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| Sunday, 1 May 2005 |
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The king in search of himself Sunday parable by Sunanda Mahendra "I want to know what the people of my country and my kingdom think of me" thought the King.
"Mother, can I come in?" he asked the old woman. "Who are you?" she asked. "I am from the other side of the forest, I came in search of a lost bull, but I have lost my way." The old woman smiled and said in a pleasing tone: "If you are hungry you may eat something from the meal I am cooking. In a little while, the meal will be ready and you can share it with me." "I am hungry and I thank you so much for the offer." "We are poor, but we can still manage to offer a meal to a starving guest. Cultivation has dropped as a result of the war." The young man listened to her eagerly. "My son was a farmer, but he joined the royal regiment in order to save the country. He has no time to see me. As soon as the war is over he should be back in this hut and then he should be in a position to cultivate once again". The cooking was over and she started serving the young man a hot plate of rice. "Have this." The old woman was watching, how he ate. He burnt his fingers by trying to eat the hot rice and heaved a sigh. "Oh this is too hot," he said. From one side of the plate he began moving his fingers, to the others. In this manner he ate. "Your manner of eating, is similar to the King making war, said the old woman. "Why do you say so?" he asked. "Our King is kind hearted but does not have strategy. You are like him, in your manner of eating. "All right, tell me how to do it." "If you are eating,a hot plate of rice you should first of all make small mounds batpida of rice and keep them on the edge of the plate. Once that is done, you can eat the first mound and gradually eat the rest." "So you mean to say, that my eating habit is similar to that of the King's war strategy?" "Yes certainly." He nodded in agreement and ate the food by arranging in the manner taught by the old woman. He enjoyed the meal and discussed more issues pertaining to the kingdom. "Our King needs better advisors in all fields of activity, as he can be deceived by any lackey, irresponsibly chosen to perform royal duties." The old woman laid a mat and said, "Now relax and don't think of the lost bull while sleeping. Once in a way, bulls lose, their way. They however come back. "Thanks for what you are teaching me." "This is what you may call common sense." "Do you think that our King has no commonsense? "I don't think he knows what he is doing. So he can be deceived and defeated". "Why?" "If he had common sense, he should unite with the juniors who are fighting instead of having petty disputes for the sake of power". Once again, he nodded in agreement. The King slept soundly in the old woman's hut. She reminded him of his own mother, who had died several years ago. During the early hours of the morning, he left for the royal palace. As soon as he arrived, he ordered the Royal Courier to summon the old woman living in a hut on the other side of the forest. "The King, wants you to come before him," said the Royal Courier, to the old woman. "What is the reason, for me to call before the King, I have not done anything wrong." "But he wishes to see you as soon as possible." She was frightened, but she made up her mind to go, thinking that she had not done anything wrong to the King or to anybody else in the kingdom. "Tell him that I will come as soon as my work is over." She was no longer afraid. Then she clad herself in the best of clothes and came before the King. "Mother," the King said, as she entered the palace "can you make me out?" he asked. "No, this is my first visit to the palace." "Do you remember the young man who came to your hut in the late hours of last evening?" "Yes." "That was me." "Oh I am sorry I criticised your honour, without knowing that you were the King". "You were perfectly correct and I am pleased to see you again. You need not have any fear about me, as I learnt a good lesson and I have to honour you for that." "Your honour, it is our duty to treat any visitors, in the best possible manner, be it king or anybody else." "It is not only your hospitality, but also your good sense, that I admire. I asked you to see me, not merely to honour you but also to help you to help yourself from what might befall you. I see that you are a great and noble mother, who can advise me in royal matters." (According to Sinhala folklore the King is said to be the well-known king of the Kandyan period, Rajadhirajasinghe).
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"The only way to know this is not through information that my own lackeys
provide, but through experience," saying so he disguised himself as a young
man and left the palace. He passed through a forest in the late hours of the
evening, when dusk was gathering, and the hut dwellers were lighting the
lamps. He felt tired and wanted to go into a hut, where an old woman was
cooking her dinner. 
