The Wise Minister and the New King

Vishwaraja was the ruler of Nandpur.  He was known for his wisdom and integrity.  He ruled his kingdom wisely and well.  His subjects were happy and contented.  He was assisted in his royal duties by a council of ministers.  The council was headed by a wise minister named Chandrasena.
One day, the king summoned Chandrasena to his chambers.  Chandrasena went to meet the king.  He was surprised to see that the king was pale and weak.   The king’s personal physician was attending on him.   The king was unwell.    The king told him, “Chandrasena, I am very sick.   I will soon pass away. “.  The minister was shocked.  The king then said, “I do not have any children to rule after me.  After I am gone, you will have to search for a new king for the kingdom.”

Chandrasena was overcome with grief.  “Yes, your majesty.”, he said.   The king’s condition deteriorated steadily.  He grew increasingly weak.  A week later, the king passed away.  The kingdom plunged into sorrow.  A month of official mourning was declared.  Chandrasena presided over the funeral.

Weeks passed.  Life began to slowly return to normal in the kingdom.  Chandrasena remembered the king’s words to him.   He wanted an honest, just and kind person to ascend the throne.  Chandrasena conferred with the council of ministers.  The ministers discussed this for a long time.  They finally came out with a plan.  Chandrasena put the plan to action.

A few days later, an announcement was made.  Messengers were sent to each and every town and village in the kingdom.  Arriving at a village or town, the messengers beat a drum and summoned the people.  They, then, read the royal announcement.   A new king would be chosen from among the young men in the kingdom.  All young men who were interested should present themselves at the royal palace on a certain day.

There was great excitement among the people on hearing the news.  This sort of selection had never happened before.  Soon, young men from every town were preparing for the great day.  Every one of them wanted to become king.

As the day arrived, the prospective rulers assembled in the capital in the royal palace.  They were made to write a series of tests on various subjects.  At the conclusion of these tests, 25 of them were shortlisted.

The officials-in-charge presented them to Chandrasena.  Chandrasena was pleased with them.  They were the best that the kingdom had in terms of knowledge and intellect.  Yet, he still wanted to know if they were ready to be the king and lead the people and the kingdom into the future.

He had a plan in mind.  He summoned the young men and gave each of them a handful of seeds.  He said, “Young men, you have cleared all these tests with distinction.  I am truly proud of you all. “  But there is one last test I want you to pass.  I have given each one of you a handful of seeds.  You can go to your villages, plant the seeds in a pot and show me the crop in two months’ time.”
So saying, the minister sent the young men away.  They were received as heroes in the villages.  Each one of them was sure of becoming the king. 

Two months passed. The young men came to the capital again with the pots containing the crops.  All the pots were lush green with the fresh looking crops.  All except one.  One pot alone was barren.  All the pots were placed in a grand hall in the palace.  Chandrasena, chief of the ministers was to inspect them.

At the appointed time, Chandrasena came to the hall.  He went around and looked at the pots.  The came near the candidate with the barren pot.  He looked at him.  The young man was nervous.  Chandrasena smiled at him and said, “This is the new king”.

A great silence fell across the room.  Chandrasena explained, ”Every one of the remaining men have been dishonest.  I had dropped the seeds into hot water before giving it to you.  All of the seeds are dead.  There is no way they could have sprouted into crops.  You have replaced them with new seeds”.

The rest of the young men were ashamed.  They knew that what Chandrasena said was true. “Honesty is a great virtue”, Chandrasena said, “Only one among you is fit to be king.”

Soon, the honest young man, Vishwadutt, was crowned king of Nandpur. Chandrasena continued to serve as the head of the council of ministers.  The kingdom prospered under the wise and benevolent reign of Vishwadutt and the people lived happily.

Children, this story tells us the need to be honest.  We should have the courage to be honest even when we may appear to be at a disadvantage.  Honesty will always bring great rewards.

