A scrolling story · for children aged 5 to 11 and their grown-ups
Truth (Satya)
King Janak dreams he is a hungry beggar wandering the desert. Waking on his silk bed, he wonders which is real: the king or the beggar? The sage Ashtavakra explains that both come and go; what is truly real is the one who watches them both, the witness within.
Scroll down, or use the arrow keys, to walk through the story. Nothing is narrated: it is made for reading aloud together.
Act 1 · The World & the Conflict
Act 1 · card 1 of 4
Long ago, King Janak ruled the kingdom of Mithila. He was wise and fair, and his people loved him. His palace had marble floors and golden lamps, and in his treasury lay a touchstone: a dark stone used to test gold. Rub real gold across it, and it leaves a bright, true streak. Fake gold leaves only a dull smudge.
Act 1 · card 2 of 4
One night the king fell asleep on his soft silk bed… and dreamed. In the dream he was a poor beggar wandering a burning desert. His feet were bare and sore. His tummy ached with hunger. He held out an empty bowl, but nobody gave him even a crust of bread. He felt alone and very, very small.
Act 1 · card 3 of 4
A royal trumpet sounded, and Janak woke with a jump! He was back in his palace, his crown beside his pillow, his servants bowing. Everything was fine. But his heart was full of questions. “When I was dreaming, the king did not exist. Now that I am awake, the beggar does not exist. So which one is real?”
Act 1 · card 4 of 4
The question would not leave him. At breakfast he did not eat. At court he did not listen. He asked his ministers and his scholars, “Which is real, the king or the beggar?” Each gave a clever answer, and each answer was different. The king grew more and more troubled. Even his touchstone could not test this kind of gold.
Act 2 · The Crossroads
Act 2 · card 1 of 1
Then a young sage named Ashtavakra came to the palace. His body was bent in eight places, and some of the courtiers laughed at him. The king silenced them. Here was someone who might truly know. But Janak was tired and confused, and the whole court was watching. How should a troubled king search for a truth that never changes?
The crossroads · every path is a kind one
Tap a path to see where it leads. You can open all three: there is no wrong answer.
Janak chose Satya (truth). He stepped down from his throne and bowed before the young sage, not caring that the courtiers stared. “Teach me what is truly real,” he asked humbly. Ashtavakra smiled, and told him that a king who bows in order to learn the truth is already halfway to finding it.
Janak chose Dharma (doing his duty). He decided to keep being a kind and fair king while he searched. That afternoon he settled a farmer’s quarrel and fed hungry travellers, and only then did he sit down with the sage. Ashtavakra nodded, pleased: a seeker who keeps doing good while searching walks a steady road.
Janak chose Shanti (peace). Before asking anything, he sent the noisy court away and sat quietly with the sage, breathing slowly. His racing thoughts slowed down, like dust settling after a storm. Ashtavakra waited kindly until the king was still, because a calm mind is ready to hear a deep answer.
Act 3 · The Inner Awakening
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The sage explained it simply. The dream came and went. This palace morning will also come and go. The beggar and the king both change. But who saw the dream, and who sees the palace? Janak himself was there all along, watching both. That inner witness, the soul within, does not change. That is Satya, the truth that never fades.
Act 3 · card 2 of 2
Janak felt as if a lamp had been lit inside him. Like gold on the touchstone, the truth left a bright streak in his heart. The DJJS teachings say this inner witness can be truly experienced, not just thought about, through Brahm Gyan (divine knowledge), when a true Guru reveals the Divine Light within. Then, whatever changes outside, we are never lost.
Try it tonight
Tonight, when you lie in bed, let the day pass through your mind: a happy moment, a grumpy moment, a funny one. Then quietly ask, “Who is watching all of this?” Rest for a few breaths as the watcher, calm and still. That watcher in you stays steady and true, whatever kind of day it was.
The heart of the story
Truth is what never changes. Knowing the witness within gives a courage nothing can shake.
From the tradition of King Janak and the sage Ashtavakra (Ashtavakra Gita)
