Story of Prince Jainusanam and the King of Jinns – Alif Laila
In the olden days, Basra was ruled by a very opulent and just king. He had everything, but he did not have any children for a long time, due to which he used to be very sad. The residents of the city also used to pray to God along with the emperor that the prince should be born. In the end God listened to them all and Malika got pregnant and after nine months a son was born to her. He was named Jainusanam. The emperor called all the eminent astrologers of his kingdom and ordered that the future of the prince should be told completely. Everyone made his birth chart separately, but later everyone unanimously said that this prince will be very courageous and majestic and will enjoy his full life, but many dangers will come in front of him. The king said, There is nothing to worry about in this. He who is courageous always faces dangers. Then it is the job of the emperors to fight against the dangers. It is these dangers and calamities that show the way of life to the emperors. You have made a pleasing prophecy. Saying this, the emperor sent away the astrologers by giving them a good reward.
When the prince grew up, the best qualified persons were appointed for each subject for his education. Within a few days he became proficient in every science and art. But due to being the child of old age, he also got spoiled in care and became extravagant. After some time his father became ill and no medicine was effective on him. Before dying, he advised Jainussanam that you should avoid the company of lowly and selfish people and do not waste and keep a balance between the policies of punishment and generosity as it pleases the emperors. Then the old king died. Jainusanam mourned him for a certain period and then sat on the throne. There was no experience, when he got so much money at one time, he started plundering it with both hands and got engrossed in luxuries. His mother tried to explain a lot but she ignored him. As a result, the treasury became empty. The state administration collapsed and the soldiers started leaving their jobs.
Now he understands where has gone wrong. He removed his young friends from high positions and kept experienced state managers. They told him his mistakes and somehow managed the state, but money was needed to run the state well and Jainusanam started worrying night and day from where to get the money.
One night he saw in a dream that an old man was smiling to him and saying – O Jainussanam, you understand this thing that after every stroke happiness comes and after every calamity there is happiness. So don’t be disappointed. If you want to overcome this misery, then immediately go alone to Cairo which is the capital of Egypt. There your luck will wake up and your sorrows will go away. When he woke up, he told his mother about the dream and also said that I will go to Cairo to awaken my fortune. His mother explained, son, dreams are seen every day and look strange and strange, they are not true. You should not travel this long alone. Jainusanam was stubborn, he started saying, Amma, what are you talking about? Such dreams are not wrong. Important things were seen in dreams to the great prophets. The old man I saw in my dream was some great saint, His words cannot be false. Mother tried to convince him a lot that he should avoid this useless dangerous journey, but when Jainusanam used to decide something in his mind, he used to leave it after completing it. He handed over the administration of the kingdom to his mother and himself secretly left the palace and headed towards Cairo. He did not take a single man with him.
After several days of risky and excruciating journey, he reached the beautiful and vast city of Cairo. Lost-tired he went to sleep inside a mosque. He again saw in the dream the same old man who was saying, I had called you to Cairo to see your courage. You passed this exam perfectly. You will become a very powerful king. You go back to Basra. There you will get a lot of money.
When Jainussanam woke up, he thought that this old man made a good fool of me, if I wanted to get money in Basra, then why did I run till Cairo. He thought that it was also good that I did not tell this to anyone other than my mother, otherwise everyone would have laughed at my stupidity. Well, the poor man again went to Basra and reached there efficiently in a few days. His mother was surprised at his return so early and when she asked the reason, Janussanam told the story of another dream he had seen in the mosque in Cairo. Mother gave him patience and said, it is right son, you will get enough money here in Basra.
At night, Jainusanam again saw the same old man in his dream. He was saying, listen Jainusanam, now the time has come when you are going to get an incomparable amount. Now listen carefully to what I say. Your father had earlier built a palace at such a place and lived there. Then he built this palace. No one lived in the old palace. You go there alone with a shovel and start digging the ground. After a while you will get a big treasure.
