Tenali Raman and the Greedy Brahmins

Tenali Raman and the Greedy Brahmins – Story in English

Tenali Raman is one of the great poets in the court of the king Krishnadevaraya. He was so famous that he was also known as one of the Navarathnas or one of the nine gems. There are hundreds of stories which talk about his witty encounters and how he teaches people a lesson when they try to do something wrong. This story is called as “Tenali Raman and the greedy brahmins”. I hope you will enjoy it. 

 

Story of Tenali Raman and the Greedy Brahmins

The mother of King Krishnadevaraya was very pious and orthodox. She used to visit the temple every day. The Kings mother used to pray to God for many hours every day. She had visited all the holy places and given a lot of charity to temples.

One day she became very sick. She called King Krishnadevaraya and said, “My son, I wish to donate a thousand kilos of mangoes to the poor people.”

Krishnadevaraya immediately purchased many mangoes from Ratnagiri. He loved his mother a lot and wanted to fulfil her wishes. Unfortunately, before the mangoes came to the city, his mother died.

Krishnadevaraya felt very bad. He organized a ceremony for one full week. The ceremony was performed by three Brahmins. On the last day, the King called some Brahmins to ask for advice.

The King said, “My mother had one last wish before she died. She wanted to give mangoes to all Brahmins and poor people. But she died before I could fulfill her wish. I wish for my mother to rest in peace. What should I do to fulfill my mother’s last wish?’

The Brahmins were very greedy. They said, “My King, your mother’s last wish is very important. The King must give each Brahmin a gold mango.  Then your mother will be able to rest in peace.”

King Krishnadevaraya immediately ordered gold mangoes to be made and presented them to the three Brahmins. He became very happy since he believed that his mother would now be happy and peaceful.

Tenali Rama Story: The Golden Mangoes
Tenali Raman and the Greedy Brahmins

The second Part

Tenali Raman heard about this story from the head of the royal treasury. Tenali Raman called the same three Brahmins to his home to perform a ceremony for his own mother.

The Brahmins came to Tenali’s house. Tenali Raman closed all the doors and windows. He had a red hot iron rod in his hand. The Brahmins were scared and confused.

Tenali explained, “My mother used to have knee pain all the time. As a final remedy, she wanted me use these hot iron rods on her knee. Unfortunately, she died before I could help her. I was very sad and afraid that she will not be in peace. Now I want to fulfil her wish by giving you this treatment”.

The Brahmins were shocked and said that peace cannot be achieved like that. Tenali said that they had taken the golden mangoes from the king saying the same reason. This was the way Tenali’s mother could find peace.

The Brahmins understood that they were greedy and should have cheated the King. They returned the golden mangoes back to the King.

 

Moral of the Tenali Raman story

Cheaters will never prosper and one day will get caught.

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