could have served my parents or lived happily with my parents. But now it was too late. Raghuman no longer had the strength to work. Now he used to sit under the same tree every day. If someone gave him food, he would eat it or if he did not get food, he would remain hungry.