Jainusnam told his mother in the morning that the same old man had come again in my dream at night and he has said this. Hearing this his mother started laughing. Said, this old man is also strange. Having come twice in a dream, he made you run here and there in vain, now for the third time also he has done some nonsense, which cannot make any sense. Janussanam said, now even I do not believe his words, but this is the last time I am obeying him. This time also if nothing comes to my hand, then I will not pay attention to his words. Mother said, come on, try this as well. So much so that it is clear that digging up an old house takes less effort than a trip to Cairo. Janussanam said, no wonder that this time his words turned out to be right. Mother said, do whatever you want, I still say that all these things are useless.
Jainusanam gave some answer but hiding from mother he started digging the old palace. He dug a pit about one yard deep but not a single penny came out there. He suddenly sat down and thought that I had become a fool again. If my mother knows, she will laugh a lot and say that the boy has gone mad, Unnecessarily dug up the palace and ruined it. After resting for a while, he got up again and started digging. Suddenly his shovel fell on some hard thing and when he dug carefully, he found a marble rock. When he removed it, stairs appeared under him. He lit a candle and went down the stairs in its light. A large hall was found inside, whose walls were made of porcelain and the roof was made of amethyst stone and in it were kept four tripods made of oysters. The ten denges on each tripod were made of stone. (Samak is a soft white stone.) At first he thought that there would be fine wine in the dagons. But he opened the lid of a deg and found it full of ashrafis. She also found other places full of asharfis.
Now he took a handful of Asharfis and went and showed it to his mother. She was surprised to see this, then said, son, God has blessed you, but this time don’t waste this money as before. Janussanam said, have faith, now I will not spend anything without asking you. Then his mother said that I also want to go to that place and see that money.
Jainusanam took him. He saw forty dens full of ashrafis. Then his mother looked here and there and in one corner another vessel made of concrete appeared. When Jainusnam opened it and saw a key made of gold came out in it. The Rajmata said, Surely there is some other treasure here whose key is kept here. They started walking in the hallway to see where the key could be found. While searching, he saw a door on one side of the hallway which was locked. When he put that key in it, the lock opened. When they went inside after opening the lock, they saw a huge room. In it were made of nine gold pillars as high as a man’s waist. On top of the eight pillars were placed diamond sculptures of different human beings, due to which the room was lit up. Jainusanam kept seeing the beauty of those idols. There was no idol on the ninth pillar. The pillar was covered with a white silk cloth on which it was written, Dear son, These eight idols are unique and priceless, but the idol for the ninth pillar is more than that. If you want to get him too, go to Cairo. There my old servant lives happily. He is the famous man there and you will find his house without any problem. When Mubarak will know that you are my son, he will take you to the place from where you can find the ninth idol.
After reading this, he forgot about Jainusanam and wealth and got hooked on getting the ninth idol. He said to his mother, Amma, now I cannot live without getting the ninth idol. I will go to Cairo again. His mother said, how can I stop you now. You are acting on the orders of such a great Siddha who is omniscient. No harm can come to you by obeying his orders. You don’t even worry about the state management, I will take care of everything with the help of the minister. But now you don’t go alone like before. This time you have not even been ordered to go alone.
On the second day, Jainussanam took some selected servants along with him and headed towards Cairo. After a few days he reached there safely. After going there and talking to the people, it came to know that Mubarak is indeed a famous citizen of that place. The emperor did not face any difficulty in finding his home. His building was huge. On sounding the door, a servant opened the door. Jainusnam said, I am a foreigner. Have heard a lot about the generosity of your master. I want to be his guest.
The servant went inside and told this to his master and after getting orders from him took Jainusanam and his men inside. Jainusanam saw that the house was even more magnificent from inside. Mubarak was waiting for him in a decorated hallway. Seeing him, Mubarak got up and saluted and asked who are you, where have you come from?
Janussanam said, you did not recognize me. I am Jainussanam, the son of the late king of Basra. Mubarak said, I am the slave of the late King Basra. But I haven’t seen you. How old will you be? Janussanam said that I am twenty years old. Mubarak said, well, I came here from Basra twenty years ago. But still I want to be sure that you are the son of the same emperor. Can you tell me something that will give me relief in this matter?
