Tenali Rama Outwits The Guards

Tenali Raman was dear to King Sri Krishnadevaraya, but sometimes he would get on the King’s nerves. Whenever Tenali Raman disagreed with the king, the king would get enraged and have him punished for disobedience. One such day, the king ordered the guards to behead Raman with a sword in a single strike. Two guards captured Raman and took him to the riverfront to execute him. 

When it was time for the execution, the two guards got into a heated argument over who would behead Raman. Tenali Raman intervened and suggested that they both should strike together. The guards agreed to this and made Raman stand knee-deep in the river. As the guards raised their swords, Raman screamed that he had one last wish. 

The guards lowered their swords and asked Raman what his last wish was. Raman replied saying that he wanted the guards to strike him as he took Ma Kali’s name. The guards agreed to this as well. 
Tenali Raman held his breath and shouted Jai Ma Kali as soon as the swords were about to strike his neck. Before they could touch his neck, Raman quickly immersed himself in the river. The swords missed him and simply clashed with each other. 

The guards were preparing to strike again when Tenali Raman interrupted them saying that the King had ordered them to use only one strike. Now that they had missed, they couldn’t strike again. 

The guards were now caught in a dilemma. Just then, a messenger from the palace came with orders of stopping the execution and to bring Tenali Raman back to the palace. As Raman stepped into the palace, the king embraced him and apologised for his angry outburst. 

Moral
Never make decisions in anger.