It said, ‘The wind is not my friend, my relative or my well-wisher. Nor is the wind my master that it should protect me. My energy and strength are greater than that of the wind, which is not equal to even one-eighteenth part of me.

When the strong wind arrives, it destroys everything else, but I resist it with my force. The wind does the shattering, but it has been shattered by me many times. That is the reason I am not afraid of the wind.’ Narada said, ‘There are other trees that are stronger than you—Sandal, Shala, Devadaru—that know their strength and bow down before the wind. Your wicked words have made me angry and I shall myself report this to the wind.’ When Narada told this to the wind, it became angry. It went to the Shalmali tree and said, ‘Lord Brahma had ended his act of creation with you; therefore, I used to favour you. But you have spoken disrespectful words. It is almost night now. Tomorrow, I will show you my strength.’

The tree got frightened and thought about how to save itself from the stronger enemy. It started to shake itself so that its branches, leaves and flowers began to fall. In the morning, an angry wind came to the spot where the Shalmali tree stood. When it saw the tree without any leaves, flowers or branches, it smiled and said, ‘In my anger, I would have done exactly this to you. You have now done this yourself. There is no need for me to do anything.’

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