Jainusanam said, “A few days ago, having had a dream, I had excavated in my father’s old palace. I found in it forty dens full of ashrafis. Mubarak asked that you saw anything other than these lights? Jainusanam said, “When I opened a door with a gold key, in that room I saw human figures of diamonds placed on eight golden pillars. The ninth pillar was also of gold but there was no idol on it. It was covered with a white silk cloth on which in my father’s handwriting it was written that the ninth idol is the best and if you want to get it, go to Mubarak in Cairo. Hearing this, Mubarak fell at his feet and said, ‘You are my master, of course. I will definitely take you to the desired place. But now you are tired, take rest for a day or two. I have given a feast to the chief men of Cairo, You go there too. Jainusanam gladly accepted this. Mubarak took him to the banquet hall and stood by the emperor Jainussanam like volunteers. The people present there began to wonder and ask each other who it is that Mubarak is serving like slaves.
When all the guests had finished eating, Mubarak said to them, you must be wondering why I am serving this young man so much. Nothing surprising. This is the king of Basra, I was the slave of his father. They died before freeing me. So now I am their slave. He is the sole heir to his father. To this Jainussanam said, I declare before this present group that I have freed them from my bondage. Only one thing, which I have just told them, they will have to do.
Hearing this, Mubarak bowed his head and thanked the prince. Then came the period of alcoholism. Everyone kept drinking alcohol till evening, then Mubarak sent everyone off by giving them fruits etc. Jainusanam rested for the whole night and said the next day, Brother, now my tiredness of traveling is gone. I have not come here to visit but to take the ninth idol. Now it is necessary to go for that work. Good point, but you need to know one thing, said Mubarak. Many frightening things will happen along the way. It is necessary that you should not be afraid of anything and pay no attention to anything. The young king said, you should be at ease. I will not be afraid of any ghost and will do as you say. Anyway, I am the king, I should not be afraid of anything.
Mubarak was convinced to hear this. He ordered his servants to prepare for the journey. The next day they both left the house. Seeing the sights of the route, they started walking on a very narrow path after several days. Mubarak left the horse and the accompanying servants there and ordered that you guys wait for us here till we return. Now he walked on foot carrying Jainusanam. Once again he said, Now begins the dreadful place. You will not be afraid even after seeing some strange thing. Then he took it and sat on the bank of a river and said, by crossing this river we will achieve our objective.
Jainusanam said, how will we cross such a big river? There is no boat here. Mubarak said, here will come the magic boat sent by the King of Jinn. Let me again warn you that no matter how strange his boat looks, don’t utter a word and don’t be intimidated. Don’t be surprised and don’t even ask him anything. After boarding the boat, even a word came out of your mouth that immediately this boat would sink in the bottomless water. Janussanam said, I will be absolutely silent. Whatever other things are necessary, you tell me so that I can take care of them.
While they were talking, they saw a sandalwood boat with a blue silk sail coming towards them. The boatman of that big boat was a boatman whose head was like that of an elephant and the rest of the body like that of a lion. When the boat came to the shore, he lifted both of them one by one with his trunk and made them sit in the boat and in the blink of an eye, carried them across and dropped them on the other shore in the same way. Then the boat disappeared. Mubarak said, now we are in the land of jinns. The beauty here is heavenly. Look how there are fields with beautiful flowers and vegetables all around. The branches of a fruit tree are touching the earth with the weight of the fruit. Beautiful birds are chirping everywhere.
Jainusanam also got engrossed seeing the beauty of that place. He felt that all the tiredness of his way had gone, he continued to enjoy the natural beauty there for a long time. Then both of them went ahead and started walking in the same direction. After walking for a long time, they reached near a fort. This fort was built of diamonds. There was a deep and wide moat around the fort. Between the moat and the wall of the fort were tall and dense trees which almost hid the fort. In front of the main gate of the fort, there was a 12 yards long and six yards wide shell bridge over the moat. The main gate was guarded by terrifying jinns so that no one could enter without the emperor’s permission.
