The Mouse Maiden

In the ancient kingdom of Kosala, there lived a renowned sage named Yajnavalkya who was famous throughout the land for his wisdom, his devotion to the gods, and his powerful magical abilities. His hermitage was situated in a peaceful grove beside a sacred river, where he spent his days in meditation, prayer, and the study of divine scriptures.

Yajnavalkya had never married, having devoted his entire life to spiritual pursuits. However, as he grew older, he began to feel lonely in his isolated hermitage and wished he had a daughter to care for and to carry on his teachings.

One bright morning, as the sage was performing his daily prayers beside the river, he heard a faint crying sound coming from nearby. Following the sound, he discovered a tiny field mouse caught in the roots of a large banyan tree. The poor creature was barely alive, having been separated from her family and struggling desperately to free herself.

“You poor little thing,” said Yajnavalkya gently, carefully lifting the mouse from the tangled roots. “How did you come to be trapped here all alone?”

The mouse was so small and weak that she could barely move, but her bright black eyes looked up at the sage with complete trust. Something about her helpless condition and innocent expression touched the holy man’s heart deeply.

“I cannot leave you here to perish,” he said softly. “But what can an old hermit like me do to care for such a tiny creature?”

As he held the mouse gently in his palm, an extraordinary idea came to him. He had studied the ancient scriptures that described various divine transformations, and he possessed the spiritual power to perform certain miraculous feats. Why not use his abilities to give this little mouse a chance at a better life?

“If the gods grant me this boon,” he prayed aloud, “let this tiny creature be transformed into a form that will allow her to live a full and happy life.”

Closing his eyes and concentrating deeply, Yajnavalkya began to chant sacred mantras that few sages in the world knew. As his voice rose and fell in the ancient rhythm, a brilliant golden light began to emanate from his hands.

The light grew brighter and brighter until it was almost too dazzling to look at. When it finally faded, the sage opened his eyes and gasped in amazement. Where the tiny mouse had been, there now lay a beautiful human baby girl with lustrous black hair and eyes like sparkling jewels.

“Incredible!” whispered Yajnavalkya. “The gods have truly blessed us both. You shall be my daughter, little one, and I will call you Mushika, which means ’little mouse,’ so that you will always remember your humble origins.”

The sage took the baby girl back to his hermitage and raised her with all the love and care that a devoted father could provide. He fed her the finest food, dressed her in beautiful clothes, and taught her everything he knew about literature, music, mathematics, and spiritual wisdom.

As Mushika grew, she developed into an extraordinarily beautiful and accomplished young woman. Her intelligence was remarkable, her voice was as sweet as a nightingale’s song, and her grace and beauty were such that anyone who saw her was immediately captivated.

However, despite all the love and luxury that surrounded her, Mushika always felt somehow different from other people. She had strange preferences that she couldn’t explain – she loved dark, quiet places and felt uncomfortable in bright sunlight. She preferred small, cozy spaces to large, open rooms. And though she could eat any food, she found herself particularly drawn to certain grains and seeds.

“Father,” she would sometimes ask, “why do I feel so different from other people? When I see the village girls, they seem so comfortable with things that make me feel anxious.”

Yajnavalkya would pat her head gently and reply, “My dear daughter, everyone is unique. Your special nature is what makes you precious to me.”

As Mushika reached the age when young women typically married, Yajnavalkya began to worry about her future. He wanted to find her the best possible husband – someone worthy of her beauty, intelligence, and virtue.

“My daughter,” he said to her one day, “you have grown into such a remarkable young woman that you deserve only the finest husband in all the universe. I will not be satisfied with anyone less than the most powerful being in existence.”

“But father,” replied Mushika, “what do you mean by the most powerful being?”

Yajnavalkya thought carefully. “The sun!” he declared. “The sun is the most powerful force in the universe. He gives light and life to everything. You shall marry the sun god himself!”

Using his spiritual powers, the sage summoned Surya, the sun god, to appear before them. The radiant deity materialized in their humble hermitage, his presence filling the room with warmth and brilliant light.

“O great sage,” said Surya respectfully, “why have you called upon me?”

“Magnificent Surya,” replied Yajnavalkya, “I wish to offer you my daughter’s hand in marriage. She is the most beautiful and virtuous maiden in the world, and you are the most powerful being in the universe. It would be a perfect match.”

Surya looked at the lovely Mushika with admiration. “Your daughter is indeed beautiful beyond compare,” he said. “But tell me, maiden, what do you think of this proposal?”

Mushika looked at the dazzling sun god and felt overwhelmed by his brilliance. His light was so intense that it hurt her eyes, and his radiant heat made her feel uncomfortable and dizzy.

“O noble Surya,” she said politely, “you are certainly magnificent, but your light is too bright for me, and your heat is too intense. I fear I would not be happy as your wife. Is there perhaps someone more powerful than you who might be a better match?”

Surya was not offended by her honest response. “There is indeed one more powerful than I,” he said thoughtfully. “The clouds can cover my light and block my rays. Perhaps you would prefer the king of the clouds?”

Yajnavalkya immediately summoned Megha, the cloud king, who appeared as a majestic figure surrounded by mists and gentle rain.

“Beautiful maiden,” said Megha in his deep, rumbling voice, “I would be honored to make you my queen. My kingdom stretches across the entire sky, and I have the power to bring life-giving rain to the earth.”

But again, Mushika felt uncertain. The cloud king’s realm seemed too vast and changeable for her taste, and she found herself longing for something more stable and secure.

“O mighty Megha,” she said respectfully, “your kingdom is certainly impressive, but it seems too shifting and uncertain for me. Is there perhaps someone more powerful than you?”

“Indeed there is,” replied Megha. “The wind can blow me across the sky and scatter my form. Surely Vayu, the wind god, is more powerful than I.”

