King Vikramaditya knew where he could find Betal. So he went back to the peepal tree and found the corpse hanging upside down. Once again, the king pulled the corpse on his shoulder and began walking towards his destination.
On the way, Betal said, “King, listen to one more of my stories.” Vikramaditya was thoroughly tired of his stories and repeated escapes, but he knew that he required a high degree of endurance if he wanted to achieve his goal. Vikramaditya did not say anything; however, he prepared himself unwillingly to hear the story. Betal started narrating the story:
Once upon a time, there was the kingdom of Chand, which was ruled by a king called Chandrachur Singh. The king was brave and managed his kingdom well. Chandrachur Singh had three beautiful and delicate queens, whom he loved very much. One evening, the king was sitting with his first queen, named Chanda. The king was relaxed and in a playful and mischievous mood. He saw a beautiful rose in his royal garden, plucked it, and playfully threw it at her face.
As the flower hit her face, Queen Chanda screamed and fainted. Queen Chanda’s skin was so soft and tender that the flower caused an injury, and due to severe pain, she became unconscious. The caring King Chandrachur Singh immediately picked her up in his arms and took her inside the palace. He called the royal vaidya to treat her. Shortly after, Queen Chanda regained consciousness, but her injury was expected to recover with time, so she was advised to take ample rest and apply ointment.
That day, late in the evening, the king went to meet his second wife, named Chandni. In the chamber, the king and the queen sat to play Chaupad (a game of dice). The chamber’s balcony was open, a cool breeze was swaying, and outside was bathed in milky full moonlight. The ambiance was perfect for romance. Suddenly, Queen Chandni began screaming. Amidst her crying, she complained that the rays coming from the moon were burning her soft skin. King Chandrachur Singh was anxious and puzzled. He immediately closed the window and door of the balcony and pulled the curtains to give her relief. He then called the queen’s maids to attend to her. The maids applied cool sandal powder all over her body. Queen Chandni felt better and slept.
Since the night was yet to proceed, the king returned to his palace and sent a message to his third queen, named Chandrakanta, expressing his desire to meet her. As soon as Queen Chandrakanta received the king’s message, she set out to meet him. On reaching the palace, she walked towards the king’s chamber. The palace floor was fully covered with thick, soft carpets. When Queen Chandrakanta was about to reach the chamber, she heard the sound of rice being crushed somewhere nearby. But the feeble noise sounded terrible to her. Unable to bear it, she began crying. The noise was proving painful to her mind as well as to her skin. Wriggling in pain, she fell on the floor and fainted.
Hearing her scream, King Chandrachur Singh rushed to her. He was amazed to find blisters on her palms, as if she had been pounding the rice herself. The king picked her up and laid her in his chamber. He called the royal vaidya and got her treated. When Queen Chandrakanta regained consciousness, she told the king the reason for her sudden illness. The king was greatly surprised to hear it. He made the necessary arrangements for her treatment and went to sleep in another chamber.
That night, King Chandrachur Singh could not enjoy the company of any of his queens. The whole night, the king kept thinking about his three beautiful, delicate queens, who had amazingly soft, tender skin and sensitive minds. He pondered whom he should consider the most delicate, but he could not reach any conclusion.
Here, Betal ended his story and asked the king, “Vikram, tell me, among the three queens, who was the most delicate?”
Dear readers, whom do you think is the most delicate queen among these three? Make your guess before reading King Vikramaditya’s reply.
Vikramaditya thought for a while and then replied, “Betal, though all the three queens were amazingly delicate, it was the third queen who won the race. She was so sensitive, and her skin was so delicate, that the mere sound could cause blisters on her palms. In the case of the other queens, the flower and the moon rays directly touched their skin and caused harm. So, according to me, the third queen was the most sensitive and delicate.”
Betal applauded, “Vikram, you have an amazing capacity for analysis. Your logic makes things so clear that sometimes I wonder why I couldn’t understand it myself. But Vikram, now I’ll have to go, and you very well know the reason why.”
With that, Betal flew away from the king’s shoulder, and the king once again ran after him to catch him.
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