The Hermits Riddles
It was a dark night and the spirits laughed wildly. Bones and skulls strewn around made walking through the cremation ground difficult. But King Vikramaditya had to keep his promise to the mendicant and so he went back to the ancient tree. He climbed the tree, slung the corpse over his shoulder, and walked across the desolate cremation ground when once again the Vetal spoke:
�O King! Why do you continue in this fruitless exercise? Has someone asked you to perform this terrible task? Maybe you are doing this for some strange recluse or hermit who speaks in riddles. It is very difficult to make out what these hermits have in their minds when they quiz us. Let me tell you a story and maybe you�ll learn something from it�. And so the Vetal started on another story:
Vajrapur was ruled by a king called Martand Dev who was a wise and good ruler. He needed a knowledgeable adviser to aid him in his administrative tasks. He felt that Ratnakar, an intelligent and smart nobleman of his court would be the best person for the post. When he told his queen about his choice, she disagreed with him. �My uncle Vishwas is clever and as accomplished as Ratnakar. Moreover, he is older and more experienced; hence I feel he�ll make a very good adviser. Why don�t you give him the post?� she requested.
�I am sure he is as knowledgeable as you say, but I think we should test them both before we take a final decision�, the king replied.
The chance to test the potential advisers arose soon. A rich merchant with a very lovely daughter came to the king with his problem. The daughter apparently had three suitors, young men who were eligible in every way. The merchant could not make up his mind as to who was most suitable for his daughter. So he sent the three men to a wise hermit who lived in the hills and in whom he had tremendous faith. The holy man looked at the three men quietly for a while. Then, without a word, he handed over a shell full of earth to one of them, another shell full of water to the second young man and yet another shell full of grains to the third one.
The merchant was clueless. What does the hermit mean by this? Looked like only a smarter brain could crack the riddle! So he took the three young men to the king’s court with the hope of understanding the meaning of the hermit’s action. The king asked the three young men what they thought of the holy man’s action. “Your majesty”, said the first suitor, “I was given a shell full of earth. Without earth, neither water nor grain is of any use. So, I think the hermit has indicated that I’m the most suitable man for the merchant’s daughter”. The second one said, “Well, I feel that earth and grain are of no use without water. All life depends on water. So I think that by giving me the most precious thing, the sage has chosen me”. The third one had a totally different perspective. He said, “Water and earth are only conditions for the grains to grow. What’s important is the crop and everything works towards producing that. I was given the grains and so I think the sage’s choice is obvious”.
Now the king himself was in a quandary. He found all the three suitors’ replies credible. Then he had an idea: this would be the right opportunity to test the wisdom and resourcefulness of the two potential advisers. Fortunately, both Ratnakar and Vishwas were present in the court at that time.
The king turned to Vishwas. “What’s your opinion?”
“Well, I think water is the most important and significant of the three. It makes both earth and grains purposeful. Without water neither of them is of any use”, said Viswas.
“What do you think?” the king asked Ratnakar next.
“Your majesty, I must look at the things more closely before I give my opinion”, said Ratnakar. He then tasted the water, smelt the earth and ran his fingers through the grains. Then he said: “Your majesty, the hermit’s choice is the suitor who was given the earth”.
Which of the two was right? The king was in a fix. Therefore the king summoned the hermit to the court, the next day. He smiled serenely and said: “True gems are rare. O King! You have one in your court. Recognise it, for the good of the people of your kingdom!” King Martand Dev grasped the indication at once. He smiled back and decided on who would be his adviser.
The Vetal stopped his narration and asked King Vikramaditya. “O King! The hermit seems to have spoken in riddles. Can you tell me whom the king chose as his adviser and why? If you know the answer and still refuse to answer me, your head will explode into smithereens. Therefore, O King, think carefully and give me your answer”.
King Vikramaditya spoke right away. He said: “King Martand Dev was a wise man. The convincing answers of all the three young men to the riddle, left him confused. But being resourceful, he invited the two potential advisers to solve it. Again, when he could not decide which of them was right, he sent for the hermit. He was confident that the hermit, who had chosen the right suitor for the merchant’s daughter, would also choose the right man to be his adviser. The hermit, true to his nature, spoke in riddles again. But this time the king caught the hint in a trice. When the hermit spoke of true gems, he was actually referring to Ratnakar. ‘Ratnakar’, means ‘a good gem’, so there was the answer! King Martand appointed Ratnakar as his adviser. Everyone present in the court had seen the young men and looked at the three shells they carried. But none of them examined the contents carefully except Ratnakar. Superficially, the three things, earth, water and grain, are of equal importance, like the three equally good suitors. But when he examined each element carefully, he found that there was something wrong with the water and the grain. The water was perhaps saline or contaminated, while the grain had some chaff. On the other hand, the earth was clean and smelled sweet. Using that as substantiation, Ratnakar made his remarks confidently. And he was rightly made the king’s adviser”.
Finding King Vikram absolutely right as usual, the Vetal, without another word, flew away with the corpse to the ancient tree. King Vikram drew his sword and went after the Vetal.
