Raja Vikramaditya and the Five Lessons

Four travellers crossing a wide plain met a storyteller who offered them five lessons:

“Money is useful on a journey. A true friend helps when money is gone. A relation should welcome you in hardship as well as success. Trust grows through honest actions. And the person who remains awake at night may solve Raja Vikramaditya's mystery.”

The travellers argued about whether five sayings counted as a story, so they carried the question to a nearby king. The king paid the storyteller, listened to the lessons, and became curious enough to test them himself.

He dressed as an ordinary traveller and carried only a small pouch. A wealthy relation offered little help when she believed he had lost his kingdom. A loyal friend welcomed him warmly and shared everything he had. On a difficult road, the coins in the pouch paid for food and shelter. And when the king admitted his disguise, honest words restored the trust of those he had tested.

Four lessons had become clear. The fifth led him to Raja Vikramaditya.

Vikramaditya explained that his daughter was troubled by a strange visitor each night. Many people had promised to discover the cause, but all had fallen asleep before anything happened.

The travelling king agreed to keep watch. He rested during the day, lit a small lamp, and sat awake beside the chamber door. Near midnight he saw a snake slip through a crack in the wall. Instead of rushing forward, he placed an empty bundle beneath a blanket. The snake approached the bundle, revealing where it had been hiding.

The king quickly covered it with a strong basket and called the guards. No one was harmed.

At dawn Vikramaditya thanked him. The princess, relieved that the mystery was over, also thanked him for solving it without needless violence.

The visiting king revealed his identity and repeated the five lessons. Vikramaditya smiled. “You did more than stay awake. You observed, tested, and acted with care. That is what turns a saying into wisdom.”

The two rulers became friends, and the princess later chose the course of her own life with their full support.