The Ghostly Prank of Tenali Raman

The belief that killing a Brahmin is a grave sin was deeply rooted in King Krishnadevaraya’s kingdom. After the king mistakenly thought he had executed Tenali Raman, rumors began to spread. One day, the palace queens claimed to hear a divine voice warning that the death of Raman, a Brahmin, would bring a curse upon the land. Alarmed, the king sought advice from his priests.

The priests concluded that a special ritual was needed to bury Raman’s soul and cleanse the sin. A plan was made to conduct the ceremony under a banyan tree near a temple on a moonless night.

Unknown to the king and the priests, Tenali Raman was alive and well, having cleverly escaped his supposed execution. Learning of the planned ritual, Raman decided to turn the situation to his advantage. Painting his body with black oil to resemble a ghost, he climbed the banyan tree and waited.

At midnight, 108 priests, led by the head priest, arrived at the tree and began chanting mantras to “bury” Raman’s spirit. Just as the ritual reached its peak, Raman jumped down, howling and flailing like an angry ghost. The priests screamed in terror, convinced that the spirit of Tenali Raman had come to haunt them. They abandoned their ritual and fled to the palace.

By dawn, the kingdom was buzzing with tales of the “ghost.” Fear gripped the people, and life in the kingdom slowed. The king, deeply worried, announced a reward of 1000 gold sovereigns for anyone who could exorcise the ghost.

Raman, hearing the proclamation, couldn’t help but chuckle. His elaborate prank had worked perfectly. He returned to the palace in disguise and offered to exorcise the ghost. When he revealed his true identity, the king was both relieved and astonished.

“You were never dead?” the king exclaimed. “What of the ghost and the ritual?”

Raman grinned. “Your Majesty, the ‘ghost’ was none other than me. And as for the ritual, it proved one thing—sometimes it takes a ‘ghost’ to open people’s eyes to the truth.”

The king laughed heartily and rewarded Raman not just with gold but also with renewed respect for his cleverness.

Moral of the Story:
Wit and courage can expose superstitions and turn even fearsome situations into humorous lessons.