A great Raja named Salabhan and his Queen Lona longed for a child. After much prayer, a son was promised, but a prophecy warned that they must not see his face until he turned twelve, or they would die. Thus, the child was hidden away in an underground palace, raised with a colt and a parrot. As he approached his twelfth year, curiosity drove him to escape and explore the world. Upon emerging, he broke the pitchers of women drawing water, which led to complaints reaching his father. Fearing for his life, Salabhan did not confront him. Instead, Rasalu, feeling rejected, set off on his own journey. He encountered a headless corpse in a graveyard, who warned him of the dangers posed by King Sarkap, advising him to use enchanted dice made from bones to win at chaupur. Continuing his journey, Rasalu saved a cricket from a fire, who gifted him a feeler for future aid. Arriving at Sarkap's city, he was met by seventy maidens, one of whom warned him of the king's treachery. Undeterred, Rasalu accepted challenges from the maidens, using the cricket's help to complete tasks effortlessly. When he faced King Sarkap in chaupur, the king attempted to cheat using a rat, but Rasalu's loyal horse and the kitten he saved helped him turn the tide. After winning back his armor and horse, he ultimately defeated Sarkap, who, in despair, ordered the execution of his newborn daughter. Rasalu intervened, demanding the child as his bride in exchange for sparing the king's life. He took the princess, Kokilan, to an underground palace, promising to return in twelve years when a mango tree he planted would bloom. After the time passed, he returned, married Kokilan, and fulfilled the prophecy of his greatness.
By Joseph Jacobs · First published 1894 · Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Folklore