How a Great Hearted Monkey saved its followers from enemy

About 80,000 monkeys, including their huge monkey king, lived in a forested glade near the River Ganges in the highlands. A tall, shady tree with large, beautiful, luscious golden fruits known as mangoes stood beside the clear, rushing river.

These mangoes were simply adored by all the monkeys, who devoured them nearly as soon as they ripened. The wise giant king had forewarned them not to allow even one luscious fruit fall into the river, therefore it was a very good thing nothing did. Since the men would undoubtedly travel in pursuit of this delectable fruit and disturb the calm in the realm of the monkeys if the water transported even one of these fruits down the river to the land where they resided.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a mango that was concealed inside an ant's nest on a branch of this tree that hung low over the river began to ripen. The river's swift current carried it southward till it arrived in the city of Benaras.

A couple of fisherman discovered a dazzling golden fruit trapped in the mesh of the net one fine morning when King Brahmadutta of Benaras was bathing in the river between two nets. They took it to the King with great excitement. The fruit was attentively studied by the King, who enquired about its origins and name. The fisherman had little knowledge of it, but they surmised that it must have come from the far-off Himalayan valleys and flowed into the river.

Then he instructed them to cut the mango before tasting a piece. It was merely delectable. The remainder he gave to his ministers and Queen, who both praised its wonderful flavour.

After a few days, the King was still unable to forget about this strange fruit. Due to a lack of more, he was unable to work, relax, or sleep. He had reached his breaking point and embarked on a search for it. He organised a fleet of rafts, and he and his soldiers, together with a few fishermen, sailed up the river.

They travelled for many days and nights, passing through numerous valleys until arriving at the one containing the mango tree. After realising his goal, the King was ecstatic and started eating as many mangoes as he wanted. The King finally went to sleep that night under the mango tree with his loyal warriors keeping watch. To deter wild animals, fires were lighted on either side.

The monkeys arrived in the middle of the night after the guards had fallen asleep and ate every last mango on the tree. With all the commotion, the King was awakened, and he gave his guards orders to shoot the monkeys so they could eat monkey flesh along with the mangoes.

The monkeys fled in terror after hearing this to tell their King. He pledged to save them once they explained what had transpired. However, he had to devise a strategy for it.

So he scaled the tree and used a branch to swing across the river. He carefully measured, chopped, and knotted one end of a bamboo shoot he had discovered around his waist. He wrapped the other end around the trunk of a tree. He made the decision to fly back to the mango tree and assist the other monkeys in crossing the bridge he had constructed with the bamboo shoot.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten to consider the part that was knotted around his waist. The monkey king could only cling to a mango tree branch when he jumped back into the mango grove. He called his monkeys swiftly, and they climbed over his back and onto the reed to go to the other side. Eighty thousand monkeys managed to escape by scaling his back one by one in this manner.

Unfortunately, there was one nasty monkey who despised and sought to eliminate his boss. He went by Devadutta. This vicious monkey deliberately jumped over the poor king's back, breaking it, and made off to the other bank.

King Brahmadutta had been awake for some time and had seen the entire incident. He begged his warriors to assist in lowering the monkey king to the ground since he felt so terrible for him. He questioned him why he had offered himself as a sacrifice for his tribe after giving him a gentle bath and wrapping him in a nice yellow towel. The enormous monkey replied that as their leader and guide, he was their father and it was his holy responsibility to guard them. He had made sure of their safety, thus he had no regrets at all. He continued by saying that the wellbeing of his subjects should always come first, even at the expense of his own. The monkey king passed away in peace after saying this.

That day, King Brahmadutta had gained a lot of knowledge. He gave his men the command to plan a royal funeral. Then, he constructed a shrine in honour of the monkey king, where he made floral offerings, lighted candles, and burned incense.

He constructed a new temple when he got back to Benaras and urged his people to honour this wonderful being. He always kept in mind the monkey king's final words and ruled his people with compassion and wisdom. The kind-hearted monkey received a lifetime of gratitude from the citizens of his realm.