Young Vidur meets Raja Adiveera

One day Raja Adiveera was roaming around his Kingdom of Sathyamangala in the disguise of a pundit. It was a tradition in olden days and the King followed the tradition of 'nagarvallam' or roaming the kingdom in disguise. In the past he had solved many problems that he chanced upon while he was on a nagarvallam. This time though the king was in for a surprise!

As he was walking, seemingly aimlessly, he came upon a small hut. An old woman was making porridge and selling it to passers-by.As the king was hungry he decided to have a taste of the porridge, thereby checking the quality of food sold in his kingdom. He sat down on a stone placed for the purpose. Just as the old woman handed over the porridge to the pundit, Vidur, her grandson came out of the hut and sat next to her.

 “My grandson has come to stay with me for a few weeks”, explained the old woman to the pundit. 

The king was distracted and in a thoughtless moment put his hand right in the middle of the porridge. The thick liquid was hot and the king withdrew his fingers instantly and started licking his fingers. 

Seeing this the little boy placed his hands over his mouth and chuckled. Instantly the old woman stared sharply at him which was enough to silence the boy. The king, who was watching this, asked the boy what the matter was. Watching his grandmother through the corner of his eye,Vidur told the king that he too had put his fingers right in the middle of the porridge in the past.  

The naughty twinkle in his eyes were the most endearing one that the King had come across and the King was drawn towards the young boy's boldness.

Watching his grandmother through the corner of his eyes, Vidur whispered ...

His grandmother had told him that the porridge should be had from the sides first. This will give enough time for the porridge in the center to cool down. Having learnt something new the king thanked the little boy and completed the porridge in the manner taught to him by young Vidur. As the king was about to leave, Vidur once again addressed the King. As his grandmother rose, he turned towards her and gave her the same endearing look that made both the King and the old lady take up their positions. 

As the King sat down, he asked Vidur what his grandmother had said. Vidur told the pundit that the king of the land Raja Adiveera had attacked the enemy kingdom and he began by attacking the capital which is at the center of that kingdom. Instead, he should have first captured the outskirts where the presence of the army is not much and then slowly marched ahead towards the capital. 

"Like me, you too behaved like our foolish King", chuckled Vidur. This time though, his grandmother had managed to get up and gave him a chase with a cane in her hand! 

The king stood up slowly, thanking the little boy for his courage to speak the truth and his grandmother for her words of wisdom. 

A few months later Vidur and his grandmother were seated near the king in the celebrations to mark the victory of King Adiveera over his enemy kingdom!