Kubera, lord of the Yakshas

Kubera, lord of the Yakshas, is commonly referred to as the protector of the world. He holds all of the world's treasures. To display his sense of protection, and also his wealth, he carries a club and pot of money with him. With all of this power, one could develop a large ego. Unfortunately, Kubera wasn't immune to getting a very large head.

One day, Kubera was planning to host a dinner. Ganesha, the elephant-headed child of Lord Shiva, was one children among many who were invited to attend this dinner. Unlike Ganesha, many of the other children invited were starving as a result of being from poor families.

Kubera said to a worker the day before, "I can't wait to show everyone how much food I have to offer! This will really display my greatness!"

Kubera's worker replied, "But sir, isn't this about feeding the children who are of less fortune than others?"

Kubera replied, "Yeah, yeah, yeah...that's nice and all, but the display of my wealth will be huge, I tell you, huge!"

It is now the day of the feast. Ganesha and the rest of the children were piling into Kubera's mansion that rested on the hilltop, overlooking several villages. In the dining hall, a long table displayed food from all over the world that most of the children never thought they would lay their eyes on. The children formed a line. Ganesha was placed at the front of the line, of course.

Kubera said to Ganesha, "You have as much as you want, boy. I am able to provide enough food for everybody in the world and then some!"

The elephant-headed Ganesha began to place massive amounts of food on his plate, while simultaneously stuffing some in his face. All who were in the dining hall were shocked. It was as if the boy's stomach was a black hole. Once Ganesha was done with one plate, he would cut the line of other children and get another. Kubera's staff was replacing the food that was on the table from the kitchen at an alarming rate. Kubera, not paying much attention because he was busy talking about his greatness with a few guests, was approached by one of his kitchen workers.

The worker said, "Um, sir...we have a problem. We are out of food to feed the children."

Kubera angrily replied, "What?!? You can't be serious! I am the greatest provider on earth. This cannot be happening! Go find more!"

Kubera sent his workers to surrounding villages to find any food they could. The workers came back with more food, but it is devoured by Ganesha. Many of the children were crying and several of them complained.

One child said, "Lord Kubera, I haven't eaten in two days. I am very sad because I expected to eat."

Another child said, "I thought I was going to have my first full meal in my life."

Ganesha ate all of the food that Kubera provided. Kubera isn't sure what to do.Then Ganesha spoke.

"Maybe don't be so self-centered and overweening from now on, Kubera."

Other lords heard of the travesty that happened and luckily stepped in to make sure the children are fed.

After the feast, Kubera is still severely shaken by the comments from the children and Ganesha. He realized that he had become extremely arrogant and lacked humility. Instead of caring about feeding children, he was more concerned with how much food he could supply to show his greatness. Kubera would live the rest of his life with great humility.

As Kubera sits with his exhausted workers, he says "Never again will I spout off arrogant rubbish for the sole purpose of impressing others."

Kubera looking wealthy. Link

Author's Note: After doing a lot of research to find the perfect Kubera story in relation to tragedy, I finally found something that I really liked a lot and could use. While I read the story about Lord Kuber (Kubera) and Ganesha, I knew that I could add a lot of things to it to make it a story good for my storybook. The most important aspect, I think, about this story is the dialogue featuring Kubera. By adding this dialogue, I was hopefully able to really portray Kubera the correct way. I felt that the idea of not feeding all of the children was a perfect way to add more tragedy to my storybook. While the story not only displays some tragedy, it also teaches a great life lesson about humility. We come across people every day in life who we think are showing off in order to impress others. It is cool to me to find stories from other cultures, and to see that they teach mostly the same values that we all have grown up learning and reading about. It reminds me that we are all very connected in many ways, no matter what kind of culture we grew up in.

Bibilography: Lord Kuber's (Kubera's) feast. Link to reading