The
great king Krishna Deva Raya had a lot of wise ministers in his court. The
wisest of them was Tenali Raman. One day, a merchant came to the king’s court
from a foreign kingdom. He saluted the king and the said, “Your Majesty, I have
heard from many people that you have very wise minister in your court. But with
your permission, I would like to test the wisdom of your ministers.” This
aroused the king’s interest and he gave the merchant his permission.
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The
merchant gave the king three dolls that looked identical. He said, “Though
these dolls look similar, they are different in some way. If your ministers can
find out the difference, I will bow to their wisdom. But if they can’t, I will
assume that there are no wise ministers in your court. I will be back in thirty
days for the answer.” The king asked all of his ministers except Tenali Raman
to assemble.
He gave
them the three dolls and told them to find the difference in them in three days
time. But at the end of three days, none of the ministers could figure out the
difference. The king got worried and called Tenali Raman. HE said to him, “Tenali,
I did not summon you before because I thought that this problem will be too
simple. But since no one has been able to find the solution, it is up to you
now.
Find
the difference between these dolls. “Tenali took the three dolls and went away.
The problem proved difficult for Tenali too, but at last, after a lot of
effort, he figured out the difference. He went to the court with the three
dolls on the day that the merchant had to return. Then, he announced in front
of the whole court that he had found the difference between the dolls. He said,
“These three dolls are different because one of them is good, one medium and
one bad.”
“When
everyone asked Tenali that which doll was which, he showed them a tiny hole
that was present in the ears of each of the dolls. Then, he took a very thin
wire and put it in the hole of the first doll’s ear. The wire came out from the
doll’s mouth. HE did the same with second doll and the wire came out from the
doll’s other ear. In the third doll, the wire went to the heart and did not
come out.
Tenali
Raman explained, “In the first doll, the wire went in through the ear and came
out through the mouth. So, this doll is bad as it represents people who cannot
keep a secret. In the second doll, the wire came out of the other ear. So, it
is medium and represents harmless people who do not understand what is said to
them. The third doll in which the wire went to the heart and did not come out,
represents good people who will preserve the secret that you tell them.
“The
king, the merchant and all the courtiers were very impressed with Tenali’s wise
answer. Then Tenali said, “But there can be another explanation too. The first
doll represents people who gain knowledge and spread it among others, so it is
good. The second doll represents people who do not understand what they are
taught, so it is medium. The third doll represents people who have knowledge
but keep it all to themselves.
They do
not teach anyone anything and so they are bad people. The king was even more
impressed. He asked, “Can there be any other explanation?” Can you think of a
third explanation to answer the king?
The
End.
