The Golden Plant. A Tenali Rama Story: Famous Inspiring Stories on Subkuz.Com!
Introducing the famous and inspiring story, The Golden Plant.
Tenali Rama always used his wit to astound King Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara. This time, he cleverly persuaded the king to reconsider his decision. It so happened that King Krishnadevaraya had travelled to Kashmir on official business. There, he saw a beautiful flowering plant with golden blossoms. He liked the flower so much that he brought a sapling back with him to Vijayanagara. Upon reaching the palace, he summoned the gardener. To the gardener, the king said, "Plant this sapling in the garden in a location visible from my room. It bears beautiful golden flowers, which I greatly admire. Take utmost care of this plant. If anything happens to it, you will face the death penalty."
The gardener nodded, took the plant, and carefully placed it where the king could see it from his chamber. He meticulously cared for the plant day and night. As the days passed, the plant blossomed with golden flowers. Every morning, the king would look at the flowers before heading to court. Whenever the king had to leave the palace, he'd feel saddened at the thought of not seeing the golden plant. One morning, when the king went to his window to admire the plant, it was gone. He immediately called for the gardener. "Where is the plant? Why aren't the flowers visible?" the king asked. The gardener replied, "Your Majesty, my goat ate the plant last evening."
The king's anger flared. He immediately ordered the gardener's execution, to be carried out two days later. Guards took the gardener into custody.
Upon hearing the news, the gardener's wife rushed to the palace to plead with the king. The king, in his fury, refused to listen to her. Weeping, she left the court. A bystander advised her to seek Tenali Rama's counsel. With tears streaming down her face, she recounted to Tenali Rama the plight of her husband and the incident with the golden plant. After listening carefully, Tenali Rama consoled her and sent her home. The next day, the furious wife went to the marketplace, found the goat, and began beating it with a stick. The goat was severely injured. Such cruelty towards animals was forbidden in the kingdom of Vijayanagara and considered a severe offense. Some people reported the wife's actions to the city magistrate.
The magistrate's officers, investigating the matter, discovered that the wife's actions stemmed from her husband's impending execution. They brought the matter to the king's attention. King Krishnadevaraya inquired, "How could you treat an animal so cruelly?" "This is the goat that destroyed my home! I am about to be widowed, my children are about to become orphans. How can I treat this goat, Your Majesty?" she pleaded. The king replied, "I do not understand what you mean by this. How can this innocent animal destroy your home?" The wife explained, "Your Majesty, this is the same goat that ate your golden plant. You sentenced my husband to death because of it. The goat is at fault, but my husband is punished. The goat should be punished, not my husband. Therefore, I punished the goat."
The king finally grasped the truth: the fault lay with the goat, not the gardener. Realizing his mistake, he asked the wife, "How did you gain such clarity in explaining this matter to me?" She replied, "Your Majesty, all I could do was cry. Pandit Tenali Rama guided me." Once again, King Krishnadevaraya was immensely proud of Tenali Rama and said, "You have saved me from making a grave mistake." He immediately ordered the gardener's release from prison and rescinded the death sentence. He also rewarded Tenali Rama with fifty thousand gold coins for his wisdom.
This story teaches us – Never give up hope too early. With persistence, even the gravest problems can be overcome.
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