There was a rich Seth - extremely humble and generous. So religious that no sage or sadhu would return disappointed from his door; everyone would get a full meal. The door of his storehouse was open to all. Whoever held out their hand, received. The Seth had performed many sacrifices (yagnas) and distributed an unknown amount of wealth among the poor and needy in charity.
However, not all days are the same. Suddenly, fortune turned, and the Seth had to face poverty. Even companions and friends turned their faces away, and the situation reached a point where the Seth and his wife started starving.
In those days, a practice was prevalent: the fruits of yagnas were bought and sold. Depending on whether the yagna was big or small, a price would be offered. When times got very tough, one day the Seth's wife said, "Why not sell one yagna!"
Hearing this, the Seth was very sad at first, but later, considering their poverty, he agreed to sell a yagna. About ten or twelve kos (a measure of distance) from the Seth's place was a town named Kundanpur, in which lived a very big Seth. People used to call him 'Dhanna-Seth'. There was a rumour that his wife possessed some divine power, through which she could know the happenings of all three realms (lokas).
They had no shortage of wealth. The distressed Seth decided to sell a yagna to him.
The journey was long, so the Seth's wife somehow managed to borrow a little flour from a neighbour, made four thick rotis (flatbreads) for the journey, tied them in a bundle, and gave them to the Seth. He woke up very early in the morning and set off towards Kundanpur. It was summer time. The Seth thought, the more distance I cover before the sun comes out, the better. Thinking this, he walked very fast, but after covering half the distance, the sun became very intense.It got to the point where walking became difficult, his entire body was drenched in sweat, and hunger also started bothering him.
Seeing a grove of trees and a well in front, the merchant thought that he should stop here for a while to eat and rest. Thinking this, he moved towards that grove. He took out his water pot and rope from the bundle, drew water, and washed his hands and feet. After that, he took a pot of water, sat down under a tree, and was about to break a piece of bread to eat when he saw a dog lying nearby, about a hand's distance away, struggling. The poor creature's stomach was touching its back. Seeing the merchant open his bread, it repeatedly tried to lift its neck, but due to weakness, its neck would fall back down.
Seeing this, the merchant's heart was filled with compassion, "It seems this poor fellow hasn't eaten for several days, that's why it's in this condition." The merchant picked up a piece of bread, broke it into small pieces, and placed it in front of the dog. The dog was hungry, so it slowly ate all the bread. Now a little life seemed to come into its body. It lifted its face and started looking towards the merchant. There was gratitude in its eyes. The merchant thought that if he fed it one more roti, it would be able to move around again.
Thinking this, the merchant broke another roti into pieces and fed it to the dog. After eating two rotis, the dog gained strength and started moving, crawling towards the merchant. The merchant saw that it still couldn't walk properly. There was no settlement visible nearby either. The merchant thought, if I give it one more roti, it will be able to walk around properly. What difference does it make to me, I ate two, I can eat one less. I will reach Kundanpur in a little while anyway.
The merchant picked up the third roti and fed it to the dog.
Now one roti was left. He was about to eat it himself when the merchant saw that the dog's eyes were still fixed on him. There was a piteous plea in those eyes