Tenali Rama · Karnataka
Tenali & the Mango Tree
Tenali’s quick wit turns a royal puzzle into a lesson about sharing what grows around us.
Narrated by Rahul Vohra
Meet the characters
Tenali Rama · King Krishnadevaraya
Read along
In the golden city of Vijayanagara, King Krishnadevaraya loved puzzles as much as mangoes. One hot afternoon, a farmer came to court with a complaint. "Your Majesty, my neighbour's mango tree leans over my wall, and its sweetest fruit falls in MY yard. But the tree is his. Who do the mangoes belong to?" The court buzzed. The ministers argued about walls, roots and shadows. The king rubbed his chin. "Tenali Rama," he said, "settle this." Tenali thought for a moment, then asked the farmer, "When the tree is thirsty, whose well do you draw water from?" "The neighbour's," admitted the farmer, "when he is away." "And when the tree drops its dry leaves, whose yard do they clutter?" The neighbour stepped forward. "The farmer's! Every autumn!" Tenali smiled. "Then the tree has been sharing all along — its shade, its leaves, its thirst, its sweetness. The mangoes were simply the last gift to arrive." The king laughed so hard his crown slipped. "Then let the two neighbours share a basket each season," he declared, "and eat it together under the tree." From that day, the mango tree's shade held two families, one swing, and more laughter than fruit. Because what grows around us grows sweeter when it is shared. The end.