The King and the Loyal Minister

Vasavadutta was the King of Shastrapur.  He was a good man.  But he was very short tempered.   He was also an extremely suspicious person.

He had a number of ministers and men of learning in his royal court, the durbar.
Among the many ministers in his court was Rangadeva.  Rangadeva was an old man.  He had first served in the court of the Vasavadutta’s father.  When his father died and Vasavadutta ascended the throne, the loyal Rangadeva guided the inexperienced, young king in his initial years.
The young king trusted Rangadeva immensely.  He saw Rangadeva as a guiding father-figure.  He took no important decision without consulting Rangadeva.

But there were other courtiers who were jealous of Rangadeva and his closeness to the king.  They felt threatened by him.  If they could eliminate him, their own positions in the royal court would rise.  Chandrasena was one such courtier.  He had been in the royal court for many years.  The king had appointed him as the minister of water works.  He was a wily and cunning man.  He was also notoriously corrupt.

“If only I could drive a wedge between the king and Rangadeva, I will be the second ruler in the kingdom” he told himself, “who knows one day I may even be king”.  A few months later, Rangadeva went to a neighbouring kingdom to visit one of his relatives who was sick.  He returned a week later and assumed his usual responsibilities.  This was the opportunity, Chandrasena had been waiting for.

One day, in the evening, when the king was resting in the royal gardens. Chandrasena approached him.  Chandrasena told the king that Rangadeva had actually gone to the neighbouring kingdom to plot against him.  The king was furious.  At first, he could not believe what he said.  Chandrasena told the king that Rangadeva went and sought help from the neighbouring kingdom to kill him.

The king, being a suspicious person, began to believe Chandrasena’s wicked rumours.  One day, it so happened that a relative of Rangadeva visited him.  The relative too lived in the neighbouring kingdom.  The information reached the king.  The king was startled.  “Surely, this must be a spy carrying a message.”, he told himself.  He was angry that such a trusted member of the royal court would so betray him.

The kings became paranoid.  He felt that he may be attacked any minute.  He appeared distressed and fretful.  The wicked Chandrasena could see the change in the king’s behaviour.  He knew that his plan was working.  The next day, the king arrested Rangadeva and threw him into prison. The next day, the king ordered the minister to be executed.  The date of Rangadeva’s execution was fixed.  It would be in a month’s time.

In the kingdom of Shastrapur, the means of execution was extremely cruel.  The condemned prisoner would be thrown to a pack of hungry dogs which had not been fed for a week.  As soon as the prisoner was thrown into the pit, the famished beasts would pounce on him and tear him to shreds.  Rangadeva knew his fate.  He asked the prison official permission to visit the pit where the dogs were kept.  He took a plateful of food which he was offered in jail.  He gave the food to the dogs.  He did this for a week.

The fateful day finally arrived.  All arrangements were made for the execution.  The king had come along with the other courtiers.  Chandrasena was there too.  He could barely conceal his happiness.  The moment came.  At the king’s order, two soldiers threw Rangadeva into the pit.
Everyone watching held their breath.  They waited to hear the screams of the man as he was being mauled by the animals.  But what they saw as totally different.  The dogs, though hungry, jumped around Rangadeva.  They were playful like small puppies.  They licked him and wagged their tails around him.  The king was angry.

Rangadeva, who was silent all along, looked at the king. He said, “You Majesty, these dogs have known me for less than a week.  Yet they have trust in me. I have worked for your and for your father for over thirty years.  Yet you have not trusted me”.

The king realised his mistake.  He was ashamed of his action.  He remembered how Rangadeva had guided him all his life. He had condemned the king only based on hearsay.   He ran to the minister and fell at his feet.  He apologised for his thoughtless decision.  A gracious Rangadeva forgave him.  Rangadeva was reinstated to the royal court and given the position of prime minister.  Vasavadutta came to know that the whole matter was a rumour floated by Chandrasena.  The furious king banished him from the kingdom for the rest of his life.

