She Retrieved What She Had Lost

Thangaraj and Annam had two sons. The elder was Manikandan, and the younger was Shanmugam. Thangaraj built a beautiful house to fulfill his wife’s wish. The four of them lived happily in that house.

Thangaraj Raised His Sons Alone

When Annam’s health declined, she passed away when the elder son was ten years old and the younger son was eight. Unable to continue living in the house due to the memories of his beloved wife, Thangaraj moved to his workshop, taking his two sons along with him. In that workshop, he melted five metals to make idols, as well as created and repaired temple tower finials, earning a livelihood through this work. Thangaraj had a unique custom: whether he made a new finial or repaired an old one, he believed that the grains poured into the finial should belong to him. He provided the required amount of millet (varagu) for each finial as his offering to the deity, without charging anything for it. Due to this practice, he always had sacks of millet stored in his workshop. To ensure the millet stayed fresh for 12 years, he carefully inspected it and sourced it from reliable people.

The millet was placed in the tower finials because it served as a lightning arrestor. Additionally, the conical shape of the finial helped in dispersing lightning. The stored millet also served another purpose. Within those 12 years, if the village suffered famine or flood-induced agricultural failure, the grains were distributed to farmers to restart farming. This is why millet is stored in the temple tower finials.

Teaching His Sons the Craft

Both sons completed their schooling and began learning their father’s craft in his workshop. Thangaraj taught them the intricacies of melting metals, including how to mix specific quantities of chemical compounds during the melting process. He also explained the calculations required to determine the appropriate number of tower finials based on a temple’s dimensions. Having mastered these techniques, both sons became skilled in crafting panchaloha statues and finials.

The Elder Son Gets Married

The elder son’s marriage was arranged through a family connection. After the wedding, Thangaraj handed over the keys to the house he had built for his wife’s wish, saying, “This house was your mother’s dream. Both of you should live here happily.” Before the wedding, the house had been freshly painted, making it look like new. The daughter-in-law, receiving the keys, began living in the house comfortably. Relatives teased Thangaraj, saying, “Now your daughter-in-law will cook hot meals for you three times a day!” With some hope, Thangaraj waited for that to happen, but it never did. As before, Thangaraj continued cooking meals—this time only for two people, himself and his younger son.

The Elder Son Opens His Own Workshop

The elder son’s wife, driven by immense greed and a desire to have her husband live under her control, started persuading him to leave his father and set up his own workshop. She insisted that they could become wealthy by working independently. However, he explained that he knew no other trade and could only work under his father’s guidance, as he had been doing so far. Opposing his stance, she argued relentlessly, trying to manipulate him further. “Your father treats you as a mere assistant and gives all authority to your younger brother,” she claimed repeatedly. Yet, Manikandan firmly replied, “I know my father well and will not act against him.” Her frustration grew, and she turned increasingly aggressive, yelling at him in anger.

Manikandan, with no other option, told his father, “I cannot go back home; she keeps pestering me to set up my own workshop. I can’t handle it.” Thangaraj replied, “In this town, people have entrusted me with these two types of work for many years because of my experience. They won’t trust you with it, so you cannot run a workshop on your own. Let go of the idea of starting your own workshop here.” However, Manikandan pleaded with his father, saying, “If I don’t start my own workshop and stay here, I cannot go home. Her anger flares up, and she yells. If I continue staying here instead of going home, she threatens to go back to her parents’ house.” With no alternative, Thangaraj divided the money he had saved so far, giving half to Manikandan and the other half to the younger son. Using his share of the money, Manikandan set up a workshop at some distance from his father’s place. Because the workshop was far from home, he couldn’t commute from there, so he, like his father, started living in the workshop itself.

As long as the experienced Thangaraj was around, no one entrusted any work to his son. As a result, with no income, Manikandan began spending the money his father had given him little by little. The rent for the shop was also paid from the same money his father had provided. During a time when they struggled without any money for daily expenses, his wife started working in nearby houses, washing utensils and cleaning homes.

