One afternoon,
the royal court of Vijayanagara
was unusually quiet.
The king sat on his throne,
deep in thought.
For days,
he had been hearing the same praise.
“Tenali Raman is the wisest man.”
“Tenali Raman always has an answer.”
“Tenali Raman never makes mistakes.”
The king frowned.
“Is Tenali Raman truly intelligent,”
he wondered,
“or is he simply lucky?”
That day,
the king decided to test him.
As the court assembled,
the king announced,
“I have an important question.”
Everyone leaned forward.
The king looked directly at Tenali Raman and said,
“Tell me, Raman,
what is the most dangerous thing in this kingdom?”
The court buzzed.
Some ministers whispered,
“Enemies.”
Others thought,
“Rebellion.”
Tenali Raman said nothing.
The king waited.
Moments passed.
The king’s voice grew sharp.
“Why are you silent, Tenali Raman?
Have you finally run out of answers?”
The courtiers smiled nervously.
They expected Tenali Raman to speak.
But he remained silent.
The king’s irritation grew.
“Answer me!”
the king demanded.
Still,
Tenali Raman did not speak.
Instead,
he folded his hands
and bowed respectfully.
The court was stunned.
Finally,
after a long pause,
Tenali Raman said calmly,
“Your Majesty,
the most dangerous thing in any kingdom
is uncontrolled anger.”
The court froze.
Tenali Raman continued,
“When anger speaks,
wisdom disappears.
When anger rules,
justice suffers.
And when anger commands a king,
the kingdom trembles.”
The king felt a sudden heaviness in his chest.
He realized something painful.
Just moments ago,
his anger had pushed him
to insult a loyal courtier.
The king took a deep breath.
The room felt lighter.
“You are right, Tenali Raman,”
the king said quietly.
“Your silence spoke more clearly
than any quick answer.”
The king then turned to the court and declared,
“True intelligence is not speaking fast.
It is knowing when to remain silent.”
That day,
Tenali Raman did not defeat the king with words.
He defeated anger
with patience.
And the court learned
that wisdom is not always loud.
Sometimes,
it waits.
🌟 MORAL OF THE STORY
Intelligence is not about having answers all the time.
True wisdom knows when silence is more powerful than words.
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