The Story of King Nṛga
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ornaments. The  brāhmaṇas  were well qualified, none of them were rich, and their family members were always in want for the necessities of life. A real  brāhmaṇa  never hoards money for a luxurious life, like the  kṣatriyas  or the  vaiśyas , but always keeps himself in a poverty-stricken condition, knowing that money diverts the mind to materialistic ways of life. To live in this way is the vow of a qualified  brāhmaṇa , and all of these  brāhmaṇas  were well situated in that exalted vow. They were well learned in Vedic knowledge. They executed the required austerities and penances in their lives, and were liberal, meeting the standard of qualified  brāhmaṇas . They were equally friendly to everyone; above all, they were young and quite fit to act as qualified  brāhmaṇas . Besides the cows, they were also given land, gold, houses, horses and elephants. Those who were not married were given wives, maidservants, grains, silver, utensils, garments, jewels, house-hold furniture, chariots, etc. This charity was nicely performed as a sacrifice according to the Vedic rituals. The King also stated that not only had he bestowed gifts on the  brāhmaṇas , but he had performed other pious activities, such as digging a well, planting trees on the roadside and installing ponds on the highways.
The King continued, “In spite of all this, unfortunately one of the  brāhmaṇa’s  cows chanced to enter amongst my other cows. Not knowing this, I again gave it in charity to another  brāhmaṇa . As the cow was being taken away by the  brāhmaṇa , its former master claimed it as his own, stating, ‘This cow was formerly given to me, so how is it that you are taking it away?’ Thus there was arguing and fighting between the two  brāhmaṇas , and they came before me and charged that I had taken back a cow that I had previously given in charity.” To give something to someone and then to take it away is considered a great sin, especially in dealing with a  brāhmaṇa . When both the  brāhmaṇas  charged the King with the same complaint, he was simply puzzled as to how it had happened. Thereafter, with great humility, the King offered each of them one hundred thousand cows in exchange for the one cow that was causing the fight between them. He prayed to them that he was their servant and that there had been some mistake. Thus, in order to rectify it, he prayed that they would be very kind upon him and accept his offer in exchange for the cow. The King fervently appealed to the  brāhmaṇas  not to cause his downfall into hell because of this mistake. A  brāhmaṇa’s  property is called  brahma-sva , and according to Manu’s law, it cannot be acquired even by the government. Both  brāhmaṇas  insisted that the cow was theirs and could not be taken back under any condition; neither of them agreed to exchange it for the one hundred thousand cows. Thus disagreeing with the King’s proposal,