Manikandan repeatedly pleaded with his wife, saying, “Just say one word of agreement, and we can go back to my father’s house right away. He will not say anything and will forgive us and accept us.” However, she refused to listen. During this time, they had twin children. At the workshop, Manikandan often spent his time idly with a group of four or five loafers who would gather and chat. Gradually, these men began speaking to Manikandan’s wife, saying, “If your husband does as we tell him, all your struggles will end. We will make sure you live comfortably. So, ask him to do the work we assign to him.” Believing that they meant well, she conveyed their words to her husband and urged him to listen to them.

Manikandan, having no other choice, agreed reluctantly. They then handed him a parcel and said, “If you do as we say, we will vacate this workshop for you, find you another house to live in, pay your rent, and provide money for your food.” Despite suspecting that this was a wrongful act and fearing that it might lead to trouble, he asked them what was inside the parcel. They dismissed his question, saying, “Just do as we tell you, and only then will we provide you with all the comforts.” Left with no alternative, he agreed. Without even knowing what the parcel contained, he decided to place it in his father’s workshop, following their instructions.

Manikandan Falls into Trouble

Trapped by those schemers and under constant pressure from his wife, Manikandan began to do the tasks they instructed. They even found a separate house for him and paid its rent, which raised suspicion in his mind. “Why would they go to such lengths for me to do this job?” he wondered and realized that what they were asking him to do was indeed wrongful. They instructed him, “Place this parcel in one of the grain sacks in your father’s workshop. Let it remain there for three or four months, and then we will decide what to do with it.” When he repeatedly asked what was inside the parcel, they dismissed his inquiries, saying, “Whatever is in it, how does it concern you? Just do as we say.” His wife also pressured him, urging him to comply with their demands. Left with no other option, Manikandan took the parcel and went to his father’s workshop.

Marriage talks for the Younger Son

Manikandan arrived at his father’s workshop holding the parcel, just as arrangements for the younger son’s marriage had been finalized. Upon seeing the elder son, Thangaraj and two others present informed him that a bride had been selected for Shanmugam and the wedding was set to take place in a week. They explained that the bride’s father was on his deathbed, making it necessary to conduct the marriage quickly. Additionally, they assured that the bride was a woman of good character, which motivated them to proceed with the alliance. At that moment, Thangaraj entered the room and casually asked his son if he had eaten. Manikandan replied that he would eat after returning home and sat down. Thangaraj, as always, emphasized that no one should sleep on an empty stomach, asking his son, “Aren’t you going home? It’s getting late.” Just then, someone arrived to speak with Thangaraj, prompting him to step outside to meet them.

Manikandan seeks forgiveness

Sensing this as the perfect moment, Manikandan went inside and quietly began moving the stacked millet sacks his father had arranged. He carefully pushed the sacks aside and opened the one at the bottom. Into this sack, he inserted the parcel he was carrying. He then restitched the sack as it was before. Being well-acquainted with the tools and materials in his father’s workshop, such as needles and thread for stitching sacks, Manikandan completed the task quickly and efficiently. After finishing, he calmly returned to his seat and waited. Thangaraj, still engaged in conversation outside, mentioned he would leave shortly and stepped out. At the same time, Shanmugam, the younger son, arrived and was surprised to see his elder brother there.

Manikandan was deeply troubled, fully aware that what he was doing was wrong. His heart ached with guilt. Seeking forgiveness for his wrongdoing and pleading for protection, he consoled himself, telling his mind that he had no other choice but to commit this act. Standing before the image of the family deity, which his father worshipped devoutly, he prayed earnestly for absolution and deliverance.

Shanmugam’s Marriage

Shanmugam’s marriage was held at home, in the presence of the bride’s father. Ten close relatives attended and offered their blessings. After the wedding, the younger daughter-in-law was handed the keys to the house that once belonged to Thangaraj’s late wife, which had been returned by the elder son. Thangaraj gave her the keys, saying, “From now on, you both should live happily in this house. This was my wife’s wish.” Accepting the keys, the younger daughter-in-law moved into the house and transformed it into a temple-like abode. Despite inviting her father-in-law many times to visit the house, he chose not to, as he felt his late wife’s memories would overwhelm him if he went there. Instead, he continued to live in his workshop.

