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Krishnadevaraya, who ruled over the kingdom of Vijayanagar, was one of the greatest kings of his time. He was fond of collecting rare and exotic objects. Many of his courtiers and ministers used to exploit this passion of the king. They would encourage him to spend a lot of money buying rare extraordinary items from all around the world. 2

The king’s ministers and courtiers never missed an opportunity to make money. They often flattered the king and offered fake and worthless objects as invaluable treasures. But Tenali Rama was not like them. The king too valued him. Tenali Rama was waiting for the right opportunity to show the king the prevailing practice in the kingdom.

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Chatur Pandit was one of the greedy ministers in the court. He was always inventing new ways to avail benefits from the king. But, Tenali Rama was aware of Chatur Pandit’s plans.

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One day, Chatur Pandit asked a skilled painter to paint a peacock red. The painter did an extremely good job and painted a peacock with bright red colour. Chatur Pandit arrived at the king’s chamber with the red peacock. The king was astonished to see the peacock. Nobody had ever seen such a beautiful and rare peacock. Chatur Pandit bowed to the king and said, “My dear king, this is the rarest of the peacocks available on this earth. I managed to catch this from the dense forest especially for you.” 5

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Krishnadevaraya was amazed and remarked, “What an extraordinary creature! It is the most exotic peacock I have ever seen.” Chatur Pandit could sense that the king was totally impressed. He added further, “I have spent a lot of money and effort on it. For the last two years, two of my servants with expertise in animal tracking and hunting, had been searching the dense forests across India. Finally, they found this rare bird in the dense forests of Madhya Pradesh. My Lord, I am glad to present this exquisite prize to you. You must add this priceless bird to your vast collection.”

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The king was thoroughly impressed. He said, “You are a loyal courtier. I am pleased to have you in my court. I am more than glad to add this bird in my collection. So, tell me, how should I reward you?” “I am honoured to be your humble servant, dear King. But I will be more than happy if the king could refund me the money I have spent on the search of this peacock,” exclaimed the minister. The king ordered the treasurer to pay one hundred gold coins to Chatur Pandit.

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Tenali Rama was observing all the action with a gentle smile on his face. He intercepted, “One moment, your Majesty.” Everyone sitting in the court looked at him. He continued, “I would suggest that the king nurture this bird for a few days. It might be difficult for such a rare bird to survive in the new conditions. I wish to undertake another expedition to the dense forests of Madhya Pradesh to capture the other birds of the same family so that it stays happily in our royal zoo.”

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The king could apprehend that something was going on in Tenali Rama’s mind. So, he played along. He stood up and ordered, “Tenali Rama, you should return to this court after two weeks with more red peacocks of the family.” Chatur Pandit was now very annoyed as the king withheld his reward.

After the king had left the court with the other courtiers, Tenali Rama went close to the peacock. The peacock had a faint smell of paint. Tenali knew that the bird had been painted.

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Tenali Rama asked his servants to find out the painter whom Chatur Pandit had employed to paint the peacock red. The painter was summoned to Tenali Rama’s house. Tenali told him calmly, “You have done no harm to anyone. In fact, your painting was so flawless that the king and other courtiers were convinced that the peacock was naturally red. If you can paint ten more peacocks for me then I will make sure that your service is duly rewarded.”

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Tenali Rama returned to the court after two weeks. He came along with the painter and ten brilliant red peacocks. “Long live the king,’’ said Tenali. “I have returned with these peacocks as promised. I would like to be rewarded for my labour.” The king was very happy. He said, “I am highly pleased with you for this remarkable achievement. I order the treasurer to pay you one thousand gold coins as the price for these ten red peacocks.”

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Tenali Rama And The Red Peacock

Publisher : SChand Publications ISBN : 9789351212751 Author : BPI

Type the URL : http://www.kopykitab.com/product/18757

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