Once the king of Srirangapatnam went for his hunt in the jungle. His servant came to clean his bedchamber while he was away. The servant Nanjayya’s eyes fell on the royal bed. It looked very soft, cosy and comfortable and he could not resist the temptation of lying on it for a while.

He made himself so comfortable on the soft and cosy bed that he did not want to get up at all. Gradually he dozed off.

In the meantime the king came back from the hunt to find his servant sleeping on his royal bed. He shook him and after he was fully awake, he slapped him hard. Nanjayya laughed a little and then started crying.

The king was puzzled. He asked Nanjayya “Why did you laugh a little before you started crying?” Nanjayya replied, “Oh King! I laughed because I had had the pleasure of sleeping on the soft bed, for at least a few minutes. Then I was slapped hard for that brief pleasure. I cried as I felt that the royal bed has a lot of worries and difficulties.”

The king appreciated the truth in the servant’s words. He said, “Yes! You are quite right. The king’s bed is not a bed of roses. It is a bed of thorns. Though the bed is soft, I always have a disturbed sleep for I always keep thinking about the welfare of my subjects. I have many worries and difficulties. So do not be deceived by the seeming comfort of the bed.” The king pardoned Nanjayya.

A folkstory from Karnataka sourced from: Folktales of Karnataka complied by Satish Chandran

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