A king was very troubled. The reason for his trouble was that the seeds sown in his kingdom did not grow. Even the trees and plants in the king’s garden stood bare. Forget about bearing fruits or flowers, they didn’t even sprout leaves.

Many monsoons had passed, but greenery seemed to have forgotten its way there. Farmers lamented at the sight of empty fields. Businessmen wanted to leave for foreign lands as soon as possible. There was chaos everywhere.

After much effort, the despairing king announced a reward for anyone who could bring back the greenery.

Various rituals, prayers, incantations, and ceremonies were performed, but the greenery did not return.

The kingdom was turning into a burning cemetery. The king’s days and nights grew unbearably long.

One day, a wandering sage with a bright white beard arrived at the royal court. Understanding the king’s pain, the sage smiled and said, “Oh king! Place your crown on the throne. Put a shovel on your shoulder and follow me barefoot right now.”

The sage led the way, and the king followed as instructed. Day and night, through fields and lanes, they walked until they reached a sandy field. It was a field adjoining the riverbank that flowed through the heart of the kingdom.

The sage glanced at the river. The water looked like a thin line. The sage looked around, then took four steps back and sprinkled water from his pot onto the ground.

“Start digging here,” the sage commanded the king. The king began to comply. The sage then sat down and said, “Be careful not to break anything you find while digging.” After this, he became absorbed in meditation.

The pit grew deeper. Whenever something was found during the excavation, the king carefully placed it before the sage and then returned to the pit.

First, a bronze plate emerged, then a sickle, and a clay pot. The king presented each item to the sage one by one.

The pit kept getting deeper.

One day, a human skull was found. Fearfully, the king cleaned the soil off the skull and presented it to the sage.

The sage’s eyes opened automatically from his meditation. He had a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. He said to the exhausted king, “Sit down.” Then he sprinkled water from his pot onto the skull. As soon as the drops touched it, the skull began to laugh loudly.

The sage said to the king, “Oh king! You can ask this skull why the seeds sown in your kingdom do not grow.”

When the king asked, the skull laughed loudly for a long time. Then it said, “Oh king! The land you are digging is where people of my time were tortured and killed. Our lush fields were burned or destroyed. Those soldiers and horsemen were from your ancestors’ army. Today, every inch of this land is filled with the cries of the hungry and thirsty innocent people. This river here, your armies washed their bloodstained swords in it many times. That is why its water has dried up. And that’s not all.”

“Stop, stop,” the trembling king pleaded, but the skull’s story did not stop. It continued, whether anyone listened or not, the skull’s tale is still being told today.