He visited a magician and learnt how to remove the head from the body from him. During the evening, when all fishermen returned to their hamlets and there was no one around, he would go to the beach, remove his head from his body at an isolated spot and dive into the water. On seeing a strange figure, the fishes would cluster around and the small fishes would enter his body through his neck.
The man would swim back to the shore, take the fishes out and replace his head. After reaching the village, he would show the villagers all the fish he had caught. The man never revealed the secret to anyone. The fishermen became curious as this man was getting good catch without a pole or net.
One day, a small boy followed him. The boy saw him take off his head and dive into the sea. The little boy snatched the head and carried it for some distance. As the head was too heavy, the boy threw it into a nearby bush. After some time, when the man came out of the water, he could not see his head. He searched for his head and realized that his magic was running out of time. As there was no other way, he jumped into the sea and became a fish. The small boy who reached the village brought all the villagers to the shore to show them the miraculous head. Upon reaching the bush located on the beach, they were astonished to discover that the once small head had transformed into a tall and graceful palm tree, adorned with nuts. Every nut bore the man’s face on it. It is believed that the coconut was created thus!
Source: Green Pearls of India: Tracing the roots of sacred trees by V. Sundararaju
Illustration: Amrapali Das
