Vijayanagara was a very prosperous kingdom. It had merchants who traded goods with Portugal, China, Sri Lanka and Central Asia. Trade and commerce were brisk and wealth flowed into the kingdom. Kings and princes exchanged costly gifts.
Once King Krishnadeva Raya received a gift of peaches from the Emperor of China. The Emperor sent a message to the King saying that this special fruit had a rare quality; it would give long life to the one who ate it. No peaches grew in Vijayanagara, so this was a new, exotic fruit.
The large baskets of fruit were brought before the King and placed there. One of the baskets was uncovered to reveal the juicy glowing fruits within. Everyone in the court looked at the peaches that shone like gold, and wished he too could taste them. Among the courtiers was Tenali Raman. Even he had never seen such peaches earlier and he longed to taste them.
Forgetting that the gift had been sent to the King, he reached out and picked one peach up. And, before the King could protest or check him, Tenali Raman bit into a peach enjoying its juicy taste in his mouth!
The courtiers looked at him in horror and they looked at the King whose face was turning red with anger. They were sure that now there was going to be trouble and, sure enough, there was a lot of trouble!
“Tenali Raman!” thundered the King. And suddenly Tenali Raman realised he had done something unpardonable. This was a gift for the King! And he had picked it up and eaten it even before the King tasted it. What was worse that he had not even asked for permission to eat it! He was really going to get into trouble!
He bowed his head in shame and stood quietly. The King was furious “Tenali Raman, how dare you touch our gift? This is a terrible insult! I cannot pardon such behaviour! Take him away,” he ordered his soldiers, “Put him to death!”
The soldiers arrested him. His mind worked swiftly to find a way out of this terrible fix. He began wailing loudly, “The Emperor of China is a big liar. He said eating this fruit would give a person long life. And look what one little bite has given me! Death! Sir, you mustn’t eat this fruit!” he called out as he was being led away. The King, hearing him, burst out laughing and asked the guards to let him go.
