Tenali's Reward

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."

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."

A Lesson to the Greedy

A Lesson to the Greedy

Krishnadevaraya's mother was a very orthodox woman. She had visited many holy places and had performed religious rites; she had given much in charity. Once she wanted to give fruit in charity and informed so to her son. Krishnadevaraya who had great respect for his mother immediately got delicious mangoes from Ratnagiri. But on the auspicious day when she was to present those fruits to Brahmins, the king's mother died.
The religious rites connected with her death went on for several days. Meanwhile, the king called a few Brahmins and said, "My mother's last wish was to offer mangoes to Brahmins. But she died before the wish could be fulfilled. What should I do now that she might earn the merit for giving away the fruits?" The greedy Brahmins replied: "Your Highness, only if you offer mangoes made of gold to Brahmins will your mother's soul rest in peace."
Ramakrishna came to know of this. The next day he went to the houses of those Brahmins, and asked them to come to his house next to perform his mother's ceremony.

The Brahmins came to Ramakrishna's house after receiving the gold mangoes from the king. Ramakrishna's servants closed all the doors of the house. They brought red-hot iron bars and stood before the Brahmins. The Brahmins were taken aback. Then Ramakrishna told them that his mother had knee pains and as remedy wanted Ramakrishna to burn her with red hot rods. But she died before he could do it. So he now wanted to execute her wish. When the Brahmins said he was unjust towards them, Ramakrishna says there is nothing unjust because they had just taken golden mangoes from the king.
Then the Brahmins understood their folly and left the golden mangoes at Ramakrishna's house and left.

Later when Krishnadevaraya asked Ramakrishna why he had behaved like that with the Brahmins, Ramakrishna said the palace treasury should not be exploited by these selfish people. It is not there to feed lazy follows. It is there to serve the people.

The Promoted Barber

The Promoted Barber

The Royal Barber's only task was to give king Krishnadeva Raya his daily shave. One day when he arrived to do his job, king krishnadeva Raya was still asleep. The barber gave him a shave even as he slept. On waking up, the king was happy at the barber's skill of shaving a sleeping man. The king was pleased and told the barber to ask for anything of his choice. To this, the barber said , " Your Majesty, I would like to serve you as a minister in the Royal court." The king agreed to the barber's wish.

As the news of the barber spread around, the other ministers became worried. They thought that an uneducated man at the minister's post may misuse the powers he held. They went to Tenali with the problem. Tenali assured them of his help.

Next day when the king went by the river, he was surprised to see Tenali scrubbing hard bathing a black dog. When the king asked what he was doing, Tenali replied, "Your Majesty I am trying to convert a black dog into a white one by scrubbing it hard just as a barber took the post of the minister."
On hearing this, the king realized what Tenali was hinting at. That day, in the court, he appointed barber back into his position.

The Horse Trader

The Horse Trader

Krishnadevaraya was very fond of horses. He never spared any thought or money when it came to buying well bred horses. He was known for owning some of the country's best horses.
One day a horse trader, a foreigner from an Arabian Country, came to his court and announced, " I have some fine horses for sale . They are the best Arabian steeds you can get in the whole world. I have brought one horse to show you. If you like him I can send in for the others ". The Emperor was very excited by the offer, as the only breed he didn't have in his stables were the Arabian steeds. He saw the majestic horse standing outside his palace and immediately offered to buy the whole lot of them. The man took an advance of 5000 gold coins and promised to return with the whole set of horses in 2 days and went away.

2 weeks passed and the King saw no sign of the trader. He was growing a little impatient and went out into his garden for a stroll to take his mind off the trader. He saw Raman sitting in the corner of his gardens, feverishly writing something on a sheet of paper.
" What are you writing Raman?" he asked. Raman continued to write without looking up. The King was very curious and demanded " I command that you show me what you are writing immediately." "Well sir, you may not like it, but I'm making a list of greatest fools in the empire", said Raman.
The Emperor was astonished at the reply. "Hand over the paper to me" he said." I need to see the names in there. I am sure that the list you have written must be quite sensible and true. Raman handed over the paper and within a moment he heard the Kings voice thundering, " How dare you write my name on top of the list Raman? Isn't this the height of impudence to your King? I demand an explanation. You think I am a fool indeed!"
"Any man who would give 5000 gold coins to a complete stranger and expect him to return, is a fool!" replied Raman.
"Oh! so that's what is troubling you" said the Emperor." You think the man won't return. What if he does? You are wrong then"
"In that case", said Raman with a twinkle in his eye," I'll scratch out your name and put his there" The King understood the wise words behind Raman's wit and never again made any major decisions without consulting his beloved courtier.

