Section 1
There was a Brahman who was poor and did not belong to a high caste, which made it difficult for him to find a spouse. He asked wealthy people for money so that he could afford to get married. The amount of money he needed was substantial, not just for the wedding expenses but also as a gift to the bride's parents. The Brahman begged from door to door and flattered many rich people until he managed to gather the required sum of money. The wedding ceremony was held on time, and he brought his wife home to his mother. After a brief period, he told his mother, "Mother, I don't have the means to support you and my wife. Therefore, I must go to distant lands to earn money somehow. I may be away for years because I won't return until I have accumulated a good amount. Meanwhile, I'll give you what I have, and you can make the most of it and take care of my wife." After receiving his mother's blessing, the Brahman embarked on his journey. However, on the very same evening, a ghost who looked exactly like the Brahman entered the house. The newly married woman, mistaking the ghost for her husband, asked him, "Why have you returned so soon? You had said you might be away for years. What made you change your mind?" The ghost replied, "Today is not a good day for traveling, so I came back home. Besides, I have already earned some money."
The mother did not suspect that it was not her son and believed the ghost was her real son. Therefore, the ghost lived in the house as if he was the rightful owner and acted like the husband of the newly married woman. Since the ghost and the Brahman looked exactly alike, people in the neighborhood assumed that the ghost was the real Brahman. After a few years, the Brahman returned from his travels and was surprised to find someone who looked exactly like him in the house. The ghost asked the Brahman, "Who are you, and why are you in my house?" The Brahman responded, "Who am I? Let me ask you, who are you? This is my house, that is my mother, and that woman is my wife." The ghost found this odd and said, "This is strange. Everyone knows that this is my house, that is my wife, and that woman over there is my mother. I have been living here for years. You must be confused, Brahman." After that, the ghost forced the Brahman to leave the house. The Brahman was left speechless and didn't know what to do. Eventually, he decided to go to the king and explain his situation. The king was presented with a difficult situation when he saw that the ghost-Brahman and the real Brahman were identical in appearance. The Brahman visited the king repeatedly, begging for the return of his house, wife, and mother, but the king was at a loss as to how to resolve the matter. Every time the Brahman came, the king would put him off until the next day, unable to give a satisfactory response. The Brahman would leave the palace each day, crying and hitting his forehead in frustration, declaring, "What a wicked world this is! I have been driven from my own house, and another man has taken my place and my wife! And what kind of a king is this? He is not providing justice."