Mubarak stayed there. He said to Jainussanam, if we proceed from here, then this great terrible jinn will not leave us alive. Now I will recite the mantra to protect both of us so that the jinns cannot come near us here. Saying this Mubarak opened a bag tied around his waist. There were four sticks in it. He tied one strap on his waist and the other on his back. He gave the remaining two straps to Jainusanam to be tied in the same way. Then he laid two sheets on the ground. He fixed them by placing stones on the corners and sides of those sheets. Then he said to Jainussanam, now I invoke the king of jinns. This is his fort. If he comes here in some terrible form it will mean that he is not happy with our coming and we will be in great sorrow. But if he comes in human form then your wish will be fulfilled. Keep in mind that whatever form it may take, Salute him by bowing down, but in no case do not let that sheet or those plates separate from your body. It is separated from the body that your body will disappear. On the arrival of the King of the Jinn, you may say that my father, who was your servant, has now passed away and the grace that you used to do on my father should also be done on me. When he asks what kindness should I do to you, then you should say that give me the ninth idol for the basement of your palace.
Thus Mubarak again explained everything to Jainussanam and then started reciting the mantra. In no time the clouds started to roar very loudly and there was such a terrible sound that it seemed that the ground would burst. Jainusanam was very scared to see this incident. He kept calm on the outside but his heart started beating faster. When Mubarak saw this condition of his, he said, now you do not need to panic. As terrible as it was meant to be. Now this darkness will also dissipate and there will be light. So did happen. Within moments the clouds, the lightning all disappeared and the light spread. After that the king of jinns appeared in the form of a beautiful man.
According to Mubarak’s explanation, Jainussanam stood up and bowed down and saluted the King of the Jinns. The king of jinns came near him smiling and said, my son, your heavenly father was a very close friend of mine, I had great affection for him. whenever he comes to me, I would give him a beautiful diamond statue as a gift. He would take her with him. Thus I gave him eight idols. I also asked him to make a golden pillar for the ninth idol as well and leave a white silk sheet on it with a message for your son. You have read that message and have come here accordingly. I had promised your father that I would give the ninth idol to Jainussanam. The ninth idol is better in beauty than the earlier eight idols. I also gave you a dream as an old man to fulfill my vow and I got you the treasure hidden in your first palace and you found the gifts of Asharfis and then after going into the inner room you opened it and you put it on the golden pillar. Looking at the installed diamond statues and then reading the message written by his father. I know that after reading that message you have come here with Mubarak. Going in and opening it, you saw the diamond statues set on the golden pillar and then read the message written by your father. I know that after reading that message you have come here with Mubarak. Going in and opening it, you saw the diamond statues set on the golden pillar and then read the message written by your father. I know that after reading that message you have come here with Mubarak.
After that the king of jinn said, your wish will definitely be fulfilled and you will get your desired thing. Even if I had not promised it to your father, I would have given the ninth idol to you. But before that you have to do one thing for me. You bring me a girl. He should be fifteen years old. May she also be Rupvati and her heart also pure. But I warn you, don’t misbehave with her even by mistake or else you will die. Jainusanam said, I will definitely bring a fifteen year old girl for your consumption as per your order. But the difficulty is that I can see her external beauty, but how can I know the condition of her conscience? We humans do not know the condition of each other’s heart.
The king of jinn smiled and said, You are intelligent. You are right. You human beings do not know the condition of each other’s heart, even we jinns do not know about each other’s heart. But I will take away your trouble. I’ll give you a mirror. With this mirror you will get the knowledge of the conscience of each and every girl. When you find a beauty of fifteen years old, look at her form in this mirror. If her conscience is pure, she will look beautiful even in this mirror. But if her heart is dirty, she will look ugly in it. But let me remind you of the condition which I have placed to keep his purity intact. If this condition is broken and you spoil that girl, then I will take your life. There will be no concession in this matter.
