Tenali and Cats

Tenali and Cats

Long long ago there was a clever man called Tenali Ramakrishna. He was minister to a great king called Krishna Raya. Once in that city there was lot of problems due to rats. They were eating all sorts of books and papers. They also used to make holes in wooden shelves and also eat rice. Sometimes they even nibbled the ears of little clever girls. Everybody knows that Cats Kill rats. But there were so many rats in the city but very few cats. So the king asked every house in the city to grow cats. But cats need milk to drink. Most of the houses did not have cows. So the king gave cows to every house and asked them to grow them too. All people were happy and used to give cats lot of milk to drink.

Tenali Ramakrishna was a clever man. He decided not to give milk to cat. So the first day he boiled the milk and poured it in a pan. He gave the piping hot milk to the cat. The cat, which was hungry came and sipped the milk from the pan. Since the milk was hot it burnt its mouth. The cat ran away. The next day and the next Tenali Ramakrishna did the same thing. After a few days he stopped giving milk to the cat and started drinking it himself.

Tenali Ramakrishna’s cat was hungry and all other cats were fat and happy. One day the king wanted to see all the cats given by him and give prize to the fat cat. He was very angry with Tenali Ramakrishna for not growing his cat properly. Then Tenali Ramakrishna told the king that he was not lucky since his cat did not drink any milk. The king wanted to put Tenali Ramakrishna in Jail for telling a lie and wanted him to prove what he said.

Then Tenali Ramakrishna brought the pan of milk and his cat. The cat on seeing the milk ran away. It thought that it was being given again hot milk. The king pitied Tenali Ramakrishna and let him away. The clever Tenali Ramakrishna lived happily forever drinking lots and lots of milk.

Tenali and Red Peacock

Tenali and Red Peacock

Krishna Raya was very fond of collecting rare objects. One day, a courtier had an idea. He asked painter to colour a peacock red. The painter did his job so well and the peacock really looked naturally red.

The courtier took the peacock to the king’s chamber and after presenting it to him, said: "Sir, This is the rarest red peacock available only in the dense forest. I have spent a large amount on it, so that you can add this rare bird in your precious collection." The king was surprised on seeing the peacock and observed the peacock. He was confused. But the peacock looked naturally red so the king said "Yes, It is the rarest peacock. I am glad to have."

The king gave 1000 gold coins for red peacock.

Tenaliram was present there when that peacock was presented to the king. While the king was talking to the courtier he smelled a faint smell of paint.

Tenali left the court and asked his servant to find the good painters of the town. Tenaliram asked him to paint five peacocks with red paint.

Next day, Tenalirama took the painter and five peacocks with him to the court. Tenalirama said, " Sir, Yesterday you received one red peacock today I have five more peacocks. And while you gave twenty five thousand gold coins for one I ‘m ready to sell five for only 1000 gold coins."

The king again found them naturally red. And the king gave an order to Tenalirama "You can take 1000 gold coins from the royal treasury"

On hearing this Tenali said "Sir you should give award to this painter as he painted the peacock so beautifully as to make them look naturally red"

King asked "Are they not naturally red?"

"No you smell them closely and you would get the faint smell of the pain” said the Tenalirama

The kind did so and awarded the painter handsomely. But that courtier was punished.

Tenali and Lession to the Greedy

Lession to the Greedy

Ramakrishna earned the affection and the esteem of the king and the people. He was a comic poet and looked, like an ignorant man; but he was pious and on the side of justice. He used his humour to set things right whenever injustice was done.

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 His mother had knee pains and as remedy wanted Ramakrishna to burn her with read 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 says 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.

Tenali and Paintings

Paintings of Tenali Ramakrishna

King Krishna Raya built a beautiful mansion. He arranged for the painting of the walls of the mansion with appropriate pictures. After the completion of the painting, the painter reported to the king.

One day, King, his ministers and others went to the mansion. He was watching the paintings. Suddenly Tenali Ramakrishna noticed a picture which was painted sideways had limbs of only one side. The king said “You must imagine it all"

Tenali Ramakrishna with apparent sincerity said, "Yes now, I understand it.

After a long time, Ramakrishna told the king "Sir from the day we visited your new mansion, I have started practicing doing painting. I have become an expert in it now and I will be pleased if you could witness some of my beautiful executions." The king then entrusted to him the entire responsibility of painting the walls of a mansion. He instructed Ramakrishna to remove the old paintings and in its place put some of his beautiful paintings.

