Continued…
The day was almost at an end. Sakwal was at his courtyard staring at the heap of sand. Confusion could be seen in his face. Why did the coolies choose to dig at that very spot? They even waited for an exact time. What is this mystery?
Sakwal failed to notice that the sun had already gone down. He was so lost in his thoughts that he could not hear his wife call him for dinner. He then suddenly came back to reality and saw how it was already late. He made his way to his kitchen, where his wife was waiting for him. He finished his meal and called it a night.
In the morning, Sakwal woke up early, as usual, to head to the nearest temples and monasteries to offer his regards. He walked out of his house and was about to open the main door when he noticed something shining in the corner. He opened the main gate, and as light entered, it unveiled something that he could not comprehend. He was quick to close the door so that no one else would see it. He stood there, stiff as a tree trunk with eyes wide open.
It looked like he had seen a ghost. He called for his wife and asked her to come downstairs quickly. As she entered the courtyard, she noticed her husband just standing there. He called her to where he was and told her, my wife, please tell me that this is not a heap of gold dust?
The wife looked down and was utterly surprised. She looked towards him and said, dear husband, this is a heap of gold dust!
Inside the royal palace of Bhaktapur, one could sense that the king was angry. He was at his courtyard staring at a heap of sand. He looked towards his astrologer and said, your prediction failed. The astrologer was confused, but deep within, he was angry. He told himself that he did everything as instructed.
With the king's permission, the astrologer left for his house. He poured out all his anger within the sanctum of his four walls.
The king knew the greatness of his astrologer and how he was never wrong. While he was headed towards his room, he stumbled upon the baskets inside which the sand was brought. He saw an unusual glitter. He moved closer and inspected. He saw specks of gold dust at the bottom. He told himself, my astrologer was right!
The king ran with great haste towards the house of his astrologer. He barged inside and climbed up the stairs quickly. He saw a fire kindling in the fireplace. He noticed a book being burnt. He looked towards his astrologer and said, is this that very book you consulted to turn sand into gold? The astrologer replied, yes, my king!
The king then rushed to save whatever was left of the book. He put his hand into the fire and pulled the pages, and dipped them in a pot of milk that stood near the fire palace. The astrologer rushed to aid his king.
Once they saved what they could, the astrologer asked his majesty why he did that. The king then turned to his astrologer and said, you were right, but we were outsmarted!
Inside the royal palace of Kathmandu, Sakwal was in an audience with the king of Kantipur. Your majesty, I am a merchant, and I have enough wealth for myself and my family. I have stumbled upon this great treasure that I wish to share with my people. I am a righteous man, and if I become greedy, I might have a luxurious life, but it shall come to bite me when I have to cross the holy river after my death. I wish to pay the debt of my country and each citizen with this treasure. I am here to request your permission to do so, said Sakwal. The king was impressed by his righteousness and virtue. He gave permission to Sakwal to complete his endeavour.
To commemorate this feat, Sakwal was given the right to start a new era. He consulted with great astrologers of the kingdom and issued the new epoch of Nepal Sambat.
