The Virupaksha Temple of Hampi was famous. Devotees and pilgrims came there to pray and pay their respects to the deity, carrying offerings. Outside the temple were little stalls selling flowers, incense, sweets, coconuts and many such offerings. Among them was the stall of a poor old woman who sold flowers.
One day four young pilgrims came to the temple. They looked around for a safe place. Seeing the old woman they thought she appeared to be a trustworthy person. They went to her stall and greeted her.
“Amma, we are outsiders here. We want to worship at the temple. May we leave our bundle here while we go into the temple please?” they asked. The old woman agreed to look after their bundle. So, leaving it with her, they went in.
After some time, one of the four friends came to the woman’s stall to claim the bundle. She looked at him carefully and saw that he was indeed one of the four who had left it with her. She asked him where his friends were. “They are waiting near the other exit of the temple,” he explained. Satisfied, she picked the bundle up and gave it to the young man and he went off with it.
Sometime later, the other three men came to the stall and asked for the bundle. The old woman was surprised. “Your friend took it. Hasn’t he joined you yet?” she asked them.
“You gave him our bundle? We trusted you! Shame on you for helping him to steal our things!” they accused her. They refused to listen to her explanations and continued to shout at her. The old woman was in tears. A small crowd had collected by then at the shop.
When people heard the argument and saw the woman crying, someone finally suggested that they should go to the court to get the problem settled. The three men set off and took the old woman, still crying, with them.
When Krishnadeva Raya heard the matter, he called Tenali Raman and told him to resolve it. Tenali Raman heard the young men and the protest of the old woman.
“This is very simple. Amma, you must return their bundle. And you, young men, please go and fetch your fourth friend. Four of you gave her the bundle, didn’t you? So four of you must be there to receive it back from her. Now, go!” The young men knew they were beaten! The old woman was relieved and blessed Tenali Raman as she went back to work.
