The Shepherd's Wisdom and the Golden Throne

In a distant village, a shepherd lad was known for his extraordinary sense of justice, which he developed while playfully ruling over his friends. His reputation grew so much that even the villagers sought his counsel in disputes. Word of his wisdom reached King Raja Bhoj Dev, who decided to test the boy. Upon visiting the lad’s favourite mound, the king was amazed when the boy, sitting atop it, effortlessly solved a complicated case that had baffled Raja Bhoj himself.

Curious about the mound's significance, Raja Bhoj ordered it excavated. To everyone's astonishment, they uncovered a magnificent golden throne, believed to belong to the legendary King Vikramaditya. Eager to claim it, Raja Bhoj prepared for a grand ascension. However, as he approached the throne, he heard laughter and discovered puppets on its arms. They introduced themselves and revealed their purpose: to tell the stories of King Vikramaditya, a ruler of unparalleled greatness.

Over the next thirty-two days, the puppets recounted tales that showcased Vikramaditya’s wisdom, justice, and virtue. Each story prompted Raja Bhoj to reflect on his character, leading him to realize he could never measure up to the legendary king. Ultimately, on the thirty-third day, he decided to have the throne reburied, recognizing that true kingship is marked not by power, but by integrity and justice.

Through this tale, the author highlights the importance of wise and just leadership, reminding rulers of their responsibility to serve their people with virtue, much like King Vikramaditya did.

The full story is as follows:

The story of King Vikramaditya and Raja Bhoj

Long ago, there was a shepherd lad in a village. He used to take his sheep for grazing, and some other village boys also used to accompany him. After having shepherded his sheep towards a pasture, he used to start playing with his friends. And every day while playing he would go and sit on a mound of earth and call himself a king. His friends too enjoyed this game and posing themselves to be his subjects, they would come with their grievances, which were, of course, not real, and the shepherd lad would pronounce his judgement like a just king. Gradually, the villagers too came to know about his great sense of justice. Whenever there was a problem among them and they could not solve and settle the matter, they would come to the shepherd lad and this boy would go and sit on that mound of earth, listen to both the parties patiently and pronounce his judgement; and both the parties would go back satisfied.

It took no time for the story to spread like wildfire and the then-ruling king Raja Bhoj Dev also came to know about it. He called the boy to his court and tried to test his sense of justice, but to his astonishment he found him to be the most ordinary boy.

"I have heard a lot about your sense of justice, but now I find you are an ordinary boy," said Raja Bhoj Dev.

To this, the shepherd lad said, "Sir, I have never had an education and am indeed a very ordinary boy. But sir, there is a mound of earth in the hilly region in the north-west province of your kingdom. When I sit on that mound, a sense of justice starts flowing automatically from above: I begin to feel that I am a great king."

Raja Bhoj Dev sensed some meaning in what the shepherd lad said. He asked him to lead him to the mound of earth. After reaching there Raja Bhoj Dev made the boy sit on the mound and posed a very complicated problem before him. This was a case to which he had given several hearings in his court and had not yet been able to solve, owing to its complicatedness. But to his utter confusion, the boy, after giving a patient hearing, solved the case as if it was a very simple one.

Ultimately Raja Bhoj Dev concluded that there wasn't anything very special with the boy; it was the mound of earth which bore some special significance. He ordered his ministers to get the mound excavated immediately. Soon several laborers were called to the place of excavation. They began working with their picks and shovels. Suddenly, after an hour of vigorous digging, one of the labourers' shovels thudded with a metallic sound. The thud of metal alarmed Raja Bhoj Dev who was still present there, supervising the excavation work. He immediately asked his ministers to ask the labourers to proceed slowly and carefully. After another hour of careful digging, a golden throne emerged, which had too grand an appearance. Raja Bhoj Dev was simply dazed to see the grandeur of the throne. "O God! What would it look like when it is cleaned and polished," thought Raja Bhoj Dev to himself.

The sun was about to set, and the golden throne had been cleaned and polished. The mild rays falling on the throne gave a heavenly appearance to it. The throne was carried to the court of Raja Bhoj Dev with great care.

All the courtiers gathered to have a look at the throne, which was made of gold and was studded with all sorts of gems in different sizes. The courtiers said in unison that it must be lord Indra's throne.

Raja Bhoj Dev asked the astrologers of his court to find an auspicious day when he should ascend the throne. The astrologers studied the stars and planets, made calculations and finally decided that it would be most auspicious to ascend the throne on the first day of the full moon night which is Tuesday. Raja Bhoj Dev waited with great anxiety for the day, and on the first day of the full moon night, after performing pooja and Yajna, he proceeded to ascend the throne. But to his great surprise, when he reached the throne, he heard female voices giggling in unison. He looked around and found that everyone on the court was surprised to hear the giggling.

He stepped forward to have a closer look at the throne, and what he saw had remained unnoticed from the eyes of everyone. He saw there were some puppets on both the arms of the throne. He counted them; they were sixteen each. Again, he proceeded to ascend the throne, and there was giggling. But this time he was so close to the golden throne that he could clearly see slight movement in the puppets and could also see them giggling. He looked at them in utter consternation.

"Who are you all? What makes you giggle? Perhaps you don't know, I am Raja Bhoj Dev and I take your giggling as an offence. Your attitude suggests nothing but scorn for me, which can be punishable," said Raja Bhoj Dev.

"No, no Your Majesty! Please don't feel offended. We never meant to offend you. But let me tell you one thing, very frankly you don't deserve to ascend this throne which once belonged to our great king. King Vikramaditya," said the first puppet on the right arm.

