The River Kamala

Story Note: The River Kamala is sacred, as are all Nepalese rivers, and considered a source of life. The people of Nepal worship their rivers and do not directly befoul them.

Long ago there lived a Bralmin who owned a slave girl named Kamala. Now this Brahmin wanted to make a pilgrimage to In- dia to the holy River Ganges, the holiest of all rivers. His slave girl asked if she too could send an offering. Since she was a slave and owned no property, she asked her mistress for help. The Brahmin's wife agreed and gave Kamala a handful of radish leaves from the garden.

Kamala handed the raddish leaves to the Brahmin, saying, "Oh, master, I wish to make an offering of these green leaves to the holy River Ganges. Please carry them with you and offer them to the river."

The Brahmin said to Kamala, "Foolish girl, you would be better off with food or flowers."

"Oh, master,"Kamala sighed, "I would like to make an offering of food or flowers, but I cannot afford it."Though Kamala's offering was poor, the Brahmin took it anyway, promising he would give it to the river. Then he left on his pilgrimage.

Fifteen days later, the Brahmin reached the River Ganges. How great was his joy when he bathed his body in its holy waters and worshipped it with his offerings. The following day he started for home, but to his surprise he discovered that at the end of the day he was in the same place from which he had started. The next day he set off again, but by the end of the day he was back where he had begun. So it happened on the third day. Now the Brahmin was exhausted and did not understand these strange occurrences.

On the fourth day he was about to set off, when he felt in his pocket the dried raddish leaves the slave girl had given him. "Oh, dear,"said the Brahmin, "I have forgotten to give Kamala's offer- ing."With that, he walked toward the river and threw in the dried raddish leaves. To his surprise, a human form emerged from the water, holding the leaves in her hand.

"Who are you, oh goddess?" asked the Brahmin in surprise.

The goddess looked at the dried raddish leaves and, with tears in her eyes, said, "I am the River Ganges, sister of your slave girl Kamala. She is the youngest of my sisters and my most beloved. In a former life, she took a loan from you and failed to repay it, so in this life she is destined to be your slave girl. Now she has worked long enough to repay you. Please let her go."

The Brahmin, feeling very sorry he had taken a goddess as his slave, hurried home to release her. As he entered his village, he saw Kamala returning from the water tap. "Holy goddess Kamala!"the Brahmin called out. Kamala turned to see who had called her "god- dess."When she saw it was her master, she vanished into air.

The Brahmin hurried to the spot where Kamala had been but saw only a water pot tilted on its side, the water flowing out. Day after day, the water flowed at this spot and was called the holy River Kamala, which flowed into the Ganges, the most sacred of all rivers.

To this day one may see a spring flowing out of a pitcher-like rock. The people of the area worship this spring, saying that Kamala is repaying her debt by providing water for them to drink and to irrigate the valley.

[1]Brahmin-a member of the highest order in the Hindu caste system

[2]River Kamala-in eastern Nepal between the Mahabharat Range and the Siwalik Mountains