Tenali in Delli Durbar

Tenali in Delli Durbar

At the time when Krishnadevaraya ruled over Vijayanagar, King Barbar ruled over Delhi. Tenali was a famous jester in King Krishnadevaraya's royal court. When King Barbar heard Tenali's tales of wit and intelligence, he wished to meet him. So he sent a messenger to Vijayangar to request Tenali to visit Delhi. With King Krishnadevaraya's permission Tenali went to Delhi with the messenger.
In Delhi, Tenali was welcomed and settled in the royal guest house. The messenger went to King Barbar to inform him about Tenali's arrival. The next day's appointment was fixed between King Barbar and Tenali. Barbar told his courtiers, Tenali, the great witty jester from Vijayanagar has come to Delhi. Tomarrow in the royal court none of us must smile or laugh at his jokes. I want to test him as to how he will make us laugh and win a reward.
The courtiers of Dilli Durbar promised not to smile or laugh that day in the court before the guest. At the given time Tenali also arrived in the Dilli Durbar. He told many witty tales and jokes to courtiers and King Barbar, but all remained silent. No one even smiled at the jokes. This went on everyday for 15 days. From the sixteenth day Tenali stopped going to Dilli Durbar. He disguised himself and followed the King Barbar everywhere to note his daily routine. Barbar used to go for stroll by the river Yamuna with his prime minister every morning. On the way they would give gold coins to the poor and the needy beggars. After observing this Tenali made a plan.

Next morning, Tenali dressed up as an old man. He took a spade and a mango sapling and stood by the river Yamuna waiting for the King Barbar's arrival. Seeing him at a distance Tenalis tarted planting the sapling. King Barbar came to him and said ,' Old man, you are very old indeed. You wont live long enough to enjoy the fruits of the tree you are planting. Why are you taking so much trouble?' 'Your Majesty, I enjoyed the fruits from the trees planted by my ancestors. This tree's fruits will be enjoyed by the others . I find joy in giving to others. I am not planting this to myself.'
The king was impressed by the reply and gave a bag full of gold coins. The old man thanked him and said,' Your Majesty you are indeed a great and kind king. People get the fruits when the tree has grown but you have given me the fruit of my labors even before I had planted the sapling. The thoughts of helping others has really benefited me.'

I like this thought of yours. You can now take this second bag of gold coins as a reward, King Barbar said. ' Oh, Your Majesty, This tree will bear fruits once in a year only but before it has been planted you have filled my arms with fruits of joys twice. King Barbar said ,I like your thoughts and impressed by them and gave the third bag too to old man. Now the prime minister got worried and said to king, Your majesty let's leave now, this man is too intelligent. His witty remarks will claim all the royal wealth from you. King Barbar laughed and got ready to walk away. At this time the old man said, Your Majesty, can you give me just a look? When Barbar turned to look, he saw Tenali holding a false beard in his hands. King Barbar burst out in laughing on seeing what Tenali had been up to. He said, I am pleased, Tenali. You have truly proved that you are witty and a great jester.
King Barbar called Tenali to the court and gave him many more royal rewards. When Tenali returned to Vijayanagar, King Krishnadevaraya was proud to see how Tenali had saved grace. Tenali smiled and said, so Your Majesty I am fit for a reward from you too. King Krishnadeva Raya agreed with a smile and gave Tenali ten thousand gold coins as a reward.

KID'S STORIES

Tenali and The Thieves

Once there were so many thefts in Vijayanagara city which made people alret on the presence of thieves. One night, before going to bed Tenali saw some thieves in the bushes near his house. Then he made a plan with his wife.
After a while , the theives outside heard Tenalii saying to his wife, " Dear be careful and lock all the doors and windows as robberies are taking place in the city. I have put all our jewels in this box, so help me carry it to the well behind our house. We wil throw it into the well. The theives can never get to them this way."

The theives heard all this and they saw Tenali and his wife threw the box into the well. Then Tenali and his wife went into their house and closed all the doors.

The theives were happy at this chance and got busy taking out the water from the well for the whole night to get the box. Early in the morning Tenali came to the well and saw the theives drawing water for the whole night. Tenali smiled at them and said ' Thank you friends, for watering my plants. what must I pay u for your labour'.

Hearing this the theives fell at Tenali's feet for forgiveness. Tenali let them go when they promised not to steal or rob anyone ever again.

Tales of Tenali Ramakrishna

Tales of Tenali Ramakrishna

Tenali Ramakrishna, popularly known as Tenali Rama, was a court-poet of Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijayanagara empire. He was known for his wit and impressive poetry written in the Telugu language. Ramakrishna was called a vikata kavi and he was one of the Ashtadiggajas of the Vijayanagara court. He was also a great scholar of several languages that included Telugu, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada.

Ramakrishna was born in a village in Andhra State during the early part of the sixteenth century. He lost his father when he was very young. He was a very carefree child. From morning till night he was in the company of naughty boys. One day, Ramakrishna met a sadhu who advised him to pray Mother Kali. Ramakrishna did as advised and as soon as he completed the repetition of the mantra eleven crore and eleven times, Mother Kalika appeared. She had a thousand faces and looked terrifying. On seeing the Goddess Ramakrishna touched her feet and then burst into laughter. This aroused Kalika Devi's curiosity. She ordered him to explain what made him laugh. "Divine Mother! When we catch cold, we feel that two hands are insufficient to wipe our only nose. If, you catch cold will your two hands be enough to wipe your thousand noses? This thought made me laugh. Forgive me, I have been impudent." So saying, Ramakrishna again fell at her feet and stood up. The smile and the sense of humor of the boy pleased Kalika Devi. She blessed him to attain fame as a great jester and make people laugh. So he mastered all learnings and became famous as the great humorist, the comic poet Ramakrishna. This is a popular story about Tenali Ramakrishna. Following are some of the comic incidents which took place in the Vijayanagara empire.