The first puppet's utterance came like a jolt to Raja Bhoj Dev. He somehow managed to balance himself and said, "I am flabbergasted indeed to hear what you say, but before you embark on a discourse about the great king, King Vikramaditya, I would like to know your identity."

"Yes, Your Majesty, let me introduce ourselves, said the first puppet. "I am Manjari; please accept my salutation." Then gradually she introduced all the puppets which are under-

1. Manjari, 2. Chitrarekha, 3. Ratibhama, 4. Chandrakala, 5. Leelawati, 6. Kamkandala, 7. Kamda, 8. Pushpawati, 9. Madhumalti, 10. Premavati, 11. Padmavati, 12. Keertimati, 13. Trilochani, 14. Rudravati, 15. Anoopvati, 16. Sundarvati, 17. Satyavati, 18. Rooplekha, 19. Tara, 20. Chandrajyoti, 21. Anuradha, 22. Anooprekha, 23. Karunavati, 24. Chitrakala, 25. Jayalakshmi, 26. Vidyavati, 27. Jagjyoti, 28. Manmohini, 29. Vaidehi, 30. Roopvati, 31. Kaushalya, 32. Mainavati.

Having introduced all the puppets in a row, Manjari, the first puppet, entreated King Raja Bhoj to listen to her story of King Vikramaditya-

Your Majesty! There was a King in Dhara Nagari, whose name was Bhartrihari. He was extremely wicked. And it was for this reason that his brother, Vikramaditya left his palace and went away. This made King Bhartrihari even more free. He had six queens and the queen Pingala was the youngest of all. He loved her very much. But since he was guided strongly by his instincts, he, apart from enjoying the company of his queens, used to visit prostitutes also; and among them, one was Chitrasena whom he loved most. He was so gripped in her love that he had left everything to his faithful ministers and ignored his court completely."

Manjari paused for a moment and finding King Raja Bhoj listening to her carefully, said, "Time was rolling on in great monotony when one day a Brahmin came to King Bhartrihari and offered him a fruit, saying that anyone who ate that fruit would achieve a lasting youth and would never fall ill. King Bhartrihari became very happy, but instead of eating it himself, he gave it to Queen Pingala, so that she could maintain her youth for a very long time. But Queen Pingala too, like her husband, lustfully indulged in cheating and was secretly in love with the king's charioteer. She gave the fruit to him; and he, the charioteer, in turn, gave it to Chitrasena. He too used to visit Chitrasena like King Bhartrihari.

Chitrasena, despite being a prostitute, never liked her profession and hated the kind of life she was leading. She was of the view that her life was no good for society and country and was from the dregs of humankind. So, the prick of her conscience suggested to her to give the fruit to the king, who, if remained youthful and without any ailments for a long time, would be of great service to the country. But she was surprised that King Bhartrihari became furious to see the fruit with her."

"He made enquiries and when the ultimate truth was revealed to him, he, in a sudden paroxysm of anger, got Chitrasena and the charioteer trampled under the feet of his elephant. But the shock that he received was so grave that he felt dejected and renounced the world; he became a 'Sanyasin'."

"When this news reached the ears of Vikramaditya, he immediately returned. He had no lust for power, but he returned only to avoid any possible revolt in the kingdom and check the subjects from going berserk in the absence of a king."

"Since King Vikramaditya was altogether different from his brother and carefully withdrew from activities that may not be considered ideal, he became very popular among his ministers and the subjects as well. He was known for his great sense of justice and fairness. His country flourished during his rule. It is said that he had been specially created by Lord Shiva and for this very reason, there were no natural calamities during his rule, neither in the form of droughts nor in the form of floods. Everyone was very happy. He had planned in such a manner that milk, butter and grains were in abundance. Even the poorest didn't starve." "He ruled his country for forty long years and then left for his heavenly abode. Prince Jaitpal was declared the King. After the coronation ceremonies, King Jaitpal fainted as soon as he ascended the throne. Then during his sleep, he had a vision. King Vikramaditya appeared before him and told King Jaitpal not to ascend his throne and he also said that only a deserving king had the right to ascend it. He further directed his son to have the throne buried. King Jaitpal obeyed his father and got it buried from where you have got it excavated."

Manjari finished her story and said, "So, Your Majesty! Now you know who King Vikramaditya was, and to make you aware of his greatness, we shall be telling you one story each about King Vikramaditya. Each story will reveal his greatness. At the end of each story, you will be asked to compare yourself with King Vikramaditya; and you will be allowed to ascend the throne, only when you feel deep within yourself that you are equal to him. Since they were thirty-two in number, it will take us thirty-two days to finish the stories.

Raja Bhoj Dev listened to the stories told by the puppets for thirty-two days and in the end, he concluded that he was nowhere near King Vikramaditya. On the thirty-third day, he got the golden throne buried in the same place from where he had it excavated.

In conclusion it will not be out of place to throw a little light on the stories told by Betaal (a ghost). The stories told by him bear a definite significance and have a great symbolic meaning. The author of the book 'Bar Kaha' must have created these stories with a definite purpose. The questions asked by Betaal, have a definite in-depth and giving answers to his questions required deep penetration. Choosing a character in the form of King Vikramaditya is a purpose to keep a person who has in-depth knowledge, is justice and is very sincere. At no stage can he be found easygoing. That is why it was intended to suggest kings ruling their countries to have a sense of justice and be competent. King Vikramaditya qualified in every respect.