Prince Who Forgot His Gods
In the lush kingdom of Kudanthai, where lotus ponds bloomed and peacocks danced near stone temples, there lived a young prince named Arulmozhi.
He was clever, brave, and praised for his sword skills. Scholars taught him the Vedas, and sculptors showed him how gods were carved from stone. Yet, in all his learning, the prince had grown proud.
“I bow to no one but the gods,” he often declared. “Even the stars obey them. Why should I listen to ordinary people?”
One day, a mystic arrived from the Western Ghats. Dressed in deer skin and carrying a staff, he asked the king, “May I test your son’s wisdom?”
The king agreed.
The mystic took Arulmozhi deep into the forest. “Your test is simple,” he said. “Find and bow before the first gods known to mankind. Only then will you earn the blessing of knowledge.”
The prince thought, First gods?
He traveled to ancient temples — to Lord Murugan’s shrine on a hilltop, to Shiva’s lingam under a banyan tree, and to Vishnu lying on the serpent bed. In each place, he bowed deeply.
“I have done it,” he told the mystic.
The mystic smiled, “Have you now?” and handed him a scroll with these words written in Tamil letters:
"அன்னையும் பிதாவும் முன்னறி தெய்வம்"
/ Annaiyum Pithavum Munnari Deivam /
(Mother and father are the first gods.)
The prince blinked. “But… I never bowed to them.”
The mystic nodded gently. “Before you knew how to speak or think of gods in stone, your mother carried you and your father stood watch. They are your first temples — their arms, your first shelter. You forgot the gods who gave you to this world.”
Ashamed and humbled, the prince rushed back to the palace. He found his mother grinding sandalwood paste and his father teaching young boys archery. Falling to their feet, he said with tears,
“Forgive me. I saw gods in temples, but missed the ones who lit the lamp inside me.”
From that day, the prince wore no gold unless he first bowed to his parents each morning. His court had no statue greater than a painting of a mother holding a child and a father guiding the child’s hand in writing.