Children, this story teaches us not to take decisions without proper information and checking. It also tells us that we can change any adverse situation to our favour by clever thinking.

The King and the Honest Woman

The king Vidhubala was on a hunting trip with his men to the forest.  The king was fond of hunting.  There were many deer, wild boar and cheetahs in the forest.  The king was on his horse chasing the deer.  He identified a deer from the herd and started to chase it.  The deer ran fast and the king was following hard after it.  The king chased the deer for many miles, yet was not close to it.  He then shot an arrow that hit the deer on its side.  The deer fell down and lay motionless.

The king dismounted and walked to where the deer had fallen.  The animal was dead.  The king wanted to carry the animal to his palace.  He turned to his men and to his surprise found no one.  In his eagerness to bring down the animal he realized that he had left the hunting party far behind.

  He was hungry and thirsty.  He got back on his horse and wandered about to find something to eat.  He could not find any food.  He found a small footpath in the forest.  The foot path led to a small house.  He felt relieved.  Now he could ask for some food and help.  He got down from his horse and walked to the door and knocked it.  There was no response.  He pushed the door and it opened easily.  He went inside and called out.  There was no one.  There were only a few pots.  He lifted the lids of the pots.  The first pot was filled with water.  In the second pot, there was some porridge.

The king first drank the water to quench his thirst.  He then hungrily ate the porridge.  The porridge was indeed tasty.  As he looked around, he saw a small cot by the wall.  He lay down on it.  vercome by tiredness, he was soon fast asleep.   He was awakened by the sound of heavy knocking on the door.  He quickly drew his sword and went to see who it was.  It was his own soldiers on the lookout for him.

The soldiers were relieved at seeing their king and were sorry for leaving him alone.  The king proceeded to depart.  Before leaving, he wanted to give something to the occupants of this humble dwelling as token of his gratitude.  It was their food and water that had given him strength.  He thought for a moment and then left his ring on the table.

The hut belonged to a poor woman, Neelambari who lived in the hut with her little son.  Her husband had died a few years back.  She lived alone in the forest.  That day, Neelambari had gone into the forest as usual to gather wild fruits and berries for food.  It was late when she returned home. She was surprised to see the front door open.  She cautiously went inside, followed by her son Raju.  There was no one.  On the table, she found the pots in which she had kept the water and the porridge.  They were empty.  Someone had eaten them.

She then found the ring in the table.  She picked it up.  It was ring made of pure gold.  On top of it was embedded a shiny jewel.  She was awe-struck at the ring.  She had never seen such a thing in her life.  Anyone who had owned it would really be a rich person.  But why would such a rich person come down to her humble abode.  But, she was feeling hungry now and such questions had to wait.  The porridge was all that he had prepared to eat.  She then remembered that she had kept a few fruits on the loft of the house.  She took them and gave it to her son Raju and had a few herself.  Then mother and son fell asleep.

The next day Neelambari woke up.  She remembered the incidents of the previous day and the ring which she had found.  She picked up the ring and looked at it closely again.  She could not believe her eyes.  The ring contained a seal – the royal seal.  The ring belonged to the king.

She felt that she had to return the ring to the king.  It had perhaps slipped from his finger when he was eating.  The palace was about twenty miles away from her house.  She woke up her son, had breakfast and started for the palace.   She reached the palace in a few hours.  The king was in his durbar.  Neelambari approached the soldiers standing guard outside and told that she had come to return the king’s ring.  The soldiers were surprised that a poor woman should give a ring to the king.  Nevertheless, the message was relayed to the king who ordered that Neelambari and her son be permitted to enter the royal court.

The king was surprised to see a poor woman and her son at his court.  He was impressed when told that they had come to return a ring that they had found in their hut.  “Such honesty in such humble people”, he thought.  The king rewarded Neelambari by appointing her as a cook in the royal kitchen.  He had loved the porridge that he had made.  Neelambari lived with her son in the palace happily ever after.

