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.