Jayalakshmi: The Guardian of Open-Handed Help

King Bhoj had found the golden throne of Vikramaditya beneath an old mound, and each of its thirty-two carved guardians stopped him with a story before he could sit.

Jayalakshmi awoke on the twenty-fifth step. A travelling bard returned after visiting many courts and rulers, yet had earned almost nothing. At home his daughter was growing up, and he worried about how he would ever provide for her wedding with dignity when the time came.

His wife urged contentment, but the bard had heard that no sincere petitioner left Vikram's court unheard. He travelled to Ujjain, praised the king, and then spoke plainly: he needed help to arrange his daughter's future with dignity. Before revealing the request, he asked Vikram to promise that poverty would not make him an object of ridicule.

Vikram gave his word and asked the treasurer to fulfil the need in his presence. The bard received one million coins, fine cloth, ornaments of gold and silver, pearls, and household supplies. Vikram demanded no song, service, or public praise in return. He also sent observers—not to control the family, but to learn whether the gift had truly solved the problem.

After his daughter had grown and consented, the bard celebrated a generous wedding. Guests of every means were fed, travellers sheltered, musicians paid fairly, and the couple equipped for a new home. Almost every gift was spent on hospitality and giving. The observer reported that after the festivities the household possessed scarcely a day's food.

Vikram did not call the bard foolish or demand an account. He understood that the man had used generosity to protect family dignity and share abundance with the community. He sent several hundred thousand more coins so the parents and newly married couple would not begin the next season in hunger or debt.

Vikram was happiest that someone in his kingdom had felt free to ask and celebrate without shame.

Jayalakshmi asked Bhoj, "Can you give without turning another person's gratitude into your possession?" Bhoj stepped back.

Moral: Generosity should relieve need without controlling how another family celebrates or lives.