Friday 20 June 2014

Vikram Vethal, 3. Intelligence in a Pot



Intelligence In A Pot

It was a dark and moonless night. Only occasional flashes of lightning lit up the somber scene and caused an eerie dance of shadows in the cremation ground. But King Vikram was undaunted. He went up the old banyan tree to bring the corpse down. The Vetal that possessed the corpse said, “I do not know why you are so very persistent. You can achieve much more by using this time in a constructive way. Let me tell you the story of King Parakrama. That will give you some relief”.
The Vetal then narrated the story:

“Virpur was a small kingdom. It was ruled by King Virasen. The king, though young, was extremely clever and intelligent. He never took any hasty decisions. He would always consult his council of ministers and discuss the problems facing the kingdom. As a result, peace and tranquility prevailed throughout Virpur.

Virpur was surrounded on three sides by a bigger kingdom, Surpur. It was ruled by a king called Parakrama. He had long desired to annex Virpur to his kingdom. He could not do anything as long as Virasen’s father was alive. He was very powerful and everyone feared him. Now that he was no more, and Virasen who had succeeded him was quite young, Parakrama revived his designs to annex Virpur. He called a meeting of all his ministers and told them about his plans to invade Virpur. The chief minister had some reservations.

He said, “Your majesty, what you say is right. But we must collect all the details about our enemy before we go for an attack. Let’s ascertain the young king’s mettle before we invade Virpur”. King Parakrama felt that it was a wise suggestion and set about to draft a letter to Virasen. The king and the ministers thought they would know all about Virasen’s courage and intelligence from his reply to their letter.

Parakrama’s messenger gave the letter to King Virasen. The letter was read out in the court. It said: ‘King Virasen, your late father kept his kingdom in good shape with the help of his wisdom. I, King Parakrama of Surpur, wish to test your eligibility to don the mantle of your father. Send me a quantity of that which I value the most — intelligence! If you are unable to meet my request in three months, you must get ready to pay for the consequences of your failure!’

The young king was astonished at the strange request. The ministers realised that there must be some sinister motive behind it. Madiyugi, one of the senior ministers, stood up and said, “Your majesty, give me three months time and I’ll solve the riddle of this letter”.

Virasen accepted the proposal and wrote back to Parakrama that his request would be met within three months. By the end of the third month, Madiyugi came to the court, bringing along a huge sack. He then told King Virasen, “The intelligence that King Parakrama wanted is in this sack. Let’s send it to him right away”. Everyone wondered what was in the sack, but no one dared to ask. Even King Virasen was silent. The sack was immediately sent off to King Parakrama.

The sack was opened in the full assembly of King Parakrama’s court. To everyone’s astonishment, it contained a small-mouthed earthen pot. Inside the pot was a bigwatermelon which hugged the sides of the pot tightly.

The tendril of the melon sprouted through the narrow mouth of the pot.

The earthen pot was intact and there were no cracks anywhere. Along with it was a letter addressed to King Parakrama. It read: “As requested by you, I’m sending intelligence inside a pot. Please take it out without breaking the pot”.

The king pondered for some time and then said, “It seems Virasen is not as naive as we had thought. We must be careful in dealing with him

He then wrote back to King Virasen, “Thank you for the thoughtful gift. I shall always treasure your friendship more than anything else”. King Virasen was delighted to receive such a friendly note from a formidable neighbour.

The Vetal completed the story and said, “Don’t you think King Parakrama was frivolous in sending a letter demanding intelligence and then backing out after seeing a mere earthen pot? If he had no idea of attacking Virpur, he need not have sent a letter like that in the first place. If you know the answer and yet prefer to keep mum, your head will be blown  to pieces!”

King Vikram answered immediately. “King Parakrama was a clever man. He understood the message sent by King Virasen. Madiyugi had planted a watermelon inside the pot and allowed it to grow inside. After a few days time, the watermelon had grown big enough to fill the pot. King Parakrama understood that King Virasen also had very intelligent people around him. That’s why he decided to abandon the line of confrontation and stretch out a hand of friendship”.

As soon as King Vikram answered, the Vetal slipped down from the king’s shoulder and glided back to his home on the tree along with the corpse. The king drew his sword and went after the Vetal once again

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