61. The Sixteen Riches

"May you be blessed with the sixteen reaches and may you live a glorious life!"

Listening to the above message from several people who greeted him on the occasion of his marriage, Shankar wondered how many people would have known the meaning of this traditional greeting. But it immediately occurred to him that his father's friend Sundaramurthy, a Tamil scholar who was present for the occasion should know the meaning.

When Sankar became free,with most of the invitees having disbursed after greeting him, he approached Sundaramurthy and asked him, "Sir, what are the sixteen riches mentioned in this traditional greeting?" 

"A good question. This greeting has been used over several generations. Most of the people who use this greeting have no idea what the riches are. I appreciate your interest in knowing them. There are divergent views about what these sixteen riches are. I will tell you what these are, based on a verse created by the renowned poet Kalamegam. The sixteen riches are:

1. Fame

2. Education

3. Valour

4. Victory

5. Worthy children

6. Courage

7. Wealth

8. Abundance of food

9. Wellness

10. Comforts

11. Wisdom

12. Elegance

13. Honour

14. Righteousness

15. Good Lineage

16. Longevity.

Some words like valour and courage, fame and honour may appear to be synonymous. Let us not go into the fine shades of difference in their meanings. Good lineage may be taken to mean a good name for the family. Are you ready to receive these sixteen riches?" said Sundaramurthy.

"I will feel blessed, if I get these riches due to the good wishes of people like you" said Shankar.

"You have learnt how to be polite and dignified! I appreciate this. In our younger days, some people would jocularly interpret these sixteen riches to mean sixteen children. If someone blesses a newly-wed person saying, 'May you be blessed with the sixteen,' he will respond 'Oh, I can't manage to bring up sixteen children. One or two will suffice!' This has been a stale joke for long. This response emanated from the reality of people having a large number of children during those days. Those were the days when having a a large number of children was considered a blessing. Not any more! If God appears before you and asks you, 'Do you want me to bless you with the sixteen riches or a couple of worthy children?' you should ask for one or two good children rather than ask for the sixteen riches. That will be the wise thing to do, There can't be a greater blessing than having worthy children. If you have good children, you can get al the riches through them. So, when you pray to God, pray for worthy children."

Shankar was happy that a question posed by him out of curiosity ended up in wisdom and good advice.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 7
The Boon of Having Children

Verse 61 (In Tamil)

peRumvaRRuL yAmaRivadhu illai aRivaRindha
makkatpERu all piRa.

Meaning:

As far as I know, there is no other treasure more valuable than having children who possess the necessary wisdom.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'vENdAm padhinARu' by the same author)

Verse 62
Verse 60