What is Fear
The Fearless Boy Madhav
There was a man named Manivanna who had a son named Madhav. Madhav was a courageous lad who was seemingly immune to fear, a trait that slightly troubled his father.
Concerned by his son’s fearless disposition, Manivanna decided to send Madhav to Sadgope, a short-tempered, wise teacher in the village. Despite Sadgope’s numerous efforts, Madhav remained fearless and unshaken. Exasperated, Sadgope one day declared, “Look here, lad, you claim you’ve never known fear! Tonight, I’ll show you the essence of fear.”
Excited for the night to arrive, Madhav couldn’t wait to finally comprehend the concept of fear. When midnight arrived, a dark form neared him and roared ominously. Slightly taken aback, Madhav questioned the mysterious figure who introduced himself as a ghost, threatening to swallow Madhav. Instead of feeling fear, Madhav laughed and suggested taking the ‘ghost’ to his teacher, Sadgope, promptly seizing the form only to discover it was actually Sadgope under a blanket.
Search for Fear Continues
When Manivanna heard about these events, he gifted Madhav some money and advised him, “Go son, travel around the world. Only then will you come to know fear.” With that, Madhav set off to explore foreign lands.
One day, while journeying through a dense forest, Madhav noticed some hunters chasing a ferocious tiger. On inquiring, he found out their actions were driven by fear – a feeling Madhav still couldn’t understand. When one hunter suggested that he should venture into a nearby cave to experience fear, Madhav boldly did so and emerged dragging two tiger cubs by their tails, shocking the onlooking hunters.
The Royal Acknowledgement
Upon presenting the captured cubs to the king, Madhav received immense praise and numerous gifts, garnering the public’s attention as a fearless youth. This attracted the envy of a court wrestler, who decided to show Madhav fear by challenging him to punch a rival champion.
Unusual Lessons in Fear
Madhav promptly accepted the wrestler’s challenge, rushing over to punch the champion. Despite the champion’s initial aggression, his defeat was conceded by his daughter, leading to a surprising turn of events where Madhav ended up marrying the wrestler’s daughter with the belief that she would teach him about fear.
The Discovery of Fear
Post marriage, Madhav asked his wife to teach him about fear. Agreeing, she disappeared briefly only to return with a pond frog, which she promptly dropped into Madhav’s lap. In that moment, for the first time, Madhav found himself startled and shouted out in fear, to which his wife joyfully announced that this was the sensation of fear.
