Fascinating Tales of Tenali Raman

The King always rewarded Tenali Raman for his amazing wisdom and also for the witty manner in which he could deal with the most difficult problems. One day, the King had rewarded him richly with varahas. The courtiers watched in jealous silence as Tenali Raman gratefully accepted a large plate loaded with gold coins. Now, […]

Several stray dogs sat outside the sweet shop hoping that some kind person would give them something to eat. They wagged their tails and looked friendly whenever anyone walked by.One day, Tenali Raman came to buy sweets at the shop. He saw the dogs outside and, being a kind person, he patted one of them

Tenali Raman travelled all over Vijayanagara kingdom, sometimes on the King’s work and sometimes on his own. One day, he was returning to Hampi when night fell. It was a cold, windy night and rain began to fall heavily as he looked for a shelter. Seeing a light, he rode towards it and saw that

Tenali Raman could help people with his wise solutions to their problems. But he was also capable of being thoroughly irritating with his pranks and tricks! And he played his pranks on Krishnadeva Raya too, often forgetting that he was the King!Once he went too far and the King was really annoyed. So, Krishnadeva Raya

It was the King’s birthday. The whole kingdom celebrated. The palace was full of lights and flowers and people bustling around. The King received costly gifts from merchants and landowners and from other kings too. The attendants had been ordered to take very good care of all the gifts and ensure that they suffered no

King Krishnadeva Raya was a great patron of talent. If he found anyone who was a great artist in any field, he would invite him to the court and reward him. Once, he found Achyuta Rao, a painter of great merit.The King invited him to the court to paint his portrait. And what a fine

Tenali Raman had a friend, Tirumala, who owned an inn at Hampi. He had inherited it from his father. It was called Deccan Suryam. Tirumala was having trouble because the inn was not making enough money. He was always struggling to make both ends meet. All his efforts seemed to fail.One day when he met

King Krishnadeva Raya had become very fat. He simply sat around and ate all kinds of food and did no exercise at all. The courtiers and the ministers were worried about him.“He used to be so active,” they whispered to one another. “He rode and practised sword play and walked through the kingdom, and led

King Krishnadeva Raya was fast asleep. And he was smiling because he was having a wonderful dream. He saw a vast, glittering palace which seemed to float in the air.He awoke, still happy and full of memories of his dream. He called his ministers architects and engineers and described the palace he had seen. He

There was a big crowd outside the poultry shop. They raised voices which could be heard. “There seems to be some fight going on there,” thought Tenali Raman who was walking through the market on his way to the court. He decided to take a look and pushed his way to the centre. The owner

Tenali Raman had a collection of stories that he could tell on every occasion. Sometimes they were stories of great wisdom, and sometimes they were pure fun.One day, travelling home to Hampi from a distant part of the kingdom, Tenali Raman came upon a group of soldiers camping for the night. It was a cold

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

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

Prakasam was in trouble, real trouble. He was a trader from Kampili. He was lost and had with great difficulty reached the edge of the forest. There, his cart, loaded with goods, had slipped into a ditch and his poor horse had died! He saw Hampi and realized it was the closest town. But how

Koteswara Rao was a rich but dishonest money-lender in Hampi. He was hated by people because he charged a high rate of interest and cheated the poor out of their savings. Stories of his dishonesty had reached Tenali Raman who decided to teach him a lesson. He went to Koteswara Rao and asked him for