Tenali Rama: The golden mangoes

Told in English, Telugu.

Long, long ago, in the great city of Vijayanagara, there lived a kind and wise king named Krishnadevaraya. In his court sat many clever people, but the cleverest and funniest of them all was a man from the village of Tenali. His name was Tenali Ramakrishna, and everyone simply called him Tenali Rama.

Now, the king loved his old mother very much. Every evening he would sit beside her, hold her hand, and tell her about his day. But one year, she grew very weak and tired. She lay in her bed most of the day, and the palace became very quiet.

One evening, she smiled softly at her son and said, "Raya, do you know what I would love? A sweet, ripe mango. Just one."

The king stood up at once. "Bring mangoes for my mother!" he called.

But the servants looked at each other sadly. It was not mango season. The mango trees had only green leaves. There was not a single ripe mango in the whole kingdom.

The king sent riders far and wide to search. But before they could return, the old queen mother closed her eyes and slept peacefully, for the very last time.

The king was filled with grief. He could not eat. He could not sleep. Again and again he said, "My mother asked me for just one mango, and I could not give it to her."

Now, in the court there were a few greedy men. They saw how sad the king was, and they whispered to each other, "This is our chance to become rich!"

So they went to the king, bowed low, and said, "Maharaja, your mother's wish was not fulfilled. Her heart will not be at peace. But there is a way. If you give each of us a mango made of pure gold, her wish will be completed."

The poor king was so sad that he did not stop to think. "Is that so?" he said. "Then I will do it. Make golden mangoes, and give one to each of these men."

The goldsmiths worked day and night. Soon there were shining golden mangoes, one for each greedy man. The men smiled so wide that you could see all their teeth. They went home happily, holding their golden mangoes close.

Tenali Rama had watched all of this quietly. He was not smiling. He thought, "These men have tricked our good king when his heart was hurting. I must teach them a lesson. But I must do it cleverly."

The next morning, Tenali Rama went to those same greedy men and said, very politely, "Friends, I have some sad news too. My own mother passed away some time ago, and she also had a wish that I could not fulfil. Will you please come to my house tomorrow? I want to do for my mother what the king did for his."

The greedy men looked at each other with shining eyes. They thought, "More gold! Maybe golden bananas this time! Or golden coconuts!" And they said, "Of course, Rama garu. We will surely come."

The next day, they arrived at Tenali Rama's house, all dressed up and hungry for treasure. They sat down in a row and waited.

Tenali Rama came out of the back room. But he was not carrying gold. He was carrying long iron rods, and their tips were glowing red from the fire!

The greedy men jumped. "Rama garu! What are those for?"

Tenali Rama sighed a big, sad sigh. "You see, my dear mother had terrible pain in her knees and legs. The old vaidya told her that a warm iron touch would make the pain go away. She wished for it every day. But she passed away before I could do it. So today, to complete her wish, I will gently touch each of you with these hot rods. Then her heart will be at peace. That is how it works, isn't it?"

The greedy men turned pale. Their knees started shaking. "No, no, no!" they cried. "That is not how it works at all!"

Tenali Rama raised his eyebrows. "Oh? But yesterday you told the king that giving you golden mangoes would complete his mother's wish. If gold for you can reach his mother, surely hot rods for you can reach mine!"

The men had nothing to say. They knew they had been caught. They ran out of the house as fast as their legs could carry them, and not one of them was touched by the rods at all.

News of this reached the palace very quickly. The king was angry. He called Tenali Rama. "Rama! How dare you frighten my courtiers with hot iron rods?"

Tenali Rama bowed and answered calmly. "Maharaja, I hurt no one. I only wanted to show them the truth. If giving them gold could carry a mango to your mother, then my plan should work too. But we both know neither is true. Those men were not thinking of your mother. They were only thinking of gold."

The king was silent for a long time. Then slowly, he nodded. "You are right, Rama. My sadness made me forget to think. They took advantage of my grief."

The king called the greedy men back, and they had to return every single golden mango. Their faces were very red!

Then the king asked, "But Rama, how can I truly honour my mother?"

Tenali Rama smiled kindly. "Maharaja, your mother loved mangoes. When mango season comes, share sweet mangoes with the children of our city. Every child who smiles with mango juice on their chin will be a happy memory of her."

The king's eyes filled with gentle tears, but this time he was smiling too.

And so, when summer came and the trees were heavy with fruit, the king sent baskets and baskets of ripe mangoes to every street in Vijayanagara. The children ate and laughed, and the juice ran down to their elbows. And the king felt, deep in his heart, that his mother would have loved it.

So, little one, the next time you eat a juicy mango, remember clever Tenali Rama. Can you say it with me? Kindness is worth more than gold!