Children, this story tell us the value of honesty.  We need to be honest even in humble circumstances. Honesty will always be rewarded.

The King and the Faithful Minister

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Safarpur, ruled a king who was strong and powerful.  However, he was also rash and unpredictable.  He could be kind one moment and extremely cruel the next.
The king had a devoted minister who had served him for many years.  The minster was old in years and mature in wisdom.  Before this king, the minister had served his father as well.    The minister had the king’s absolute trust and confidence.

There were many other courtiers in the royal court who were jealous of the minister’s privileged access and relationship with the king.    They were envious of his position in the royal court and his authority.  They began plotting against the elderly minister. 

One day an anonymous letter was left at the door of the palace.  The letter was addressed to the king and soon found its way to him.  The king read the letter and was shaken.  The letter said that the king would be poisoned soon.  As the perturbed king read further on, it said that his trusted minister was part of a deep conspiracy to eliminate him and seize power. 

According to the malicious letter, the minister would send a secret signal to the neighbouring kingdom to invade once the king was dead.  The army of the neighbouring kingdom would install the minister as the new kingdom of Safarpur after the invasion.

The king’s anger knew no bounds.  He could not come to terms that some would dare to even think of such a treacherous plan.    The jealous courtiers who had sent the letter were happy that their plan was working.  “The king would get rid of the minister soon”, they told themselves.

The Minister was arrested and put in prison.  The king informed the minister that he would be executed for treason.    Execution was a frightening prospect in that kingdom.  People who were sentenced to death were thrown into a pit filled with a ravenous pack of wild dogs.  They would be torn to pieces in no time.

When the minister heard the sentence of death, he was shocked.  He had served the royal family all his life.  He could not believe that the king would lose faith in him after all he had done and condemn him to such a terrible death.  He thought of his predicament.  The next day, he went and sought an audience with the king.  He asked the king to postpone his sentence by ten days so that he could set his affairs in order before his death.  The king granted his petition.

The appointed day of execution arrived.  The minister arrived at the place of execution.  His bearing was dignified as ever and his face was calm.  The king was seated on a dais with the other courtiers who were only happy to see the proceedings and the end of their rival.  The wild dogs were already in the pit.  The angry barks and yelps could be heard all around.   They leaped and jumped around, irate and agitated.  It was a frightening scene. 

The minister was lowered into the pit.    Everyone expected the dogs to jump on the minister and to shred him to bits.  But nothing of that sort happened.  The dogs went around the minister and began licking him and jumping over him playfully.  Everyone was amazed at such a strange happening.    The King was surprised and embarrassed.  He hastily left the place.  The execution was halted.
Back at the palace, summoned the minister.

The minister was brought before him.  The king dismissed his attendants and was left along with the minister.  “You cannot escape death by such clever tricks”, he thundered.  The minister listened patiently.  “O King!” he replied calmly, “Do you remember I had asked you to be released for ten days from prison before my execution.”  The king nodded.  The minister continued, “Those ten days, I had visited the place of the execution with bread and had fed the dogs.  After I became familiar to them, they played with me and pranced around me every time I visited them.  I did this every day.  That is why the dogs did not hurt me today”.

The king was silent.  The minister said further, “The dogs did me no harm as I had fed them for ten days.  I was faithful to you for a lifetime.  Yet you have suspected me on the basis of a mere letter.  Please see if this fair”, he told the King.    The king was speechless.  He sat down in quiet thought.  He had indeed been hasty.  He saw his folly.  He embraced the minister and asked for forgiveness.    He reappointed the minister to his former position.

Meanwhile, it was discovered that the malicious letter was sent by some of the courtiers.  The courtiers were arrested and sent to prison.  The king reigned for many more years.  The faithful minister served him loyally for many more years.

Children, the moral of this story is that we should not take hasty decisions based on hearsay or doubtful information.  Trust is the foundation of any relationship.  Hence, it is necessary to analyze and investigate any accusation before condemning anybody.