Who is wiser of the two?
The relentless king Vikram pursued the betal and was taking it to the sage, during which, it told another story.
In the holy land of Gaya, there was a king named Raghuvir. He always respected the wise and the learned. Hence, he had a panel of efficient ministers. What was so special about his priceless possession were two middle-aged brothers!
The elder of the two was a mind reader. By studying a person, speaking few words with him, watching for his body language, he could tell what thought was running in his (opponent’s) mind…whether he was speaking the truth and how far he could be trusted!
The younger had another notable quality. He could feel a person or an object. If it was an object, he could sniff at it…be it gold or a diamond, and find out what lies behind the lovely exterior!
Thus, these two were very useful to the king.
One day, the neighboring king invited Raghuvir. This invitation puzzled Raghuvir! “All these days, he was jealous of me. Now, why did he suddenly extend a friendly hand? Was he planning anything evil?” he wondered. So, he called the two brothers and briefed them about it.
“Let me send you two as my emissary with a letter of acceptance to his invitation. Go and talk to him. Find out what he is up to, what his intentions are, and report to me!” he gave a letter and sent them.
A few days later, the brothers returned. The elder reported, “He speaks well. Yet I suspect him. Eyes are the windows that reveal one’s thoughts running in the mind. But his eyes did not match with what he says, although he spoke nicely! He must be planning something secret!”
The younger said, “Some of the objects, he has kept in the guest room look odd. But I did not have the opportunity to touch them and find out, because we were accompanied by the ministers over there!”
“Okay, come with me when I go over there,” said king Raghuvir. The neighboring king welcomed Raghuvir. “Glad to have you as our guest. This will further strengthen our friendship. This will continue even after our times!” he beamed.
They talked about many common things. They had lunch and dinner together. The neighboring king took Raghuvir around and showed all that could be seen over there. He showed the Parijatha tree to Raghuvir. “It is a rare tree. Most favorite tree to Lord Shiva! I consider it as my only treasure trove!” he smiled.
But his smile did not match his eyes! The elder brother noticed it. That night after dinner, the visited king and his envoys were shown their rooms that overlooked the mountain at a distance. A chill breeze was blowing through the windows.
On the face of it, everything was fine. Yet they were very careful. The two brothers accompanied Raghuvir to his room. There was a big cot for the king. The elder brother eyed the bed and the pillows. Then he stiffened it! "The pillows look odd! There is something in it. It could be poison too. It will have its effect on you either by the touch or by the smell of what is stuffed inside it. So, I suggest that you avoid this bed and the pillow. Better sleep on the floor than taking that risk!”
The younger brother sniffed the bed and the pillow and tore the pillow cover at one corner. Inside, it was packed with some odd seeds in powder form! He further sniffed it before saying, “Those seeds are deadly poisonous. Even the very toxic smell of them for some time will cause death. The reason for death could never be ascertained!”
The betal shifted to a more comfortable position on Vikram’s shoulder as it asked Vikram, “Now let me ask you the question. You have heard how useful and wise these two brothers were. This time they saved the king’s life. Of the two, whose help was more valuable to the king?”
Pat came to the reply from Vikram, “Of course, both helped the king. But the elder brother was the wiser, because just by looking at the pillow he raised his doubts, whereas the younger had to touch and sniff it before pointing out the danger. So, I would say that the elder was the wiser!”
“Now let me get wiser too,” chucked the betal. “You have spoken up and so let me take off now!” he freed himself and flew back!