wise tenali rama

Once when King Krishnadevaraya had gone to survey the jail, two burglars who were prisoners there, asked for his mercy. They told him that they were experts at burglary and could help the king in catching other thieves. The king being a kind ruler asked his guards to release them but with a condition. He told the burglars that he would release them and appoint them as his spies only if they could break into his advisor Tenali Raman’s house and steal valuables from there. The thieves agreed to the challenge.

That same night the two thieves went to Tenali Raman’s house and hid behind some bushes. After dinner, when Tenali Raman came out for a stroll, he heard some rustling in the bushes. He at once perceived the existence of thieves in his garden.

After some time he went in and told his wife loudly that they have to be careful about their valuables as two thieves were on the run. He asked her to put all the gold and silver coins and jewelry in a trunk. The thieves overheard the conversation between Tenali and his wife.

After some time, he carried the trunk to the well in the backyard of his house and threw it in the well. The thieves saw all of this. As soon as Tenali went inside his house, the burglars came to the well and began drawing water out of it. They kept drawing water the entire night. Almost at dawn, they managed to pull out the trunk but were shocked to see stones in it. This is when Tenali Raman came out and thanked them for letting him sleep well at night and also for watering his plants. The two thieves understood that Tenali Raman had outsmarted them. They apologized to Tenali Raman and he let them go.