The Wisdome Of Truth

The city of Satyapore was ruled by a monarch appropriately named Satyanath because he believed in Truth above all else. Though he had fabulous wealth, he was kind and charitable and gave freely to all. So, his subjects adored him and remained true to his ideals.

This king had a novel idea to banish poverty and penury from his land. Every day, he bought the produce of the land from those who assembled before the palace gates and had something to sell. This way, the king believed, poverty could be banished and full employment guaranteed to the people. His hopes were not in vain because even those who had suffered in business sold their goods to him and recouped their losses.

A certain poor Brahmin living in a far-off village heard about the king’s new scheme. He too wanted to sell the king something and get a lot of wealth in exchange. But he was poor and had nothing to sell except his poverty. So, he set off for the capital, carrying his meagre belongings, consisting of a torn waist cloth, a ragged blanket, and a tattered bedroll. The palace guards reported to the king that a poor Brahmin had come to sell something. The king asked the Brahmin what he had to sell. Thereupon, the Brahmin said, “Sir, I have come to sell you my poverty. Take it and give me some money.”

The king was surprised to hear these words, but he could not change his custom of buying whatever was offered for sale. If he refused to buy what the Brahmin had offered for sale, then his word would become false and he would be discredited. So the king said, “Very well, Oh! Brahmin, what price do you ask for your poverty?”

“A thousand gold pieces, Sir,” said the Brahmin.

Without a word, the king received the Brahmin’s dirty bundle and paid over a thousand gold pieces. The Brahmin returned home, happy that at last he was no longer poor.

That night, the king had a strange dream. In it, he saw a beautiful damsel leaving his house. So he asked her who she was. She replied, “Oh! King, I am Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth. I have no more to do here, since you bought poverty. Therefore, I am leaving.” The king said, “Very well, I can’t stop you. You are free to do what you will.” So Lakshmi left.

Then the king saw another beautiful maiden following Lakshmi. He asked her who she was, and she replied, “I am the Goddess of Virtue. After Lakshmi’s departure, what shall I do here?”

So the king gave her leave to depart. Then the Goddess of Wisdom, and then Fame, also left.

At the end, the king perceived a lone Goddess of great lustre following the others. So he stopped her and asked her who she was. She said, “Oh! King, I am the Goddess of Truth. When all the others are gone, why should I tarry here, alone?”

Then the king replied, “I allowed all the others to leave, hoping that you alone, of all of them, will stay in my land. For I can do without the others, but Truth I must always have.”

The Goddess was pleased with his words and elected to stay behind. Then the king saw all the other Goddesses—Wealth, Virtue, Wisdom, and Fame—turning back to his kingdom. The king was agreeably surprised and asked them why they had all come back. They proclaimed in unison, “We thought Truth would accompany us. But she chose to stay with you. Where there is no Truth, we have no business.”

The king woke up from his dream and pondered over the vision. Truth, he knew, was the most precious possession of mankind.