It was a dark night and the spirits laughed wildly. Bones and skulls strewn around made walking through the cremation ground difficult. But King Vikramaditya had to keep his promise to the mendicant and so he went back to the ancient tree. He climbed the tree, slung the corpse over his shoulder, and walked across the desolate cremation ground when once again the Vetal spoke:
�O King! Why do you continue in this fruitless exercise? Has someone asked you to perform this terrible task? Maybe you are doing this for some strange recluse or hermit who speaks in riddles. It is very difficult to make out what these hermits have in their minds when they quiz us. Let me tell you a story and maybe you�ll learn something from it�. And so the Vetal started on another story:
Vajrapur was ruled by a king called Martand Dev who was a wise and good ruler. He needed a knowledgeable adviser to aid him in his administrative tasks. He felt that Ratnakar, an intelligent and smart nobleman of his court would be the best person for the post. When he told his queen about his choice, she disagreed with him. �My uncle Vishwas is clever and as accomplished as Ratnakar. Moreover, he is older and more experienced; hence I feel he�ll make a very good adviser. Why don�t you give him the post?� she requested.
�I am sure he is as knowledgeable as you say, but I think we should test them both before we take a final decision�, the king replied.
The chance to test the potential advisers arose soon. A rich merchant with a very lovely daughter came to the king with his problem. The daughter apparently had three suitors, young men who were eligible in every way. The merchant could not make up his mind as to who was most suitable for his daughter. So he sent the three men to a wise hermit who lived in the hills and in whom he had tremendous faith. The holy man looked at the three men quietly for a while. Then, without a word, he handed over a shell full of earth to one of them, another shell full of water to the second young man and yet another shell full of grains to the third one.
The merchant was clueless. What does the hermit mean by this? Looked like only a smarter brain could crack the riddle! So he took the three young men to the king’s court with the hope of understanding the meaning of the hermit’s action. The king asked the three young men what they thought of the holy man’s action. “Your majesty”, said the first suitor, “I was given a shell full of earth. Without earth, neither water nor grain is of any use. So, I think the hermit has indicated that I’m the most suitable man for the merchant’s daughter”. The second one said, “Well, I feel that earth and grain are of no use without water. All life depends on water. So I think that by giving me the most precious thing, the sage has chosen me”. The third one had a totally different perspective. He said, “Water and earth are only conditions for the grains to grow. What’s important is the crop and everything works towards producing that. I was given the grains and so I think the sage’s choice is obvious”.
Now the king himself was in a quandary. He found all the three suitors’ replies credible. Then he had an idea: this would be the right opportunity to test the wisdom and resourcefulness of the two potential advisers. Fortunately, both Ratnakar and Vishwas were present in the court at that time.
The king turned to Vishwas. “What’s your opinion?”
“Well, I think water is the most important and significant of the three. It makes both earth and grains purposeful. Without water neither of them is of any use”, said Viswas.
“What do you think?” the king asked Ratnakar next.
“Your majesty, I must look at the things more closely before I give my opinion”, said Ratnakar. He then tasted the water, smelt the earth and ran his fingers through the grains. Then he said: “Your majesty, the hermit’s choice is the suitor who was given the earth”.
Which of the two was right? The king was in a fix. Therefore the king summoned the hermit to the court, the next day. He smiled serenely and said: “True gems are rare. O King! You have one in your court. Recognise it, for the good of the people of your kingdom!” King Martand Dev grasped the indication at once. He smiled back and decided on who would be his adviser.
The Vetal stopped his narration and asked King Vikramaditya. “O King! The hermit seems to have spoken in riddles. Can you tell me whom the king chose as his adviser and why? If you know the answer and still refuse to answer me, your head will explode into smithereens. Therefore, O King, think carefully and give me your answer”.
King Vikramaditya spoke right away. He said: “King Martand Dev was a wise man. The convincing answers of all the three young men to the riddle, left him confused. But being resourceful, he invited the two potential advisers to solve it. Again, when he could not decide which of them was right, he sent for the hermit. He was confident that the hermit, who had chosen the right suitor for the merchant’s daughter, would also choose the right man to be his adviser. The hermit, true to his nature, spoke in riddles again. But this time the king caught the hint in a trice. When the hermit spoke of true gems, he was actually referring to Ratnakar. ‘Ratnakar’, means ‘a good gem’, so there was the answer! King Martand appointed Ratnakar as his adviser. Everyone present in the court had seen the young men and looked at the three shells they carried. But none of them examined the contents carefully except Ratnakar. Superficially, the three things, earth, water and grain, are of equal importance, like the three equally good suitors. But when he examined each element carefully, he found that there was something wrong with the water and the grain. The water was perhaps saline or contaminated, while the grain had some chaff. On the other hand, the earth was clean and smelled sweet. Using that as substantiation, Ratnakar made his remarks confidently. And he was rightly made the king’s adviser”.
Finding King Vikram absolutely right as usual, the Vetal, without another word, flew away with the corpse to the ancient tree. King Vikram drew his sword and went after the Vetal.
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