Once upon a time, there lived a King called King Yayati. In addition to inheriting a prosperous kingdom, a beautiful crown, and the respect of his people, he also inherited a unique gemstone—a royal blue sapphire. Stories of good luck associated with this shiny blue stone were passed on from King’s previous generations. Thus, gemstones were believed to protect his family and kingdom from evil.
It was believed to be a harbinger of prosperity. Blue sapphire stone was named Shanipriya by one of his ancestors. Just, brave and righteous King Yayati was determined to protect Shanipriya at any cost. Having Shanipriya also gave him immense security and peace of mind. He was ready to fight any evil for this peace of mind and solace. He felt it was a blessing of his ancestors and valued Shanipriya more than his life. Shanipriya gemstone was nothing less than the family’s pride, one of his major responsibilities. Ministers, too, knew several thieves and even enemy kingdoms had laid their eyes on King Yayati’s particular belongings.
King Yayati was lucky to have loyal officials. But his favourite was Minister Suryasen. Minister Suryasen was a kind and nobleman, and King Yayati trusted him unconditionally. Minister Suryasen also wanted to relieve his master of the burden of protecting the gemstone Shanipriya. He couldn’t sleep for nights, so he devised a plan to protect Shanipriya forever and make his master happy.
One day, Minister Suryasen recommended him: ‘Your Highness, a saint, is staying near the river on the outskirts of our kingdom. Many families in nearby villages seem to have benefited from visiting him.’
This aroused the King’s interest. King Yayati nurtured immense respect for godmen and saints. He was very religious and knew the importance of a mentor. His kingdom was famous for treating godmen and saints who travelled from afar and those who travelled from afar.
‘Why don’t you visit him and ask him for a solution to protect gemstone?’ continued Minister Suryasen.
King agreed to go to the jungle. Minister Suryasen, too, accompanied him.
Saint heard Yayati’s plight and closed his eyes for long. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and asked Yayati to come with the Shanipriya gemstone tomorrow morning. Yayati agreed.
The next morning, Yayati gave the saint the stone. Saint inspected it closely.
‘Your gemstone is cracked. Don’t keep it near you, part away from it as soon as possible,’ said Saint.
Disheartened, Yayati said, ‘Give it to me; I will throw it in the river.’ He threw the gemstone into the river and left with his Minister.
As soon as the king left, the saint ran to the river and jumped. He started looking for a gemstone, but he couldn’t find it.
Disappointed, he came out of the river and saw Yayati and the Minister standing before him. Yayati told him the gemstone was fake; he only wanted to test him.
He ordered Minister Suryasen to take the saint with them to punish him.
Moral: For a successful stint, always join forces with people who are honest and loyal.
Check out Nisha B Thakur's highly appreciated novel, The Unexpected Trail.
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