Love story of King Yashodhan

Love story of King Yashodhan

Once again Vikram started off his walk carrying Betal and Betal started his story about King Yashodhan. The King of Kanakpur died a sudden death and so his young prince Yashodhan was crowned the King. Though being young, Yashodhan was a dutiful and responsible King. The subjects were very happy and there was a pleasant environment in the state. To run a state honestly and successfully the King needed to be good himself and have honest officers as his staff members. King Yashodhan had honest officers to serve him. But as it is said that sometimes honest servants also make mistakes, the same thing happened in King Yashodhan’s court. Once a businessman named Kushalsen brought two dancers in his court. King Yashodhan was very impressed with their dance. When he asked them where they had come from, Radhe Govind an officer of the King’s court replied that Kushalsen had got them. He informed Yashodhan that Kushalsen wanted to gift the two dancers to him and they would serve him as his maid-servants and also entertain him with their dance. King Yashodhan got angry at this gesture and asked him how he could make such talented dancers his maid servants? How could Kushalsen dare to even think of such an idea? The King then said that by gifting the dancers to him Kushalsen wanted to get his taxes waived off. He scolded the businessman for being corrupt and at the same time trying to corrupt the King. He asked how much money he had paid for the dancers and then ordered his officers to pay that amount to the dancers from Kushalsen’s account and ordered him to pay his taxes. He also advised his officers to think good for the state first and not the King’s pleasure. In the same city a rich businessman had a beautiful daughter whose father was worried for her marriage. He thought of going to King Yashodhan with the proposal of marriage.

When he went to the King, he replied that refusing a girl after seeing her is very insulting for any girl, so he asked two of his elderly officers to go and see the girl and if they liked her, he would get married to her. The officers went and saw the girl; they liked her very much for her to be the queen. They were coming back happily and on the way they met Radhegovind, who asked them the reason for their happiness. The officers told him every thing.

At this Radhegovind said that the King had asked them to vouch for the states good first and then of the King so they must first think of the state. He told them that if the King married a beautiful lady, he would not pay attention to the state affairs and the state would be destroyed. The officers agreed to him and went and told the King that the girl was not at all beautiful and not suitable for him. Yashodhan sent a message of rejection to the girl’s father. Later, the girl was engaged to the King’s army chief. The marriage was to take place after some time so the couple started meeting regularly. Once, they met in a jungle and the girl wanted to ride his horse, so she sat on the horse and started riding. Later she wanted to turn back the horse but the horse was not obeying her commands, just then King Yashodhan, who was discussing defense matters with his officers, saw the girl. He helped her turn back the horse. Then he asked her for a smile as his reward for helping her. She gave a beautiful smile and Yashodhan instantly fell in love with her. He asked his officers to follow the girl and find out whose daughter she was as he wanted to marry her.

When he learnt the truth from his officers Yashodhan asked his army chief if he felt that the state would be in a loss if he married a beautiful lady. The army chief replied that the state would in fact run better if their king married a beautiful girl because if the King was happy he would work better. The King ordered his army chief to go and fix his marriage with the same girl.

He went along with the other two officers. As they reached there, he told them that it was his in-laws house and that he had got engaged just ten days back. The other two officers were shocked to hear this and they told him that they would inform the King about this but he stopped them and instead went and broke his engagement because he thought that it was his duty to see his master’s happiness first. Later, Yashodhan’s marriage was fixed with the same girl. One day his officers told him the truth about the army chief’s engagement with the same girl. The King was shocked to hear this. On the day of the marriage just as the girl was about to garland the King, he stopped her and got the army chief married to her.

Betaal then asked Vikram as to whose sacrifice was greater; the army chief’s, who broke his engagement or the King’s who let his love go to his own servant. He told Vikram that he would break his head if he did not reply. Vikram replied that the army chief’s sacrifice was definitely greater because he was engaged to her and was going out with her for many days and so he would have stronger feelings for her than the King who had just seen her once and fallen in love. It was more difficult for the army chief to let go his love for someone else. Betaal was very happy to hear this but since Vikram opened his mouth he flew away.