A Clever Princess
It was princess Udita's Swayamvaram (the process of choosing the groom). Her father, King Dhanan had sent forth invitations to all the eligible princes of the neighboring kingdoms and now they were all present. The king and his queen Padmini were sitting at one end of the hall while a dozen young princes sat opposite them, in a semi-circle. They looked handsome in their colorful attires, and their smiles shone brighter than the diamond and ruby necklaces around their necks. Their eager eyes were fixed on princess Udita. As the auspicious hour struck, the Princess got up from her seat, as bashful and beautiful as the garland in her hands. There was a flash of smiles on the faces of the princes and their eyes sparkled with expectation and their hearts throbbed. Suddenly, all hearts started throbbing even more rapidly but for a different reason. All eyes showed panic and all the bright smiles showed fear and horror! There was pandemonium in the big hall. The king's elephant, Virat which was all the while standing outside was suddenly seized by a 'must' - a temporary madness - and it charged into the hall, straight towards the Princes! Trembling with terror, the princes sought protection wherever they could: some hid behind the pillars, some others jumped into the pool around a fountain and one of the princes, the one with big mustaches and a big sword, jumped out of his shoes and scampered and hid behind princess Udita! Hardly a minute had passed when young Shashidhar jumped into the chaos and brought the rioting elephant under control.
His fearlessness wrought a miracle as it were, and the elephant was guided out of the hall by the mahout who had come in by then. The princes came out of their hiding one by one and they left the place as it was announced that the Swayamvaram had been postponed. Princess Udita took out her diamond necklace and offered it Shashidhar saying, " I am very grateful to you for having saved our lives. Please accept this small toke of our gratitude." "It was but my duty to protect you; I've done no more than that. Pardon me, but I cannot accept any reward," replied Shashidhar and he left the place. The king too was very impressed by the bravery shown by the young man and on inquiry, he found out that Shashidhar was the son of his own army chief. He decided to reward him amply at an appropriate time. That night, when he was relaxing in his room, the princess went to the king with two swords in her hand. One of them had a hilt studded with diamonds and its blade was shining like stars, but, it was not sharp. Its scabbard too was of the purest silver, with designs of gold laces.
The second one was most unimpressive - its hilt was of bronze while its blade looked dull, but it was as sharp as a razor's edge. Its scabbard was a simple one made of leather, embroidered with silk threads. "Father, which one of these two swords would you prefer in battle?" asked princess Udita, presenting the swords to King Dhanan. The king looked at both the swords, verified the quality, and then replied, "My daughter dear, for a warrior what counts is the sharpness of the sword, not its decorations. I prefer therefore this one with a leather scabbard. The other one is only an ornament. It is of no use." "Then, for my life's battle why do you want to present me with an ornament? I have enough of them already," said princess smilingly. The king did not understand what his daughter was driving. Seeing his puzzled look, the princess explained: "Man's wealth, his beauty, his pride, and position are like this gold-laced scabbard. What is their use if the inside of a man, like the silver sword, is 'blunt' unheroic? What is required is inner courage which can be of use when a crisis comes. All these princes who had come for my swayamvaram are like a silver sword, but, Shashidhar is like this sharp one." King Dhanan appreciated his daughter's thinking and also her feelings for Shashidhar. He did not hold a Swayamvaram again. Instead, he arranged princess Udita's marriage with Shashidhar the noble and brave son of his army chief.
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