# The Broken Pot explained — Indian Fairy Tales

> Chapter companion for Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

## What happens

A miserly Brahman named Svabhavakripana, who has collected a pot of rice by begging, spends the night fantasizing about future wealth—buying goats, cows, buffaloes, mares, and eventually a grand house and a wife. In his daydream, he imagines scolding his wife and kicks out, only to break the pot and cover himself in rice, illustrating the folly of making foolish plans for the future.

## Themes in this chapter

### Greed and Its Consequences

The Brahman's greedy fantasies about future wealth lead him to kick and break the pot, losing all his rice and illustrating the downfall of unchecked avarice.

## Character check-ins

### Harisarman

The Brahman in this story is named Svabhavakripana, a born miser, who daydreams about future wealth and accidentally breaks his rice pot.

## Key lines

> He who makes foolish plans for the future will be white all over, like the father of Somasarman.

Those who indulge in unrealistic daydreams about the future end up covered in shame (or rice), just like the Brahman who broke his pot.

_The moral of the story, delivered as a caution against idle speculation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters/the-broken-pot
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters