Long ago the city of Ujjain was ruled by King Bhoja of the Paramwara dynasty. He was a noble king and his subjects were living happily and prosperously. However, the villagers in his kingdom had a continuous threat of attack by the wild animals. There was a thick forest close to the village and the villagers were frequently attacked by the wild animals.
The frightened villagers approached King Bhoja for help who assured them of help. So, one fine morning, the king along with his troop set out for hunting the wild animals in the forest. The royal troop hunted the animals till noon and were damn tired. As it was summer, they were thirsty and were searching for water and a resting place. Then they came across a field full of juicy mouth-watering cucumbers.
The owner of the field was sitting on a mound / a raised platform in the middle of the field and was guarding his field from pests. Before the king could send a word to him, the owner called out, "O King Bhoja! I am honored with your presence. You all seem to be too tired. Feel free to pluck as many cucumbers as you like and quench your thirst".
King Bhoja felt happy on listening to those words of hospitality from the owner. He ordered his men to pluck juicy cucumbers to quench their thirst. While they were plucking the cucumbers, the owner got down from the mound. On seeing the king's men plucking the cucumbers suddenly he cried out in pain, "O! You cruel king. How dare you steal the crop from my field. I'm a poor farmer and earn livelihood from this crop. You are destroying my field and I have nothing left now. You are so heartless. Now who will come to my rescue?"
The king and his men felt strange on listening to those harsh words of the landlord. The king apologized, immediately order his men to stop plucking the fruits and go back. As the royal troop was retreating, the owner again climbed up the mound and sat on it. On seeing the king and his troop going away, once again he called out, "O Noble King! Why you and your men are going away without quenching your thirst? Haven't I treated you well? Please come and have as many juicy cucumbers as you want".
The King and his troop were shocked at such a strange behavior of the farmer. The wise king immediately realized that when the farmer is sitting on the mound he is well-behaved and on getting down the mound he is behavior is like an ordinary man.
King Bhoja decided to buy the field and offered the poor farmer ten times it's market price. The farmer happily accepted the offer and sold the field to the King. After purchasing the land, the king ordered his men to dig the mound.
The king's men started digging the mound. After digging for sometime, they excavated a majestic old golden throne with 32 steps. Each step has beautiful sculpture of woman on either side in lovely postures. All the men including King Bhoja were awestruck on seeing the majestic throne. The king was extremely happy on seeing the throne and wanted to shift it to his court.
He sent for the royal priests who performed formal offerings to the throne / worshiped it and was moved it to King Bhoja's court. The throne was placed in a proper place and the royal priests fixed an auspicious date / time for the king to sit on it. The king eagerly waited for the day.
On the schedule date / time the royal priests worshiped the throne and chanted Vedic hymns. After completion of the ritual as King Bhoja stepped on the 1st step the Salabhanjikas / statues on the 32 steps came to life and started laughing at King Bhoja.
The king was taken aback and stepped down. The statues again became lifeless. Once again as the king stepped on the 1st step, the statues on the 1st step spoke out, "Raja Bhoja!, do you know to whom this throne belongs?"
The king said that he don't know to whom the throne belonged.
The statue continued to speak, "This throne belongs to King Vikramaditya the Great. He is unparalleled in his valor and courage. He is the most efficient and virtuous king of his time. Do you think that you deserve to sit on this throne?"
King Bhoja humbled down and replied, "O beautiful statue! I don't know much about King Vikramaditya. Please tell us all about this great king".
The statue thus started telling the story of King Vikramaditya.
Stay tuned for the Stories of King Vikramaditya.
The frightened villagers approached King Bhoja for help who assured them of help. So, one fine morning, the king along with his troop set out for hunting the wild animals in the forest. The royal troop hunted the animals till noon and were damn tired. As it was summer, they were thirsty and were searching for water and a resting place. Then they came across a field full of juicy mouth-watering cucumbers.
The owner of the field was sitting on a mound / a raised platform in the middle of the field and was guarding his field from pests. Before the king could send a word to him, the owner called out, "O King Bhoja! I am honored with your presence. You all seem to be too tired. Feel free to pluck as many cucumbers as you like and quench your thirst".
King Bhoja felt happy on listening to those words of hospitality from the owner. He ordered his men to pluck juicy cucumbers to quench their thirst. While they were plucking the cucumbers, the owner got down from the mound. On seeing the king's men plucking the cucumbers suddenly he cried out in pain, "O! You cruel king. How dare you steal the crop from my field. I'm a poor farmer and earn livelihood from this crop. You are destroying my field and I have nothing left now. You are so heartless. Now who will come to my rescue?"
The king and his men felt strange on listening to those harsh words of the landlord. The king apologized, immediately order his men to stop plucking the fruits and go back. As the royal troop was retreating, the owner again climbed up the mound and sat on it. On seeing the king and his troop going away, once again he called out, "O Noble King! Why you and your men are going away without quenching your thirst? Haven't I treated you well? Please come and have as many juicy cucumbers as you want".
The King and his troop were shocked at such a strange behavior of the farmer. The wise king immediately realized that when the farmer is sitting on the mound he is well-behaved and on getting down the mound he is behavior is like an ordinary man.
King Bhoja decided to buy the field and offered the poor farmer ten times it's market price. The farmer happily accepted the offer and sold the field to the King. After purchasing the land, the king ordered his men to dig the mound.
The king's men started digging the mound. After digging for sometime, they excavated a majestic old golden throne with 32 steps. Each step has beautiful sculpture of woman on either side in lovely postures. All the men including King Bhoja were awestruck on seeing the majestic throne. The king was extremely happy on seeing the throne and wanted to shift it to his court.
He sent for the royal priests who performed formal offerings to the throne / worshiped it and was moved it to King Bhoja's court. The throne was placed in a proper place and the royal priests fixed an auspicious date / time for the king to sit on it. The king eagerly waited for the day.
On the schedule date / time the royal priests worshiped the throne and chanted Vedic hymns. After completion of the ritual as King Bhoja stepped on the 1st step the Salabhanjikas / statues on the 32 steps came to life and started laughing at King Bhoja.
The king was taken aback and stepped down. The statues again became lifeless. Once again as the king stepped on the 1st step, the statues on the 1st step spoke out, "Raja Bhoja!, do you know to whom this throne belongs?"
The king said that he don't know to whom the throne belonged.
The statue continued to speak, "This throne belongs to King Vikramaditya the Great. He is unparalleled in his valor and courage. He is the most efficient and virtuous king of his time. Do you think that you deserve to sit on this throne?"
King Bhoja humbled down and replied, "O beautiful statue! I don't know much about King Vikramaditya. Please tell us all about this great king".
The statue thus started telling the story of King Vikramaditya.
Stay tuned for the Stories of King Vikramaditya.