Best of all |
| One day, while attending to court
matters as usual, the Emperor thought of three questions. He posed them to the courtiers: Whose son is good? Whose tooth is good? Which quality is good? All the courtiers thought hard. Finally, after a lot of discussion, one of the elder courtiers replied on their behalf, "Maharaj! A king's son is good; an elephant's tooth is good and 'knowledge' is the best quality." The Emperor listened to the answers quietly. But he felt that if Birbal would have been there, he would have almost certainly given more appropriate answers. He immediately sent for Birbal. Birbal came at once to the court. The same three questions were posed to him.
Crops can be grown by it and food is produced for all. So, a cow's son is good in all aspects. Now, the answer to the second question is that a plough's tooth is good. It ploughs the land and makes it fertile. It enables man to raise a variety of crops and all the organisms on earth are nourished. Then, your Majesty, 'courage' is the best quality of all. An intelligent person who lacks courage is not worth much. Although knowledge is the greatest wealth, courage is more important. Otherwise, what is the use of mere knowledge?" The Emperor and the other courtiers were very pleased with Birbal's thoughtful and wise answers. |
The End |
Birbal replied,"Your Majesty, a cow's son is the best of all
because, it is he who ploughs the earth. Even his dung can be used as a fertilizer.