Jainusanam said that I accept your condition, I will bring the girl to you in a holy state. The king of the jinn gave him that magic mirror and said, son, go now. This mirror will shine your destiny. Both Jainussanam and Mubarak bowed to the king of the jinns and he disappeared. Both of them then came to the bank of the river, where the strange boater brought them to the other bank in a moment. Then he went to the place where his servants were waiting for him. After going there they got on their horses and reached Cairo.
Janussanam rested for a few days in Cairo. After that told Mubarak that now I go to find a girl for the king of jinns. It’s useless to go out for it, said Mubarak. There is nowhere in the world as many beautiful girls as there are in Cairo. Janussanam said, you are right, but how can the beauties of Cairo meet? Mubarak said, don’t worry about it. An old lady lives here. She keeps the news of the girls of the whole city. I call him and entrust this work to him. I hope she will bring your desired girl child without any difficulty. Saying this Mubarak called the old lady. She was a great sage and was very adept in the work of kinship. In two or four days, he brought beauties of twenty fifteen years and raised them. Their faces made the sun and moon blush in beauty, but when Jainussanam saw their form in the magic mirror, they found each one ugly,
Now it was compulsion to search elsewhere. Both Janussanam and Mubarak came to Baghdad and started living with a big house. He was very generous and hundreds of people ate food at his house every day. In that locality lived a jealous man named Murad who was jealous of every rich man because he himself was poor. He used to get angry after hearing the fame of Jainusanam’s generosity.
One day, sitting in the mosque after the evening prayers, Murad said to the local residents – Brothers, I have heard that a man has started living in our street, who spends a lot of money. There is hardly a man in the city whom he has not helped. It seems to me that someone is a thief and a dacoit, otherwise where did he get so much money from. We people should be careful. The Caliph came to know that if there is a criminal living in our street, then all of us will also go. People said, you are right. We should complain about this man to the Kotwal. Why don’t you do this work yourself? Murad said, Good point. Tomorrow I will complain to the Kotwal.
Murad did not know, but Mubarak was also sitting among those men listening to everything. On the next morning, Mubarak went to Murad’s house with five Asharfis in a bag and some silk bags. Seeing her, Murad asked in a bitter voice, who are you and for what have you come here? Mubarak said very politely that we are two foreigners who started living in your neighbourhood. Then he gave him a bag of asharfis and silk sack and said, “My master prince has sent me to you after hearing the fame of your virtuous character and has asked me to accept this small gift, consider me as your servant and if given a chance, give me darshan.”
Hearing this, Murad completely melted. He said, “Tell the prince that I am very ashamed that I have not yet received your visit.” I will definitely come tomorrow. Then after the namaz in the mosque, he told the local people, I was confused about that generous person. Now I have come to know that he is not a thief-robber but a prince of some country. Now there is no point in complaining about him to the Kotwal. Others also agreed with Murad.
On the next day Murad dressed well and went to Jainusanam. Jainusanam paid great attention to him. Murad asked, for what purpose have you come to this city? Jainusanam said, I want a very beautiful girl of fifteen years old, whose mind is as pure as her face. Murad said, it is difficult to find such a girl, but to my knowledge there is such a girl. Her father is a former Minister of State. She has done the entire education of her daughter herself. That girl is also an indescribable beauty. If you want, his father will gladly give his hand to yours. said Janussanam, but I will see him myself first. I want beauty of mind along with beauty of body.
Murad said, I will decide the matter of showing the face, but how will you know his nature? Nature is known only after staying together for a long time. Jainusanam said, I know what is in someone’s mind just by looking at their face. Murad said that I will go and talk to the father of that girl today. On the second day Jainussanam went with Murad and met the father of the girl. The former minister, after inquiring about Jainussanam’s family etc., agreed to the marriage of his daughter and called the daughter and said, Daughter, show her your face for two moments.
