Handful of Grain

King Krishnadevaraya was a great ruler, but he also liked to test the minds of his ministers. He wanted to ensure that the people advising him were not just smart, but also wise and forward-thinking.

One day, he called a special meeting in his dazzling court. The King sat on his jewel-encrusted throne and held out a small velvet bag. “I have a task for my trusted ministers,” he announced.

He called his five senior ministers and the witty Tenali Raman. To each of them, he gave exactly one handful of grain seeds. The seeds were ordinary wheat, nothing special to look at.

“I want you to keep these seeds safe for me,” simple instructions,” the King said. “I will ask for them back in exactly one year. Whoever returns them to me in the best condition will be rewarded.”

The ministers were puzzled. Just a handful of grain?

The first minister went home and locked the grain in his iron safe. “It will be perfectly safe here,” he thought. The second minister put the grain in a silver box in his prayer room, thinking God would protect it. The third minister, fearing insects, wrapped the grain in silk and hid it in his clothes chest. The fourth minister thought, “A year is a long time! These seeds will spoil.” So he fed them to his chickens and decided he would just buy fresh grain from the market to give back to the King next year. “The King will never know the difference,” he reasoned.

Tenali Raman, however, looked at the seeds in his palm and smiled. He took them home and went straight to his backyard. He tilled a small patch of soil, removed the weeds, and gently planted the seeds. He watered them every day.

Soon, tiny green shoots appeared. They grew into tall, golden stalks of wheat. Tenali harvested the grain. It was now a whole basket full.

He didn’t stop there. He cleared a larger piece of land and planted the basket full of seeds. He tended to the crop with care. By the end of the year, he had a whole field of wheat swaying in the breeze!

One year passed, and the King summoned his ministers.

“Where is my grain?” Krishnadevaraya asked.

The first minister opened his safe. The grain was rotten and smelled terrible. The second minister opened his silver box. The grain had turned to dust. The third minister unwraped his silk cloth. The grain had been eaten by bugs. The fourth minister brought fresh grain from the market. The King looked at it and said, “This is too fresh. These are not the old seeds I gave you.” The minister hung his head in shame.

Then it was Tenali’s turn. He stood empty-handed.

“Where is my grain, Tenali?” asked the King. “Did you lose it?”

“Oh no, Your Majesty,” Tenali bowed. “But I cannot bring it here in my hand. It has become too heavy.”

“Too heavy?” The King was intrigued.

“Please look out the window,” Tenali said.

The King looked out and saw five bullock carts filled to the brim with sacks of golden wheat parked outside the palace.

“I planted your handful,” Tenali explained. “It grew into a basket. I planted the basket, and it grew into these carts. Your one handful has become a thousand handfuls!”

The King beamed with joy. He stood up and hugged Tenali. “Excellent!” he declared. “You are the only one who understood the true nature of wealth. It is not meant to be hoarded or locked away; it is meant to be used, nurtured, and multiplied.”

Tenali was appointed the chief advisor, and the grain was distributed to the poor of the city.

Moral of the Story: True wisdom lies in growing what you have, not just saving it.

Moral of the Story: True wisdom lies in multiplying what you have, not just preserving it.