long ago there was a king
he had a doubt
he wanted to find out who is a great person
a sage or a householder
many people gave different answers
but the king was not satisfied
one day a sage visited the king's palace
Great sage welcome
I am here to answer your question
do you know my condition if you fail to prove you will be punished
yes I know that
well then tell us who is great a sage or a householder?
both are great in their own places
prove this to me
I will prove this to you
the sage took the King outside the palace
on the way they saw a big crowd
the princess of the country was walking on the street with a garland in her hand
she wanted to lay the garland on the person whom she wants to marry
she immediately placed the garland on the neck of a young Saint in the crowd
the saint threw the garland on the ground
please accept me as your wife
my father will give you the kingdom and all riches
I am a saint I cannot marry anyone leave me
the girl was very particular in marrying the saint
she followed him where ever he went
finally she lost track of him and began to weep
the king and the sage who saw the incident consoled
the princess and took her to leave her in her palace
on the way since it became dark they rested under a tree
a little male bird a female bird and their three kids lived in a nest on that tree
the King and the Saint heard the conversation of the birds
dear they have come to our tree
there is nothing here to give these people to eat
they are hungry we are householders
it is our duty to feed anyone who comes to our house
I will plunge into the fire and die
the next moment the male bird died
following the male bird the female bird and the kids also died
thinking that the guests of the tree will eat them and have a good dinner
the king was shocked to see this
the three people could not eat these birds
the king was very much disturbed
they passed the night without food
the next morning the king left the princes and her palace and returned to his kingdom with the sage
Great King
have you got the answer to your question?
both are great men in their place
Great Sage yes both are great
thanks for clearing my doubt
if you want to be a householder only alive as a sacrifice for the welfare of the others
like that of the birds
if you choose the life of renunciation
be like a young Saint and do not even look at Beauty, money and power
Moral
each person is great in his own place but the duty of one is not the duty of the other