The Mouse Who Lit a Lamp — Кассета

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Dharma Katha · Season 4: The Road to Diwali · Episode 144 A temple at midnight. Old stone, cold floor. Everyone has gone home. In front of the shrine, one clay lamp is still burning. But it is almost out. The ghee is low. The wick has burned down into the oil. The flame is a small blue bead, flickering. And in the dark, near the wall, something moves. A mouse. Missed the previous story? Listen to Episode 143 first. Source note. Label: tradition. The story of the mouse who pulled up a lamp's wick in a temple during Kartik, and was reborn as King Bali, is told in Kartik deepdaan tradition and retellings of the Kartika Mahatmya, and is attributed to the Skanda Purana; versions differ on the temple and on who the mouse became, and I have not verified it against a critical edition. The reflections are my own. Note: this episode is narrated with an AI voice and the script was written with AI assistance. Sanskrit verses are checked against published editions; corrections are welcome.