151 Stories of Tenali Raman

A rich landowner was on his deathbed. Gasping for breath, he told his three sons to dig under his bed when he was gone, and saying that, gave up the ghost. Some days later, the sons dug at the spot and unearthed three pots, placed one above the other. The topmost pot contained mud; the […]

One day, Tenali Raman was going to his sister’s house in another village when he ran into a gang of dacoits. “Who are you?” asked the dacoit chief, glowering at him. “I’m a school teacher,” said the Raman.“A school teacher?” sneered the chief. “And do you test your students regularly?” “Yes,” said Raman.“Well,” said the

Once Tenali was expecting a visit of his old friend. He gave two ripe mangoes to his servant. He asked him to slice them and serve the fruit when the man came. The servant gave in to temptation and ate all the slices. Suddenly, he saw the man, his master was expecting, coming towards the

King Krishnadeva once expressed the opinion that scholars were the cleverest men in his kingdom. Tenali, the Court Jester, immediately told that businessman were cleverer. A few days later Raman called a scholar to the palace. Raman told him that the king wanted his moustache and asked him for his price. The scholar, overjoyed, asked

Once a poet wrote a poem in praise of king Krishnadeva Raya and pleased king. The asked him what he would like as a reward. “Give me a hound,” said the poet. The court members looked at one another in disbelief. They felt the poet had missed a golden opportunity to make some money and

Once king Krishnadeva Raya had a parrot of which he was excessively fond. He kept it in a silver cage and fed it fruit and nuts and anything else the bird asked for. The parrot longed for freedom and often asked for it but the king would always reply, “Ask for anything else.” One day,

Tenali Raman had a large appetite and was known to eat enormous quantities of food especially when invited to feasts. One day, a zamindar decided to test his capacity and invited him to lunch. Raman ate as much as three men would have done and then emitted a loud belch. “Enough?” asked his host. “No

One morning a villager stepped out of his hut and saw huge, round footmarks in the mud outside his dwelling. Soon there was a large crowd outside his hut. They followed the tracks and found that they ran all through the village to the other side. “Let us not panic,” advised a villager. “There might

There were two brothers who were always up to some mischief. If somebody had been locked up in his house or if somebody’s cow had been painted red, one always knew who the culprits were– the brothers. One day the boys’ mother asked Tenali to talk to her sons and put the fear of God

One day, a demon came to see Tenali who was working in his field. “These fields belonged to my father’s father,” said the demon, “I will take half of whatever you grow in these fields.” Raman was frightened but he kept his wits about him. “You can take whatever grows above the ground, Your Excellency,”

Once the king invited three artists to paint the picture of his late uncle. The king’s uncle was blind in one eye. “If you do a bad portrait, I will punish you,” he warned, “but if you do a good one I will reward you. Now start!” The first artist produced a picture that showed

Once Tenali Raman was returning home from the Court one evening when suddenly two women appeared in front of him. “I am the goddess of poverty,” said one of them. “And I am the goddess of wealth,” said the other. “What do you want from me?” asked Tenali, his voice fainting with fear. “Tell us

There was an old man who was intensely proud of two things–his long, white beard that reached down to his chest, and his ability to sleep the moment his head touched the pillow. One day, Tenali Raman asked the old man how he arranged his beard when he slept. One night the man suddenly remem-bered

It was a wet and stormy night. Tenali who had come into the inn was drenched to the skin. He made his way to the fireplace but there were several villagers warming themselves in front of the fire and he could not go near it. As he stood there shivering, the landlord who knew him

Tenali had to put up with the nuisance made by the boys during their play outside his house. One day when the boys were particularly noisy, he went out to talk to them. He said he would give them 5 coins each week to play in the street. The boys were thrilled. They were being