The Wicked Muni's Devious Plan

Pratapbhanu was a wise king, he thought deeply about his boon. He was not lacking in anything, he was a Chakravarti Raja after all. So he asked the fake muni that he wanted to never get old, never face any anguish, and be immortal. He did not want anybody to beat him in war, and that he alone would rule the whole world for a hundred eras!!! That was quite a tall order don't you think?

The fake Muni agreed to all the Rajas requests. But, he said, that there was only one problem, the Brahmins. If they could be appeased, then he did not have to worry about the past, present or future. Even Bramha, Vishnu, and Mahesh could be handled easily but not the Brahmins. Because of their tap (penance) the Brahmins considered themselves very powerful. If they got angry then the raja could not be saved. Thus, the fake muni said, that if the Brahmins were happy with him, and did not curse him, then he would never be destroyed.

The raja was thrilled to hear this, and he thought that the fake muni would take care of everything and now, he would live forever.

However, the muni put a condition, that the raja should not breath a word of how he lost his way in the woods, and how he met the muni, to anyone, otherwise, he would have to pay for the consequences. The muni reiterated, that the only way he would be destroyed was if this was heard by a sixth ear, or if a Brahmin cursed him. The Raja thanked the muni for his interest, and showed his concern about the Brahmins. He knew that nobody could save him from their curse, so he wanted the muni to help him, to bring the Brahmins under his control.

The devious muni said he had a plan, only it was difficult to put in place because, he would have to go to his city to see it through. Since, he had never been to any village or city before, he could not do much. The foolish king started begging him to help him as he was a saint and it was his duty to take care of his followers.

The sly muni tasting victory here, told the king, that nothing was impossible for him, and he would surely do his work. He could see that the king had become his bhakta/follower. The only thing he was concerned about, the muni said, was that the mantras, yog, tap and prayers only worked when they were done secretly. So the fake muni continued, that if he cooked food in the king's kitchen, and the king served it, then, whoever ate the food, would always be his slave. Not only that, those people who lived in the house of the ones whom the king had fed, they too would become his slaves.

Now, the wicked muni advised the king to go and plan to feed the Brahmins and their families for a year. In that easy way, they would all come under his control, and through their prayers the Devtas would be happy too. The fake muni informed the king that he would also kidnap his royal cook, bring him back to the ashram, and keep him there for a year. Meanwhile the fake muni would disguise himself as the royal cook, so that no body would be alarmed and he would be able to cook for him.

Seeing that it was quite late, the fake muni asked Pratapbhanu to go to sleep. By the magic of his tap, the muni told him, he would transport the king and the horse, back to the palace by the morning. Then, on the third day the fake muni said, he would meet with the king in the garb of the cook, and when he narrated to him this story, then, he would come to know that it was him. JAI HO!