151 Stories of Tenali Raman

One day, Tenali Raman quarrelled with his wife. He shouted at her till she could not bear it. She said to her husband, “I serve you so much from morning to evening. Still, you scold me so terribly.” Saying these words she  fled to her neighbour’s house. Raman followed her there. The neighbours managed to […]

Tenali Raman was trying to sell his house, but without success. He thought hard and hard. All of a sudden, an idea struck his mind. He pondered, “It is the quality of a super salesman to show some sample to his customers. But I am without any sample. How can I be able to sell

A horse race was about to be held and the contestants were being lined up. Tenali Raman came with an ox and asked that it should be included in the race. “Have you gone mad?” said the organisers, “What chance does an ox have against horses?” “You talk that way because you do not know

One day, a man said to Tenali Raman, “I’ve heard you’ve got vinegar that is 40 years old.” “That is true,” said Raman.  “Will you give me some?” asked the man, “I need it urgently. The doctor has prescribed it for making some medicine for my ailing child. So, I kindly request you to give

Once king Krishnadeva Raya was besotted with his own beauty. One day, Tenali Raman visited to see and talk to the king. “I have visited you earlier in the day when you were asleep,” said Tenali, “You were more handsome then.” “How could my looks decline within a few hours?” said the king. He turned

One evening, a man carrying a can of milk stopped Tenali Raman in the street and said he had a problem and wanted his advice. “What’s your problem?” asked Tenali Raman. “Though I never drink wine, I feel intoxicated when I get up in the morning,” explained the man. “What do you drink last thing

Tenali Raman was trying to raise a fire by blowing at the glowing embers of coal in the fireplace. All he succeeded in doing was to produce a thick cloud of smoke that stung his eyes. He put on his wife’s cap to prevent the smoke from getting into his eyes and started blowing again.

One day, king Krishnadeva Raya stepped out of the gates of his palace and found a man standing there. The man had a rabbit in his hands. On seeing the king he bowed respectfully and said, “I gambled in your name and won this rabbit. It belongs to you. Please accept it.” “Give it to

“Where is God?” asked Tenali. “Everywhere, in everyone and everything,” said his Guru. Later, as Tenali was going home, he saw an elephant charging towards him. “Get out of the way, Tenali; get out of the way,” shouted the elephant driver, “He has gone mad!” But Tenali thought, ‘God is everywhere. He is in the

Seth was one of the richest men in town, but you could easily mistake him for a beggar. One day, he bought a huge lump of gold with all the money he had amassed. He dug a hole in the ground near an unused well and buried the gold there. He was sure that no

There was an old apple tree in Tenali’s garden. One day, Tenali decided to cut the tree down. So, taking a sharp axe in his hand, Tenali struck at the roots of the tree. The grasshoppers, the sparrows and the squirrels came out of their dwelling places and hovered around Tenali, “Please sir, spare this

Once Tenali’s old friend Mangal and his family were on their way to attend some function at Tenali’s house. On the way to Tenali’s village they came upon a huge banyan tree and decided to rest under it for a while. Mangal did not want to stay idle so he decided to make a rope.

One day, when Tenali was going to the forest to cut wood, he met a blind tiger. The tiger initially missed Tenali. But he soon smelt a human presence in the air around him. “Who’s that,” he growled. “Just because I’ve grown old, you think you can come here as and when you please. I’m

One day, the king and his entire royal family were enjoying a grand dance recital taking place in their palace. They had instructed the two guards at the gate not to let anyone enter. When Raman came and wanted to go inside, he was pushed away rudely by the guards. They accused him saying he

Even though Raman was the king’s favourite court jester yet, one day, he was annoyed with Raman and told him to get out of his sight as he didn’t want to see his face. This certainly shocked all the others present in the court and those who were jealous of Raman were overjoyed. On his