Tenali Raman had lots of relatives who were landlords.The visited them sometimes. When he was returning to Hampi, he borrowed a thousand varahas from them for the journey. On the way, a thug saw him walking along and, seeing his pouch, guessed that he was carrying a lot of money. “This is a likely victim,” thought the thief. So he disguised himself as a sadhu and met up with Tenali Raman as he walked along.
They greeted each other. Tenali Raman was a friendly person. Thinking the stranger was really a sadhu, he chatted happily with him. Tenali Raman told him he was on his way to Hampi. The thug, dressed as a sadhu, told him he too was going to Hampi to meet his relatives. They decided to walk along together. Soon night fell. They found a dharmshala where they could rest for the night.
The thug and Tenali Raman talked for some time till finally Tenali Raman fell asleep rolled up in his blanket. The thief was waiting for his chance. He assured himself that Tenali Raman was fast asleep. Then, quietly and stealthily, he began looking through all his belongings for the money. He was sure Tenali Raman had a large amount of gold.
He hunted through Tenali Raman’s bundle. There was no sign of the money. Then he crept closer to Tenali Raman’s bed and began searching through the bed clothes. It did not seem to be anywhere under his blanket. Then he slowly slipped his hand under the pillow and felt for the pouch of money. “No sign of it,” he thought, as he sadly withdrew his hand.
Reluctantly, he got back into his bed and fell asleep. They went on with their journey the next day. As evening fell, they found a boarding house and decided to rest there for the night. Once again, after Tenali Raman had fallen asleep, the thief went through all his belongings to find the money. Once again, he was disappointed. There was no sign of the gold. The thug fell asleep finally, angry and upset.
He could not contain his curiosity, so the next day he asked Tenali Raman, “I am sure you must be carrying some money for the journey. But where do you keep it at night?”
Tenali Raman looked at his travelling companion. “My friend, you were looking in all the wrong places. I had kept it under your pillow at night. I knew you would not look there.” The thug realized that Tenali Raman had outwitted him!