The younger daughter-in-law cared for Thangaraj as attentively as she would her own father. He, in turn, regarded her as a motherly figure. Time passed peacefully.

Manikandan, however, continued to visit the workshop every four days to check whether the parcel he had hidden in the millet sack was still there. He had marked the sack to ensure he could identify it easily. Each time he visited, he would reassure himself that the parcel remained untouched. Yet, every visit filled him with guilt. As he prayed before the family deity that his father worshipped with great devotion, he would plead, “What I have done is wrong; please forgive me.”

Manikandan’s Departure to Another Town

Manikandan’s associates persuaded him to join them on a trip to another town, where he was expected to stay for a month. Reluctantly, he informed his father and younger brother before leaving. Around the same time, an Amman temple in a nearby village was preparing for its kumbhabhishekam, and the temple tower finials were sent to Thangaraj for repair and refurbishment. Thangaraj carefully examined the finials and calculated the required amount of millet to fill them. He packed the millet into sacks and sent them along with the repaired finials to the temple staff. At the temple, the dharmakartha and temple workers chanted Vedic mantras as they filled the finials with millet.

At that point, the finials were only three-quarters full, so the dharmakartha sent two men back to Thangaraj to request additional millet. When they informed Thangaraj that the millet he had sent was insufficient, he was taken aback. “My calculations are never wrong,” he argued. “Whenever I provide millet, I ensure the exact amount required for each finial. There’s no chance of it being either too much or too little.” At the same time, Shanmugam intervened and said, “There’s no need for arguments. Just give them what they need and send them off.” Thangaraj replied, “Alright, go inside and fetch what’s needed,” and then turned to Shanmugam, instructing him, “Hand it over to them and send them back.”

Shanmugam suspects Manikandan

At that moment, the neatly stacked millet sacks were somehow pushed over and collapsed in a heap. Shanmugam noticed that the sack in which Manikandan had hidden the parcel was lying separately. He instructed the two men to take that specific sack, and they carried it away. After about two hours, the men returned with the sack, accompanied by the dharmakartha. The dharmakartha explained to Thangaraj what had transpired, leaving him shocked. “When you sent the additional millet, we opened the sack to fill the remaining portion of the finials. However, right before our eyes, all the finials quickly filled to capacity with millet.

Surprised, we repacked the sack to return it to you. While doing so, we found something unusual inside the sack. Unable to open it ourselves, we brought it to the temple office. There, we melted the seal on the parcel and found a diamond necklace and waistband that had been missing from our temple for some time. We were stunned to see how these items ended up inside the millet sack,” the dharmakartha explained, leaving Thangaraj deeply disturbed. The thought that his son might be responsible crossed Thangaraj’s mind, prompting him to ask, “Do you suspect anyone?” The dharmakartha replied, “Whom should we suspect? It seems as though the person who lost the items orchestrated this whole drama to reclaim them.” He then left, saying he would return later.

At the same time, Manikandan’s wife arrived in a panic, her hair disheveled. She reported that her husband had been in an accident, was covered in blood, and had been admitted to the hospital. Hearing this, Thangaraj handed Shanmugam some money from his pocket and advised him to take a portion of his own savings as well to cover the hospital expenses. Shanmugam immediately set off for the hospital.

Thangaraj seeks guidance

At the hospital, Manikandan received medical attention. Meanwhile, Thangaraj went to meet the dharmakartha. The dharmakartha explained the history of the jewelry, detailing the purpose for which it had been offered to the temple and when it had gone missing. He added, “Only the flower seller (poovadaikkari) knows how these ornaments disappeared and how they ended up here.” After hearing this, Thangaraj returned home, deeply realizing that his son had committed a grave mistake.

