Once Krishnadeva Raya had a wonderful dream.
He dreamt of a beautiful palace made of glittering stones which floated in the
air. The palace had everything that one could ever wish for. It could be lit up
with a thousand lights or made to disappear into the darkness by merely wishing
so. The palace glistened and glowed and whoever entered the palace felt
themselves in heaven.
But suddenly the dream ended and the palace
vanished. The king woke up with a start. The image of the palace was stuck in
his mind. He could not forget the dream palace and one day, he summoned all his
courtiers and told them about his dream.
Then the King then made a public announcement
saying, “If someone can make such a palace for me, I will give a hundred
thousand gold coins!”
The courtiers who had been singing praises of
the King’s dream till then stopped mid-sentence. Their mouths fell open and
each of them thought “Is the King mad? What on earth does he want us to build?
Whoever heard of a palace floating in air! The King is indeed insane.”
But no one had the courage to say so. Many of
King’s well-wishers told him that such a palace could only exist in dreams.
But alas the King was in one of his fanciful
moods and he refused to listen. He insisted that it could be built and he also
threatened his courtiers with dire consequences if they did not produce someone
who could make the dream come true.
The courtiers were aghast and worried. And when
none of them could come up with a solution, they decided to approach Tenali
Raman.
Raman listened to the story and assured them
saying, “Give me a week’s time. I shall cure the King of his fanciful notions. Till
then let no one know that you have approached me.”
A few days later, a very old man tottered
into the King’s court.
He cried, “My Lord, My Lord, I need justice. I
need your justice.”
King asked, “Old man, what is the problem? Tell
me without fear and I shall see that justice is done.”
“I have been looted, Your Majesty,” wailed
the old man, “All my savings are gone. I have nothing left.”
“Who looted you?”, thundered the King. “You
name him and I will have him hanged immediately.”
“Your Majesty! If you don’t take it as a
personal affront, I will tell you. But you must assure that you won’t punish
me,” mumbled the old man.
“Yes, yes, I promise,” replied the King.
“It’s you my Lord,” said the old man.
“Me! How dare you. You insolent...” began the
King, but then he remembered his promise and sat back.
“Your Majesty! Last night, I had a dream. It
was quite terrifying. I dreamt that you would come with your entourage of
ministers and commanders and looted my entire life’s savings, five thousand
gold coins,” said the old man.
“You are a fool indeed!” roared the King. “It
was just a dream youhad. How can you be so stupid as to pretend that your dream
is reality? Dreams are not true. Anyone and everyone knows that.”
“But they are, Your Majesty! Dreams are very
true. I am sure you know that. If your dream of a palace hanging in air can
come true, why can’t my dream come true?”
The King was stunned by the old man’s words.
Before he could fully comprehend and recover from what the old man was saying,
the man tore off his beard and hair and stood before the King. It was none
other than his favourite minister Tenali Raman!
Bowing low before the amazed King, Tenali
Raman said, “Your Majesty! This was the only way of convincing you about the
absurdity of your wish. Please forgive me if I have dishonoured you. I do hope
you understand the impossibility.”
“You are right Raman,” agreed the King and
burst into laughter. “You are really very shrewd! I am proud to have you in my
court,” saying this King presented Tenali Raman with a Diamond ring and one
thousand gold coins.
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