A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
This tale explains a Tamil proverb about a mother-in-law gradually becoming an ass. A mistreated elderly woman takes refuge in the village Kālī’s ruined temple. The goddess checks the truth of her account through supernatural knowledge and gives her a mango that restores her youth. Her son carries her home after she eats it, and she arrives as a strong girl of sixteen. Her bullying daughter-in-law then sends her own mother to repeat the complaint and obtain the same reward, although that woman has suffered no such mistreatment.
Kālī detects the deception but gives the visitor a fruit without revealing its different effect. The woman eats it the next morning, and her son-in-law carries her home expecting another rejuvenation. Each time he turns to look, more of his burden resembles an ass. He wrongly assumes this to be an intermediate stage towards youth. On arrival the transformed woman jumps down, brays and runs away. The account ends without reversing the change or describing her subsequent life. This is an individual transformation in the proverb’s explanatory story, not an animal people or a general claim about mothers-in-law.
Origins & earliest records
Southern Indian storytelling in Kingscote and Natesa Sastri’s English collection
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant English chapter, attached notes, title, preface and introduction read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tales of the Sun; or, Folklore of Southern India
VIII, The Mother-in-Law became an Ass, pp.102–106; complete tale. London: W. H. Allen & Co.; complete English chapter and attached notes read.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Tales of the Sun; or, Folklore of Southern India
Kingscote and Natesa Sastri; London: W. H. Allen & Co., 1890. VIII, The Mother-in-Law became an Ass, pp.102–106; complete tale
Complete retained cache kingscote-sastri-8.txt; title/preface/introduction read. Source-specific identity; no direct Tamil collation or earliest oral-attestation claim. First mother rejuvenated, second mother progressively becomes ass; no restored human ending.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected narrative and editorial notesTales of the Sun; or, Folklore of Southern India — VIII, The Mother-in-Law became an Ass, pp.102–106; complete taleResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.