Thangaraj had a habit of seeking guidance from his family deity by drawing lots (tiruvulachittukal) whenever he faced a dilemma. This time, he prepared two slips: one declaring his son guilty and the other declaring him innocent. Placing them before the deity’s image, he picked one, which confirmed that his son was indeed guilty. The result deeply pained him. With a heavy heart, he went to the hospital to see his son. Upon arriving, he found himself waiting outside, hoping for a chance to meet him.

Thangaraj conveys his disappointment

Manikandan’s wife was inside, shouting angrily, “What happiness have I seen since marrying you? You’ve spent all the money we had and left us with no means even to buy food. Here I am, standing helpless with two children in my arms!” As her yelling continued, Thangaraj opened the door and entered the room.

Thangaraj turned to his elder daughter-in-law and said, “A good wife supports her husband, ensures he faces no dishonor, and helps him navigate life’s challenges. But today, my son stands before me as a wrongdoer, and you are the reason for it.” These words struck Manikandan like a venomous sting. “Father!” he cried out, overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow. Thangaraj continued, “I raised you with integrity and honesty, yet you have committed an act of theft. You brought the temple jewelry, hid it in our workshop, and kept this from me. Your actions have brought disgrace upon us, and the trust I had in you is now gone.” Manikandan wept, begging his father for forgiveness. Thangaraj, however, stood firm. “If you had come to me during your family’s hardships, I would have found a way to help. Instead, you chose to act on your own and got involved in this sinful deed. You have broken the trust I had in you. Moreover, how could you accept an item without knowing what it contained and then bring it to our workshop to hide? How could you aid such a wrongdoing?” With these words, Thangaraj left the room, his heart heavy with disappointment.

Thangaraj receives shocking news

Thangaraj received shocking news through the dharmakartha: seven of Manikandan’s accomplices had broken into the workshop to retrieve the jewelry hidden there. They broke the lock, overturned all the millet sacks, and created chaos as they frantically searched for the parcel. The commotion alerted the neighbors, who informed the police. Upon arriving, the police arrested all seven culprits. This news reached Thangaraj, and shortly afterward, a policeman came to question Manikandan. Thangaraj permitted the investigation, saying, “You may proceed.” During the questioning, Manikandan claimed, “I don’t know anything about this. They gave me the parcel, told me to keep it here, and didn’t inform me of its contents. I have no connection to this.” Later, Thangaraj was summoned to the police station to provide a written statement. As he complied, a deep sense of shame overwhelmed him, and he bowed his head in humiliation.

Manikandan Recovers and Returns Home

Manikandan, having recovered, returned to his father’s workshop. Standing at the entrance with his wife and two children, Thangaraj asked his younger son, “Will you take them in and keep them with you?” Shanmugam immediately agreed and took the family home. After a while, once Manikandan’s health was fully restored, he returned to his father’s workshop to resume work.

Thangaraj firmly told Manikandan, “You will no longer be permitted to craft idols or finials here as you used to. The crime you committed has caused you to lose the blessing required for this work. From now on, you will remain here as an assistant to support your younger brother. You will not have any rights to our ancestral trade; this responsibility will be passed on solely to your younger brother in this generation.” However, he reassured Manikandan, saying, “Though you do not have the right, your two children will. Your younger brother will ensure they grow up well, learn our family trade, and carry it forward.” Time gradually passed after this.

Thangaraj’s final days

Thangaraj sensed that his final days were approaching. At that time, an ancient Shiva temple nearby sent their kumbhabhishekam finials to him for repair. He cleaned and repaired them and prepared to fill them with millet as was customary. Before proceeding, he followed his usual practice of praying to his family deity. While praying, a thought crossed his mind that this could be his last sack of millet and the last finials he repaired. This stirred something deep within him. To confirm, he prepared two slips of paper—one reading that these were his last finials and the other stating otherwise. Placing them before the deity, he drew one. The slip read that these were indeed his last finials. Accepting this, he realized his end was near. Without sharing this realization with his sons, he spent that day quietly in his workshop. That evening, Shanmugam and his wife brought him food, served it, and said, “Please eat and rest.” After they left, Thangaraj secured the door, lay down, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

