A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A prince plays in the river instead of attending school, and his father orders his death. An elder brother substitutes lizard blood on a sword, while his mother sends him away with food and a sword. He befriends three giants, rescues them from a Rākshasī and secures her promise of future assistance. Later she answers his appeal during a fight and kills a man-eating Rākshasa, allowing him to marry the girl living in that being’s house.
A widow who joins their household persuades the girl to discover where the prince’s life resides. After he names his neck and breast, he finally reveals that it is in his sword. The widow and girl burn it while he sleeps, and he dies. His blue-lotus and lime-tree life signs alert the giants, who recover a fragment and nurse the sword until it is whole; the prince is created anew. He subsequently kills the widow and the king to whom she gave his wife and returns with the wife to the palace. The plants indicate his condition but are not identified as additional containers of his life.
Origins & earliest records
Sri Lankan narratives collected and translated by H. Parker
Records & interpretation
Complete tale and all its printed variants/comparative notes read; relevant introduction passages on collection and translation directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I
No. 20, The Prince who did not go to School, pp. 160–165; comparative notes pp. 165–168
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
Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I
Volume I. No. 20, The Prince who did not go to School, pp. 160–165; comparative notes pp. 165–168
Complete No.20 and all comparative notes read. Life indicators distinguished from sword containing life, giants’ affectionate elder-brother address from genealogy, and Parker’s borrowing theories from direct tale evidence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon I — No. 20, The Prince who did not go to School, pp. 160–165; comparative notes pp. 165–168Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.