A King is only as good as his ministers are!

King Adiveera was having a leisurely chat with his ministers. He enjoyed having healthy debates with his ministers every now and then and told them that a King’s strength depends on the soldiers and the power of his army!

There was a big uproar followed by chatter among the ministers. In the end one of the ministers stood up and spoke on behalf of all of them. He said that the ministers contributed to the strategies and internal peace and this makes a king more powerful.

King Adiveera wanted to test his ministers some more. So, in a teasing voice, he said that the strategies don’t work if the soldiers are not good. The ministers were on the verge of giving up when Vidur walked in.

He saw the look on the faces of the ministers and instantly knew that the King had won one more of the arguments. He asked one of the ministers what the matter was. The minister explained the entire debate session to Vidur, in a rather monotonous and lack-luster manner.

Vidur smiled at the King. He knew that King Adiveera was a great admirer of Emperor Akbar. He turned towards the King and asked him who the greatest King was in his opinion.

King Adiveera knew that Vidur was setting a trap and tried evading the question. But Vidur was insistent. Finally Adiveera gave in and mentioned the name of Akbar, the great.

“Your Majesty, Emperor Akbar has left a very deep impression in our minds”, Vidur reasoned. “He rose to fame and came to be known as Akbar – the great not because of the battles that he won, but because of the tolerance shown by him.” Vidur waited for his King to respond. But Adiveera was listening intently at the arguments placed forward by the young Vidur.

Vidur continued. “Your majesty, whenever we think of Akbar, we think of Birbal too. Birbal’s quick thinking saved Akbar from taking impulsive decisions. So is not Birbal the reason for Akbar’s greatness?” asked Vidur.

King Adiveera was delighted at the ability of the young lad and gleefully accepted his defeat.