The Wife Appears in a Dream

Thangaraj, deep in sleep, saw his wife in a dream. She appeared surrounded by their children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, all living happily in their home. She beckoned him, saying, “Why are you staying alone? Come join me here.” Startled, Thangaraj woke up and looked at the clock; it was 11 p.m. Without hesitation, he quickly locked his workshop and went to the house. Knocking on the door, he heard his sons inside asking, “Who could it be at this hour?” When they saw their father, they were surprised. Gently moving them aside, Thangaraj entered and said, “I will sleep here tonight.” He stood before his wife’s photograph, gazing at it for a moment. His daughter-in-law brought a mat, pillow, and blanket for him to rest. Before lying down, he sat on the mat, played with his grandchildren, and then spoke to his sons. “You must always remain united. This house should be your home until the very end. Do not quarrel or split up and leave this house. Stay together in harmony,” he made them promise. At that moment, his elder daughter-in-law sought his forgiveness. Afterward, everyone retired to bed. By dawn, his sons realized that their father had passed on to the divine. They took pride in the fact that he had always said, “I will never leave a task unfinished. Only after completing my work will I join the Almighty.” His life had unfolded exactly as he had declared.

The Karmic Lessons of This Story

In this story, Thangaraj experienced the positive influence of Mars Karma, Guru Karma, and Rahu Karma, which led to his success in his profession. Similarly, his younger son Shanmugam also benefited from these three karmas, which brought him good fortune. Additionally, the favorable influence of Sun Karma ensured that Shanmugam inherited his father’s trade directly. On the other hand, the elder daughter-in-law suffered from the negative vibrations of Rahu Karma, which made her greedy and insistent that her husband live according to her wishes. This caused discord within the family, ultimately leading to its temporary division.

As long as the elder son stayed with his father, he enjoyed the same positive karmic influences as his father. However, after he began living separately with his wife, he started experiencing the negative vibrations of Rahu Karma. This led him to act according to his wife’s words and get involved in wrongful deeds. Eventually, after facing a significant calamity and escaping from it, he returned to his father.

The younger daughter-in-law was blessed with the positive vibrations of Moon Karma, which enabled her to transform the family into a temple of unity and harmony. She treated everyone with love, care, and compassion, ensuring the family’s cohesion. The temple jewelry in the story had been offered to the deity by a diamond merchant as a remedy for a mishap involving his daughter. Rahu Karma had exerted its influence in that event. Later, when the jewelry came into Manikandan’s possession, he too encountered a similar mishap.

Points for take away

Whenever jewelry is offered to a deity in a temple, the purpose behind the offering remains unknown to others. The thought of stealing temple jewelry should never arise in anyone’s mind because such jewelry carries the karmic record of the prayers for which it was offered. If stolen, this karmic imprint brings negative karma to the thief, leading to destruction. Furthermore, the consequences of such sinful acts often extend to future generations in the family. No one should entertain the idea of taking what belongs to the divine, as it could destroy their entire lineage. When raising children, it is essential to instill good values in them so that, even when tempted to commit wrongdoings, they feel a strong sense of guilt that prevents them from following through. Thangaraj, in the same way, raised his son with sound principles and virtues. However, circumstances and temptations led his son to commit a sinful act. Yet, a sense of guilt lingered in him, prompting him to continuously pray to the family deity, asking for forgiveness and salvation. This guilt ultimately helped him break free from his wrongdoings, reunite with his father, and live harmoniously with the positive vibrations that blessed the family. Thank you.

For a more generic understanding of Karma, please read this.

Or simply read our short stories on karma. Or hear the tamil audio stories

If you would like to know your karma from your own birth date, please click here – DNA Students can help you in understanding this easily. You can reach out to them in our facebook page or WhatsApp Channel – please click follow button in the WhatsApp channel if you would like to receive notifications when a blog post is released.