Ramakrishna then rubbed away all the paintings. He painted a nail in one place, a finger in another place, a hand in a third, thus he filled the whole house with his paintings and completely spoiled its look. He then went to King and said: "Sir, I have finished all my paintings"

The King taking visits the building with several people. On seeing the pictures, he said, "Ramakrishna I don’t see any beautiful paintings. I see only odd limbs and fragments."

Ramakrishna said: "You must imagine all the other portions to exist on the other side. It seems you have forgotten that obvious thing?"

On hearing Ramakrishna's reply, the king felt that the same words which he said to Ramakrishna long back was turning back to his ears. He left the place without making any comment.

Tenali - Thousand Gold Coins, Handful Grain

Tenali and Thousand Gold Coins and Handful Grain

Simhapuri was a prominent town in the Vijaya Nagar Empire. There lived a stunning beauty named Vidyullatha. She was a rich lady and well versed with prose, poetry and composition besides dance and music. Vidyullatha was famous as a proud woman in the region. A hoarding appeared on the compound wall of the woman’s house quoting as, “A reward of one thousand gold coins would be presented to those who can win over the Lady in the house. The competitors are required to prove their upper hand in humour, wit and scholarship.” This became a prestigious issue for the scholars in the region.

Many responded to the open invitation and barged into her house, individually, to test their fate through the fete. Surprisingly, everyone whoever walked into Vidyullatha’s house lost in the battle and came out with chins down. The list of losers was steadily growing and after sometime there were no takers to the invitation.

Days were passing like this. One morning, a vendor with a load of firewood on his head started shouting in front of her house, “Firewood…strong firewood…excess heat generating firewood…” he continued the sequence for sometime. Vidyullatha thinking that his noise was growing unbearable walked on to the threshold and enquired, “How much do you sell the load for?”

An instant reply came from the vendor, “I will not sell this for money. If you can give me a handful grain I will give you the entire load.” Assuring him to give more grains, Vidyullatha ordered him to dump the load in the backyard and return to collect the grains. The vendor unloaded the weight off his head then and there started to argue, “There is no bargain in this deal Madam! I will sell this to you only if you can give me a handful grain, did you get it” he stressed, “a handful grain.” The rich woman got disgusted with the vendor’s behaviour, “Hey you bloody vendor. Stop crying, I will give you what you wanted.” She said, “Throw them in the backyard and come here.”

The Vendor was adamant and made his firewood load’s price much clearer, “There is no change in the deal Madam. I said a handful grain…that means nothing more or less…it should be a handful grain. If you cannot pay the price, you should pay me one thousand gold coins and wipe the invitation hoarding on the compound wall.”

Vidyullatha yelled at him, “What nonsense are you trying to talk?” The vendor replied on par with her, “There is not any nonsense. I told you the price, you agreed for it and now if you cannot pay the price, stand by my wish. You should give the one thousand gold coins. That is it.”

The fire broke out between Vidyullatha and the firewood vendor. Both started arguing and shouting at each other. The local people started gathering in front of the house to witness and know what is happening and why the Lady was having a tiff with an ordinary vendor. Tired of shouting, both resorted to approach the provincial Court of Law for justice.

Vidyullatha presented her argument, “My Lord! This firewood vendor must have gone crazy. He is not ready to accede to my offer, though I wished to pay him more. He is sticking to his senseless argument to have a handful grain. He demands later for payment of a thousand gold coins and wiping away the invitation hoarding. I plead for justice.”

The Judge looked at the vendor and asked him what his problem was. Folding hands the vendor started in a humble manner, “Yes Your Majesty. She was right to some extent. However, I am not crazy. I informed her beforehand that the load of firewood would cost her a handful grain.”

He continued innocently, “When I was clear about a handful grain, she must have understood that I needed handful of grains. That was her mistake to mistake my quote for a handful grain. It means, one grain that fills the hand.”

What more? Vidyullatha was speechless. Obviously, the verdict was in favour of the vendor. Vidyullatha was unable to comprehend that a handful grain meant so much. Shocked with the development and the judgement, she was compelled to pay him one thousand gold coins and wipe off the invitation from the compound wall.

The people of the region knew about this and told themselves that the years old proud ness of Vidyullatha was shattered to pieces in a single stroke. By the way, the vendor was Tenali Ramalinga.

On hearing about the problem Vidyullatha created with her hoarding, Ramalinga took due permission from the King Rayalu to take her to task. In the guise of firewood vendor, Ramalinga fulfilled his responsibility in all success.

Tenali and A Reward

Tenali and A 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."

Tenali and 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.

Tenali and 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.

Tenali and 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.

Two 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.

Tenali and The Thieves

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.