Here is one of the most popular Tenali Rama stories in Tamil Nadu. A counselor to a reputed king, Tenali Rama was known for his wits. As a court jester, Rama was responsible for keeping the king happy and carefree.
On her deathbed, the queen asked the king to get her a mango. The king gave his army free rein to go anywhere to get the mango. Unfortunately, the queen passed away before the king’s army could get back with the mango.
Depressed, the king told his guru that he felt disappointed that he couldn’t fulfill his wife’s last wish. The king’s guru advised him to donate a golden mango, a golden thread, and a silk cloth each to a thousand Brahmins so that the queen would be happy in heaven. The king immediately arranged for a ceremony and distributed the instructed gifts among a thousand Brahmins. Unhappy about not getting any gifts, Tenali Rama visited the guru and sought his permission to invite a thousand Brahmins to his house. He said that his wife had been bedridden for over three days, so he wanted to treat the Brahmins and help his wife recover.
In keeping with Tenali Rama’s request, the Brahmins visited his house to receive the gifts. Tenali Rama asked them to finish the rituals and take turns to come inside his house to receive their presents. Rama kept the money and fruits on a brass plate. He hooked two electrical wires to the plate. When the Brahmins came in one by one and picked up the brass plate, Tenali Rama would join the ends of the wires to shock them. The disgruntled Brahmins went to the king and complained about this.
The king summoned Tenali Rama to the court and asked him to explain his actions. Tenali Rama replied that the king had donated golden mangoes so that the queen would get mangoes in heaven. Similarly, Rama gave the Brahmins heat as his wife suffered from rheumatism. The enraged king ordered his guards to imprison Tenali Rama and execute him the following day.
The following day, Rama requested the guards to take him down to River Ganga and chop his head off. He also asked them to throw his body in the river so he would go to heaven.
Tenali Rama stepped into the river water and asked the guards to stand on either side of him. They were to raise their swords on the count of ‘one’, gear up for the attack on ‘two’, and chop his head off when he counted ‘three’.
As soon as Rama counted ‘three’, the guards swung their swords to kill him. Tenali Rama ducked and the guards ended up beheading each other. Rama went back to the court, where the king inquired about the guards. When the king learned about how effortlessly Tenali Rama had outwitted the guards, he couldn’t help appreciating Rama for his intelligence.
Kalai is passionate about reading and reinterpreting folk tales from all over the country. Write to her at kalai.muse@gmail.com to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from Tenali Raman by Ettirajalu.