The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c31.57

v1.c31.57

¹ Subramiah Pantulu, o. c., p. 324-6. This author relates the following humorous anecdote of the life of this poet: "He was of a humorous character and loved to play practical jokes. The guru Tatacharya was a very orthodox man, and was in the habit of visiting a cow-stall every morning as soon as he rose from bed, being taken to the place blind-folded in order to view the cow's excrement as the first object seen during the day, thinking it to be a very meritorious act. His habit was to keep his eyes shut and laying hold of a cow's tail to wait till she evacuated when he opened his eyes to behold the excrement. One morning Ramakrishna got up early, and removing the cow from the stall, stood in its place stark naked. The guru came as usual, and instead of the cow's tail he found a man. His rage knew no bounds, and running up to the King, he laid a complaint against Ramakrishna. The King became exceedingly angry and ordered the poet to be forthwith executed. The executioners carried him to a plain and buried him in the earth as far as the neck leaving only his head above ground, agreeable to the sentence passed on him. They left him thus, intending to return with a certain number of elephants to trample him to death. It so chanced that a hump-backed washerman was passing by, and asked the poet how he came to be in such a predicament. 'My good friend', said he, 'I was born a hump-back like yourself, and having long suffered the scorn of ill-mannered individuals, I applied to a sage who had great knowledge of the occult sciences, and begged of him to relieve me from my misfortune. He informed me that if I should consent to be buried up to my neck in this identical spot, I should be entirely cured of my deformity. In pursuance of his directions, I got some of my friends to bury me here, and as I really believe that I am cured already, I shall be very thankful to you if you will verify my statement'. The washerman did as the poet requested and to his utter amazement found him a well-made man; and as he was a credulous fellow, he believed in all that the poet had said. 'As one good deed deserves another', said the washerman to the poet, 'I now ask you to bury me in this place that I may be cured of my bodily deformity as you have been'. Ramakrishna with a grave countenance buried the poor washerman up to the neck, and after the lapse of an hour went to the King to inform him that by the personal interposition of a god, he had been restored to life. The executioners in the interim had executed the washerman, and were making their report to the King that they had killed the poet according to the royal commands. The whole court were consequently astonished to see Ramakrishna, and as the King really believed that the poet had been killed and restored to life by some god, he promised to forgive him the first hundred crimes that he should commit in future".