Ghanshyam Charitra
Lesson 22
Golden Cannon
In Ayodhya there was a road. King Darshansingh ordered his servants
to dig up both sides of the road so the pedestrians have a clear
path. There many people digging the land. It was made entirely of
gold. There was a symbol engraved on the cannon indicating it was
prepared by the great King Raghu. Many people said to have the cannon
put in King Darshan's museum. There was much pride felt amongst
the citizens of Ayodhya as they now had a most valuable antique.
The cannon also indicated the prosperity of Ayodhya. Darshansingh
had his soldiers bring him the cannon
They went home and started their attempt to put the Golden Cannon
on a cart. But they failed to move the cannon one inch. Meanwhile
Ghanshyam was passing by with his elder brother Rampratap. He saw
that the soldiers couldn't move the cannon. He smiled and thought
to himself, "No one but I can move the Golden Cannon."
"If they need me, I'll help them," Suddenly one of the
soldiers noticed Ghanshyam and Rampratap and requested that Ghanshyam
show his Godly self. He continued to explain, "The cannon had
been ordered to be kept for exhibition in our kingdom in the afternoon.
Thousands of people are expected to come and see this Cannon. But,
except for you, no one can move this cannon. How can we show our
faces to the king without bringing this cannon?" Soon other
soldiers arrived and beffed for help from Ghanshyam.
Rampratap insisted Ghanshyam to help them. So Ghanshyam reached
toward the Golden Cannon and told everyone to move back, he would
move the otherwise immovable cannon, by himself. Somepeople laughed
at Ghanshyam, as they did not believe he could put the cannon on
the cart without help. The soldiers that laughed uttered, "If
we young soldiers as a group cannot move this cannon, how could
a mere child move it?" Despite what the soldiers said, Ghanshyam
was indeed a child and like all children he displayed his pride!
A soldier, standing beside Ghanshyam, soon restrained the soldiers
to speak falsely. He said"Ghanshyam is no ordinary child. He
is a miraculous child. He can do what we can not. Keep yourselves
away and let him try his strength alone. We will be the withnesses
of whether he can do it or not!"
So the soldiers all backed away. Ghanshyam created a wonderful
miracle in their presence. He carried the cannon and with his left
hand held the wheel of the cart. Then he pulled the cart and the
soldiers were astonished at what they had witnessed. They didn't
believe what they saw, but since they saw the cart was on the cart,
they began to believe that Ghanshyam was a reincarnation of of Rama.
Soon they saw him in the divine form of Ram. Some folks described
him as "Mahabali Hanuman."
The Commander-in-Chief came and paid reverence to Ghanshyam. He
respectively said, "You have saved us from tremendous trouble
and hardship. You are truly God himself, because no one can move
this cannon without God." He expressed how he was very much
obliged to Ghanshyam. Then Ghanshyam went home. The soldiers started
to drive the cart but they soon arrived at a river they could not
cross. The river Saryu was in the way and to cross it with the cannon
and cart it would be very difficult. They tried to cross it by putting
the cannon and the cart on a big ship, but it sank in the middle
of the river. The ropes that had been tied to the cannon and cart
could not hold them and they broke. The Golden Cannon slipped deep
beneath the waters of Saryu and disappeared. It has to be found
to this day.
Exercise 1:
Answer the following questions.
- How was the cannon found?
- What did the symbol on the cannon indicate?
- What did the soldiers request of Ghanshyam?
- How did Ghanshyam put the cannon on the
cart?
- Why did a certain soldier restrain the
other soldiers and what did he say to them?
- How was the Golden Cannon lost by the
soldiers?
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