When the girl lifted the mask from her face, Jainusanam was dazzled after seeing her appearance and started thinking that it would be better if she were doing it to me. Then he saw her face in the magic mirror. In the mirror also she appeared to be a perfect beauty. That is, Jainusanam found the same girl as he had gone out to find. The marriage of both was fixed. In two-four days, the former minister called the Qazi and the witnesses and got the marriage done. Jainusanam donated jewelery worth lakhs and the former minister also sent off the girl by giving a huge dowry.
Janussanam also gave a feast to the prominent people of Baghdad on the occasion of this marriage. Then Mubarak told him that we don’t need to stay here anymore, let’s go back to Cairo. Janussanam said, Brother, now I do not want to go to Cairo. After going there I will have to give my wife to the king of jinns. I want to take him to my country and live comfortably with him. Mubarak said, do not even bring such a thing in your mind. Remember that if you break the promise you made to the King of the Jinn, he will not leave you alive. You will become a waste of time even before you have sex with your wife. Now it is appropriate for you to strengthen your mind and keep restraint on your desires and hand over this girl to the king of jinns. In being happy with him, you are in every way.
Jainusnam said after thinking for a while, you are absolutely right. I have decided not to have physical contact with this girl. But it is possible that later on, my mind may be shaken. So keep this girl in your hands and don’t let me see her face all the way. After this Mubarak completed the preparations for the journey and all these people went through Cairo with all the equipment towards the country of the jinns. When the beauty saw that my husband was not coming in front of me, she one day asked Mubarak about this. Mubarak said, Sundari, you will never be able to see your husband. He did not marry you to make him his wife but to give it to the king of the jinns. He loves you very much, but if he does not give you to the king of jinn, he will be killed by his hand. Hearing this she started crying and said, What face will you show to God in doom? You have brought me under the pretense of marriage to get me killed by the hands of jinns. Both of them were also sad but what could they do?
When Jainusanam presented the girl to the king of jinns, he was very happy to see her and said, I am very happy with you that you brought such a good girl to me. Now go to your country immediately. There you will find the desired diamond statue on the ninth pillar in the basement. Jainussanam departed from him and went with Mubarak to Cairo, then stayed there for a few days and left for Basra. All this long he cried remembering his beautiful wife whom he had given to the king of jinns to die and that too by deceiving her and his father. Remaining mournful all the way, he reached Basra.
His ministers and members were very happy on his return. After meeting everyone, he went to his mother’s palace and told her the whole story of the journey and said that after marrying the daughter of the former minister of Baghdad, I had given her to the king of the jinns. The old lady was very pleased and said, now you will definitely get the ninth diamond idol. Now you go to the place where the earlier eight idols are. Jainusanam did not say anything from his mouth, but kept saying in his mind that after losing such a beautiful living idol, what would I do with a dead idol. He came to the cellar with his mother carrying this anger. But after going there I saw that instead of the diamond on the ninth pillar, a beauty is standing. When he went near and saw it was the same girl whom he had married.
Jainusanam was shocked to see him. The beauty said, you must be feeling sad that I had left it to die, it again fell on my head. Jainusanam said, God only knows how sad I was to leave you. But I was committed. And then there was the fear that the king of jinn would kill me if I broke my promise. I thought many times on the way too that I should break the promise and bring you to my palace, but my old friend kept me from this thing. I was not at all worried about the ninth idol, but Mubarak kept me away from offending the King of the Jinn. Now I have found you sitting. Now what if I don’t care about the ninth idol, the wealth and royalty of the whole world.
Jainusanam’s mother was watching and listening to all these things with amazement that suddenly there was a loud sound and the whole building started shaking. Janussanam’s mother got more nervous and cried seeing this. Then the king of jinns appeared in human form and said to Jainussanam’s mother, Malika, I used to love your son only. I wanted to see him as a successful king, so I tested his bravery, modesty, self-restraint and pledge-keeping in various ways. I did not choose this beautiful and virtuous girl for myself, in fact, for your son. So I brought it here and take this, also take this diamond statue to put on the ninth pillar. Saying this he put a diamond idol on the pillar and disappeared. Everyone was very happy and there was a festival of marriage of the emperor for many days in the state.
