Yama’s Punishment
The Lord of Samastipur was a carefree soul who rarely stayed at home. He was often galloping off to the king’s court at Lakshmanpur, where he enjoyed a roistering time. In his absence, his huge retinue of servants languished at the palace, doing little to earn their keep. With no one to supervise, they often lazed around, neglecting their duties and failing to dust and clean the large mansion.
All the servants, except for a small boy named Arun, lived in the nearby village. Each night, they would leave the vast mansion empty of guards.
The Mysterious Midnight Cleaner
One night, Arun was fast asleep when a noise woke him up. He got up to investigate and was surprised to see a figure working in the darkness, dusting and cleaning the palace.
Initially, it cleaned the hall, then filled the brass gourds with water. It swept the rooms, made the beds, polished the banisters, and within a short time, had tidied up the entire house. In the twinkling of an eye, it disappeared through the locked door. Astonished by this strange occurrence, Arun recounted the incident to the other servants the next morning. They concluded that it must have been the work of a spirit haunting the house. Nonetheless, everyone was pleased that someone was helping to keep the house clean, though no one was willing to spend a night under that roof. The brave little Arun volunteered to sleep there at night.
A Conversation with the Intruder
Many nights passed in this manner. One day, Arun decided to confront the mysterious visitor. As the hour of midnight struck, he heard the noise of vessels being rolled on the ground. Determined to speak to the midnight intruder, he tiptoed into the kitchen and found a dark-looking monkey busily cleaning the pots and pans.
Arun was astonished and, mustering his courage, asked, “Hello, why do you clean our kitchen? Are you a ghost or something?”
The monkey, undeterred by the question, replied, “This is my fate. It is the punishment given to me by Yama, the Lord of Hades. I used to be the servant of the father of the present Lord of Samastipur. I was lazy and did not work at all, yet I collected my salary regularly. When I died, I went to Yama’s Court, and he sentenced me to come here every night to compensate for all the time I wasted. That’s why I come, even on the coldest winter nights, to work off my debt.”
A Change of Heart
Moved by the monkey’s pitiable tale, Arun said, “Look here, I feel sorry for you. I’ll tell the others and get you some warm clothes. Then you won’t feel so bad.”
The monkey responded, “Thank you, friend. Do that, and I will be grateful to you.”
The next day, Arun informed the other servants about the monkey’s plight, and they all agreed to contribute some warm clothes. That night, when the monkey arrived as usual, Arun handed over the woolen garments. After putting on the warm clothes, the monkey began to leave the house.
Arun exclaimed, “Hello, aren’t you going to start your work?”
The monkey replied, “Yama has ordained that I shall be free of this labor if someone pays me for my work. I’ve received these clothes as payment for my labor here. Therefore, the spell on me has been lifted. I shall depart never to return.” After saying this, the monkey darted away and was lost in the darkness.
The Servants’ Transformation
The next morning, Arun shared the astonishing conclusion of the monkey’s tale with the other servants. From that day on, they began to work with renewed purpose, having internalized the lesson of Yama’s punishment for laziness.