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As soon as he arrived, he scolded the disciple and told him something in a whisper. Then he went to the king and addressed him, “O wisest of kings, who is greater? The guru or the disciple?”
“Of course, the guru. No doubt about it. Why do you ask?”
“Then put me to the stake first. Put my disciple to death after me.”
The guru and the disciple now got into a fight about who should go first. The king was puzzled by this behaviour. He asked the guru, “Why do you want to die? We chose him because we needed a fat man for the stake.”
“You shouldn’t ask me such questions. Put me to death first,” replied the guru.
“Of course, the guru. No doubt about it. Why do you ask?”
“Then put me to the stake first. Put my disciple to death after me.”
When the disciple heard this, he understood and began to clamour, “Me first! You brought me here first! Put me to death first, not him!”
The guru and the disciple now got into a fight about who should go first. The king was puzzled by this behaviour. He asked the guru, “Why do you want to die? We chose him because we needed a fat man for the stake.”
“You shouldn’t ask me such questions. Put me to death first,” replied the guru.
Explanation:
When the guru saw his disciple, he scolded him for not obeying his words. The situation became worse because his disciple did not come along with him. Later, the guruji approached the disciple and murmured something softly.
The sage scolded the disciple for not obeying him
Then the guru tried to trap the king using his words. He asked the king who was greater between a guru and his disciple. The king replied that, of course, the guru was greater. As a result, according to the guru, the king must execute him before his disciple. When the disciple heard this, he understood the guruji’s plan and shouted louder as if he wanted to die first. Later the disciple stated that he was brought first by the king’s servant, and he had to be executed first.
When the guru and disciple started arguing about who would die first, the king got confused. He asked the guru that why did he want to die. They had caught the disciple because he was fat, and they wanted a fat man who could be executed on the stake. The guru refused to reply. He stated that he wished to die before his follower. The king was unaware that it was the trap of the guru to save his disciple.
Meanings of the difficult words:
| S.No | Words | Meanings |
1 | Whisper | To speak very quietly, using the breath but not the voice, so that only the person close to you can hear you |
2 | Clamour | To make a loud complaint or demand |
3 | Puzzle | A situation that is difficult to understand |
4 | Arrive | To reach a place, especially at the end of a journey |
Reference:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006). Moments. In the Kingdom of Fools– A K Ramanujan (pp. 19-24). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
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