A Bengali Folktale
Once a terrible bubonic plague broke out in Asia and wiped out millions of people. The king of India summoned all the old and wise priests of the realm to find ways to arrest the plague.
The priests went into a long session of discussion and ultimately told the king that the great god Shiva needs to be appeased by worship and prayers. The king organized the same.
A week after the priests began their worship, one midnight Shiva appeared before the senior priest and said: “Yours prayers have pleased me. My servant Nandi will guard your country against all evils.” And then he vanished.
Accordingly Nandi started the vigil. One night the grim Plague assumed a body and shape and appeared before him. Nandi lifted up his trident and cautioned him: “One step more and you will be finished.”
But the embodied Plague was determined to enter the kingdom. Hence, a monstrous battle commenced between Nandi and Plague. At last truce was made and it was agreed that the Plague would stay only for a day in the capital and take only one man as it’s victim.
Yet the next evening there was a great hue and cry in the city, for it was reported that not one or two but a hundred men had died of plague. Nandi was furious and ran in search of the Plague. He found the Plague on a dusty floor of a ruined house.
Catching his neck, Nandi thundered, “You broke your promise. How dare you take one hundred souls instead of one that was agreed upon? You will pay for this.”
Even from under Nandi’s grip, the Plague let out a peal of laughter and said:
“Brother, I have not broken my promise. Don’t be angry with me. I did actually take only one man as I promised, but the other ninety-nine died out of fear. What could I do? These people had a simple fever and a little swelling of the glands, and they mistook them for signs of my approach and they died of fear. I had nothing to do with it.”
Hearing this Nandi loosened his iron grip and let the Plague go.
Fear is indeed the greatest enemy of man! It can be so powerful that it can take the very form of the thing one is afraid of and bring the exact disaster one dreads.