The Raja of Mahindhara was a fool, but luckily for him, he had a wise minister, who was always with him.
Once the king paid a visit to a town away from his capital. He had set up a Sanskrit academy there. He called the members of the staff of the academy for a meeting.
It was night when the teachers met the king. The principal bestowed his praise on the King in
verses and then all sat down to listen to what the king had to tell them.
Suddenly the lantern gave away. It became very dark.
“Light the lantern!” the king ordered his servant. Five minutes passed. The king shouted to know why there was a delay in lighting the lantern.
“My lord,. I’m unable to lay my hand on the matchbox. It’s so dark!” replied the servant.
“Fool!” screamed the king. “If that is the case, why don’t you light the candle first? You can certainly locate the matchbox with the help of the candle!”
Meanwhile, the servant had found the matchbox. He lighted the lantern. The minister could observe amusement writ large on the faces of the teachers. They were beginning to fathom their king’s wisdom.
But the minister stepped in. “Pundits learned that you all are, I’m sure you have not failed to catch the significance of His Majesty’s observation. You must not expose the students to the lights of higher learning immediately. Begin with a small lesson—comparable to candlelight. Then proceed to place before them the splendour of greater knowledge. Do you follow?” asked the minister.
“We do. We will never forget the advice, more because of the novel way in which it was imparted
to us,” said the principal. “That’s right,” said the others.
The king had by then understood the blunder he had made.
He hurried to say, “That is it. I’ve given you my message. You may disperse.”
