There was a lot of noise in the market–place. A merchant was in the middle of the crowd shouting at the top of his voice.
“I have lost my purse! I have lost my purse with varahas in it! Oh, my money! Please find it! I will reward anyone who finds it!”
A poor beggar who was sitting outside a shop saw the pouch lying among some things by the roadside. He picked it up and found it contained a hundred varahas. Being an honest man, he took it up to the merchant and asked, “Is this the purse you are looking for, sir?”
The merchant snatched the purse out of his hand. “Yes, yes, this is mine,” he said.
“Then will you give me the reward, sir?” asked the beggar.
“Reward? What reward? There were two hundred varahas in the purse I lost, but there are only one hundred in this. You have taken my money and now you want a reward,” said the greedy and dishonest merchant.
The beggar was very hurt and angry. He was not dishonest. The argument went on and on, and people in the crowd took sides and there was a lot of noise. Finally, the beggar said they should go to the King to settle their dispute. So, both of them went to the court.
The King heard them and then instructed Tenali Raman to settle their dispute. Tenali Raman said, “You are both right. This merchant lost his purse with two hundred varahas. You have found a purse with a hundred varahas in it. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir,” agreed both the men.
“So both facts are true. Since this purse does not contain two hundred varahas, it cannot be the one that the merchant lost. And since no one has come forward to claim this purse with a hundred varahas, it belongs to you as you found it.”
Saying this, Tenali Raman gave the pouch to the beggar who smiled gratefully and took it, bowing low before the King and Tenali Raman. The greedy merchant stood stunned because he had lost even his own hundred varahas! The King laughed at the justice Tenali Raman had meted out. The merchant had learnt his lesson the hard way.
