The Golden Swan

One morning when King Krishna Deva Raya’s court was assembled, two men entered carrying a golden statue of a swan. All the courtiers were awestruck by the beauty of the statue.

The various diamonds and precious stones studded into the statue glittered in the day light. The richness of the statue was in stark contrast to the poor appearance of the two men.

“Who are you and what do you want in our court?” asked the King.

“Maharaj, my name is Ramu and this is my best friend Shamu. We have been best friends and neighbors since childhood. He grows vegetables and I am a rice farmer. In last month’s unexpected rains, most of his harvest was destroyed and his fields became waterlogged.” said Ramu.

The other man continued the story, “Like a good friend should do, Ramu helped me in time of my need. He offered me a section of his land where I could plant some fast growing vegetables. Yesterday while I was tilling the land, I found this golden swan.”

“Shamu immediately came to me with it. He insists that since it was found in my land, it belongs to me,” said Ramu.

“I think that is the right thing to do,” Shamu said.

“But he was the one who discovered the statue and I had already given the land to him. So I think it belongs to him. But he will not accept it.” complained Ramu.

“Very interesting,” Krishna Deva Raya was amused.

“Who can settle this dispute among these friends? Who does the swan belong to? It looks like neither will accept it” asked Krishna Deva Raya to his courtiers.

It was indeed a strange situation. Usually the disputes that came to the king’s court involved people fighting over possessions. This was exact opposite. Each friend wanted to gift the swan to the other.

Then Chatur Pandit spoke, “Dear King, this swan has been obtained from the earth of this kingdom. It is a sign from the Gods. I request you to grant me permission to take this swan home and inspect it. Then I can consult the religious texts and conduct the necessary rituals that such a find demands for the well being of the king and the kingdom.”

As soon as Chatur Pandit said this everyone realized that this was his cunning plan to steal some of the diamonds and gems from the statue. After his “inspection” is over, the swan would lose most of its valuable stones.

The king’s treasurer spoke next, “Your Majesty, I think the swan belongs to the royal treasury. We should take possession of it.”

Krishna Deva Raya shook his head in disagreement to these suggestions. Then he turned to his wise and witty minister Tenali Raman.

“Tenali, let me hear you suggestion” he said.

“Your Highness, I think we should auction this swan. The proceeds should then be used to build a beautiful garden in the main street of the kingdom. It should have a fresh water fountain and shady trees. Travelers from around the world should be able to rest there. We should have pillar in the garden on which the wonderful story of these selfless and generous friends is engraved. Thus their exemplary friendship will become famous and be remembered for generations to come.” said Tenali Raman.

Both the friends were very pleased to hear this suggestion. The King and the courtiers praised Tenali Raman’s focus on the greater common good.
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Tenali's Reward

One day the King and his Queen were about to view a special performance by a Krishnaleela troupe.

The King ordered his minister not to disturb him.

A special guard was posted at the main gate of the palace and another at the door to the hall.

Meanwhile Raman came to the palace and was prohibited entry by the kings guard. TenaliRaman thought that there is something special going on and I have not been invited. I must see what it is.

So he returned to the guards and said, “I must see the king, he has promised me a reward.”

The guard thought the reward must be a bag of gold as usual. So he demanded half of the reward the king gives to Tenali. Tenali agreed and rushed to the audience hall.

There another guard blocked his way and Tenali promised him half of the reward the king gives to him. Finally he reached the hall and saw the dance program going on.

He ran up to the artists and picking up a stick began to hit the chief actor.

On seeing this, the king got annoyed and ordered a hundred lashes to Tenali.

As an attendant raised the whip, Tenali pleaded, “Please wait, your majesty. I have two friends outside who want to share the lashes.”

The king was astonished. “Who are these fools? Have them brought in.” he said.

Raman whispered something into the attendant's ear. He returned with the two guards.

Raman proceeded, “I am honor bond to share with them what you wish to give me.”

And he told the king how he gained entry in to the hall.

The king was at once angry and amused. He ordered fifty lashes each to the attendants and dismissed them.

Then he turned to Raman and said, “I am grateful to you for exposing these rogues. you shall receive a bag of gold for your efforts.”

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Tenali Raman And The Thieves

On one night, some thieves entered Tenali Raman's house and were hiding in the  back yard of his house. They were only waiting for the right time, to get  in and rob. Raman came to know that and so collected all the money.

Then, he called his wife and said in a  voice loud enough for the thieves to hear, “There are more incidence of  robbery taking place in this city. So, we must keep all gold inside the well in our garden.”

Then he filled up a big box with some heavy unwanted things.

They dropped  the box to the well in the garden.

The thieves, who were carefully obserbing all this, heard this.

So, they decided not to enter inside the house, one of  them got into the well, and found that the water was very deep.

They realised  that, the box can be easily taken out, only after taking out the water.  So, the thieves spent the entire night to draw water from the well. 

Since, all the water drawn from the well was poured into the garden, all the  plants in the garden got irrigated. The water level in  the well never went down to the extent they expected.

When the day was about to  dawn, Raman said loudly, “The whole garden has been well irrigated and you  may stop now, drawing further water.”

On hearing these words, the thieves ran  away.

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Tenalirama And KrishnaDev Raya

One day King KrishnaDev Raya was very angry with Tenalirama. He asked him to leave his country. Tenalirama obeyed the king's order and started his journey.

After some days, KrishnaDev Raya riding, was going through a forest. At that time, he saw a person climbing to the top of a tree. He found that the person was Tenalirama. KrishnaDev Raya said “I told you to go out of this country. But you are still here?”

Tenalirama answered “Sir, I have travelled the entire world. But, all the people whom I asked told that ‘It is under KrishnaDev Raya's empire.’ So, I was just climbing up the tree to reach the other world.”

Listening to this the king became very pleased. He excused Tenalirama and ordered him to return to the court.

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The Perfect Answer

King KrishnaDev Raya, arranged to construct a new reservoir. After the construction was over, he along with his officials went to inspect the reservoir. He asked his officials,“How does the water in this reservoir look like?”

One official said,“The water in this reservoir is so pure.”

Another one told, “The water is crystal clear and is glittering.” Like this, each one commented according to their imagination.

On Tenalirama's turn he told the king,“Sir, the water has taken the shape of the reservoir you have built.” Without indulging in flattery, Tenalirama gave a pertinent answer. The king liked his plain talk and extolled him.

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