The Silent Exchange: Folktale from India

The Silent Exchange: Folktale from India

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The Silent Exchange: Folktale from India

A rich and powerful Raja (King) was convinced in his heart that no one in the world was as powerful as he was. But he told no one about it. One day he began to wonder whether others could guess what he was thinking. So he called together all his officers and servants and asked them to tell him what thought was in his heart. Many of them made guesses, but no one could satisfy the raja with his answer.

For Then the raja ordered his dewan (minister) to find him someone who could guess his thought, and he gave the dewan exactly a month’s time to find this genius. The dewan searched everywhere, but all in vain, and as the month was coming to a close he grew quite desperate. But he had a right man on the appointed day. The dewan said, ‘All right, let’s see what you can come up with, and gave over the job to his daughter.

When the appointed day arrived, his daughter brought home a simpleton, a shepherd in their employ, and asked her father to take him to the raja. The dewan was aghast at his daughter’s choice, but the daughter insisted that this stupid shepherd was the answer to all his troubles. The dewan saw no alternative and he trusted his daughter, so he took the shepherd to the court.

The court had already assembled and the raja was waiting. The dewan presented the shepherd to the raja. When the shepherd lifted his eyes to look at the raja, the raja held up one finger. At this, the shepherd held up two fingers. Then the raja held up three fingers, but at this the fellow shook his head violently and tried to run away. Then the raja laughed and seemed very pleased. He praised the dewan for bringing him such a clever man, and gave him a rich reward.

The dewan was nonplussed. He couldn’t make sense of what had happened, and begged the raja to explain.

‘When I held up one finger,’ said the raja, ‘I asked him whether I alone was king. By holding up two fingers, he reminded me that there is also God, who is at least as powerful as I am. Then I asked him whether there was any third, and he vehemently denied that there was a third. This man really read my thoughts. I’ve been thinking that I alone was powerful, but he has reminded me that there is God as well, but no third.’
 
Then they all went their ways. That night, the dewan asked the stupid shepherd what he had made of the exchange between him and the raja. The fellow explained: ‘Master, when you took me before the raja, he held up one finger, meaning he wanted one of my sheep. As he is a great raja, I offered to give him two. But when he held up three fingers to show that he wanted all three of my sheep, I thought he was going too far. So I tried to run away.’
 

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