And so Vayu was summoned, appearing as a swift, dynamic figure who seemed to dance with invisible energy.

“Lovely Mushika,” said the wind god, “I can travel anywhere in an instant and touch every corner of the world. Nothing can contain me or stop my movement.”

But Mushika found the wind god’s restless energy exhausting. She preferred calm and stability to constant motion.

“O great Vayu,” she said, “your power is amazing, but your constant movement makes me feel dizzy and tired. Is there someone more powerful than you?”

“Yes,” admitted Vayu. “The mountains can block my path and break my force. Surely the king of the mountains is mightier than I.”

The mountain king, Parvata, appeared next – a massive, imposing figure who radiated strength and permanence.

“Fair maiden,” said Parvata in his deep, steady voice, “I have stood firm since the beginning of time. Nothing can move me or shake my resolve. You would find great security as my queen.”

Mushika appreciated the mountain king’s stability, but his enormous size and overwhelming presence made her feel small and insignificant.

“O noble Parvata,” she said, “your strength is certainly impressive, but you are so large and imposing that I feel lost in your presence. Is there someone more powerful than you?”

Parvata considered this question seriously. “There is one creature that can tunnel through my strongest stone and create passages through my very heart,” he said. “The humble mouse is mightier than I, for what I cannot move, he can penetrate.”

At these words, Yajnavalkya was shocked. “A mouse? But surely you jest! How can a tiny mouse be more powerful than the king of mountains?”

“Think about it, wise sage,” explained Parvata. “The sun cannot penetrate solid rock, clouds cannot pass through stone, wind cannot blow through a mountain’s core, but a small mouse can gnaw passages through the hardest granite. In his own realm, the mouse is indeed the mightiest.”

At the mention of a mouse, something strange happened to Mushika. Her heart began to beat faster, and she felt a sudden, inexplicable excitement. Without really understanding why, she found herself saying, “Yes! I would like to meet this mighty mouse!”

Yajnavalkya was bewildered, but he had promised to find the most powerful husband for his daughter. Reluctantly, he used his powers to summon the king of all mice.

Soon, a handsome field mouse appeared – not large by human standards, but perfectly proportioned and radiating a quiet confidence and intelligence. He had sleek brown fur, bright alert eyes, and a gentle manner that immediately put everyone at ease.

The moment Mushika saw the mouse, she felt something she had never experienced before. Her heart filled with warmth and joy, and she felt instantly comfortable and happy in his presence.

“Noble mouse,” she said, her voice filled with emotion she couldn’t fully understand, “you may be small in size, but you seem perfect to me. Would you be willing to accept me as your wife?”

The mouse looked at the beautiful maiden with wonder and admiration. “Lovely lady,” he replied, “nothing would make me happier than to have you as my companion. But we seem to be of very different species. How could such a marriage work?”

Mushika turned to her father with tears of joy in her eyes. “Father, please! This is the husband I want. I don’t care about power or status. I only know that my heart tells me this is right.”

Yajnavalkya was deeply troubled. How could he explain to his daughter that she was asking to marry a creature of the same species she had originally been? How could he tell her that her attraction to the mouse was due to her true nature, which his magic had hidden but never truly changed?

As he looked at his daughter’s radiant happiness and the obvious mutual affection between her and the mouse, the sage realized that he had learned an important lesson. In trying to give Mushika a “better” life by changing her form, he had actually separated her from her true nature and destiny.

“My dear daughter,” he said gently, “if this is truly your heart’s desire, then I will grant it. But I must tell you something important first. Long ago, when you were just a tiny baby, you were… different from what you are now.”

Slowly and lovingly, Yajnavalkya told Mushika the story of how he had found her as a mouse and transformed her with his magic. He explained that her strange preferences and her instant attraction to the mouse king were expressions of her original nature.

“So you see, my child,” he concluded, “in wanting to marry this noble mouse, you are actually choosing to return to your true self.”

Mushika listened to this revelation with amazement, but also with a growing sense of understanding and relief. Finally, all her strange feelings and preferences made sense!

“Father,” she said with a peaceful smile, “I understand now why I’ve always felt different, and why my heart recognized its true companion immediately. Please, if you can, help me return to my original form so that I can be with the one I truly love.”

With tears in his eyes – partly of sadness at losing his beloved daughter, but mostly of joy at seeing her true happiness – Yajnavalkya performed the reverse transformation. In a swirl of golden light, Mushika became once again a beautiful field mouse, perfectly matched to her chosen husband.

The two mice looked at each other with complete contentment and love. They were perfectly suited to each other in every way – in size, in nature, in preferences, and in understanding.

“My daughter,” said Yajnavalkya, blessing the pair, “you have taught me that true happiness comes not from trying to be something we are not, but from accepting and embracing our authentic selves. Go now with my blessing, and may you find all the joy that comes from living in harmony with your true nature.”

The mouse couple made their home in a beautiful burrow in the sage’s garden, where they lived happily together, raising many children and always remaining close to the wise hermit who had learned so much from their story.

Yajnavalkya continued his spiritual practices, but now with a deeper understanding of the importance of accepting people as they are rather than trying to change them into what we think they should be. He would often tell visitors the story of Mushika and the mouse king, explaining that love and happiness cannot be found by changing our essential nature, but only by embracing who we truly are.

And in the nearby villages, the tale of the mouse maiden became a beloved story told to young people about to marry, reminding them that the best partnerships are formed when two people can be completely themselves with each other, and that true love recognizes and cherishes our authentic selves rather than the masks we might wear to please the world.

The sage lived for many more years, always taking joy in watching his daughter and son-in-law’s family grow and thrive, and always remembering the lesson that sometimes the greatest magic is simply allowing people to be who they really are.