Tenali Ramakrishna stories are like moral stories that teach us ways to deal with life challenges with humor, intelligence, strategy, dharma, and affection.

In the kingdom of Vijayanagara, King Krishnadevaraya ruled with wisdom and fairness. Among his most trusted advisors was Tenali Rama, a man famous for his wit, intelligence, and quick thinking. Known throughout the land for solving the most difficult problems, Tenali was not just a courtier but a beacon of wisdom, often coming up with solutions that no one else could have imagined.

One day, a peculiar problem arose that called for Tenali’s unique insight.

As King Krishnadevaraya sat upon his throne one fine morning, tending to his daily affairs, a loud disturbance erupted outside the palace gates. Hearing the uproar, the king quickly sent his guards to investigate. After a few moments, a village leader was escorted into the court.

“Your Majesty,” the village leader said, bowing low before the king, “our village is in desperate need of your help. We are plagued by rats, which have destroyed our crops, spoiled our food stores, and caused chaos in our homes. We have tried everything, but we are overwhelmed. Please, save us from this disaster!”

King Krishnadevaraya, known for his compassionate nature, nodded. “Do not worry. I will ensure that this problem is solved,” he said, turning to his advisors for guidance.

The king’s ministers, after hearing the village leader’s plea, began for a solution. One of the ministers stood and spoke confidently: “Your Majesty, it is well known that cats are the natural enemies of rats. If we distribute a cat to each household in the village, the cats will surely take care of the rat infestation.”

Another minister, however, raised a valid concern: “But what will the villagers feed the cats? Many villagers are poor and may not have enough food to care for the animals.”

After thinking for a moment, the first minister replied, “We could give each family a cow along with the cat. The cows will provide milk, which the villagers can use to feed the cats.”

The king, pleased with this idea, approved the plan. To help get rid of the rats, every home in the village was given a cat and a cow.

Initially, the villagers were hopeful. They fed the cats milk from their cows daily, expecting the cats to hunt down the rats. However, as days turned into weeks, a strange development occurred. Instead of catching rats, the cats became plump and lazy. Well-fed and comfortable, the cats had no interest in chasing down the rats. The rodent problem persisted, and the villagers grew frustrated.

Tenali Rama, who had been observing the situation closely, realized that something was wrong. “If these cats are fed milk all the time, they won’t even try to catch rats,” he thought. “Why would cats think for their food?”

Determined to prove his point, Tenali came up with a clever experiment. The next day, he put a bowl of hot milk down for one of the cats. The unsuspecting cat eagerly approached the milk and took a sip, only to burn its tongue. Startled and in pain, the cat fled, never touching milk again.

From that moment on, the cat began hunting rats to satisfy its hunger. Soon enough, the household was free of rats, while the other villagers continued to deal with the persistent pests.

Sometime later, King Krishnadevaraya wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of the solution. The king called the villagers to the palace and told them to bring their cats. Many of the villagers complained that their cats were still not hunting rats, and the rat infestation continued to plague their homes.

One villager explained a different story. “Your Majesty, the rats are no more from my house. My cat has been hunting them tirelessly.”

Intrigued, the king asked, “Why is your cat hunting, while the others have become lazy? Are you not feeding it milk like the others?”

Before the villager could say anything, Tenali Rama stepped in a big smile on his face. “Your Majesty, this cat doesn’t drink milk anymore.”

Astonished, the king asked, “How can that be? A cat refusing milk is unheard of!”

Tenali Rama, ever the showman, requested a bowl of milk to be brought into the court. When the bowl was placed in front of the cat, it backed away in fear, refusing to go near it. The court was baffled.

“What’s going on here, Tenali?” the king asked, after seeing the strange behavior.

Then Tenali explained, “Your Majesty, I once gave a bowl of hot milk to this cat. It burned its tongue, and since then, it has been afraid of milk. Now that it no longer relies on milk, the cat hunts the rats in order to survive.”

The Moral of the Story:

The story of Tenali Rama and the cat’s lesson is more than just an amusing tale—it is a story of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and the importance of thinking critically. Through humor and cleverness, Tenali shows us that life’s challenges can often be overcome by looking at things from a different perspective. His cat may have run away from milk, but the lesson it left behind still resonates with us today.

Important points to understand from this story:

King Krishnadevaraya, now understanding the deeper issue, turned to his ministers. “The idea to give the villagers cats and cows was well-intentioned, but it overlooked a key detail. By providing the cats with milk every day, we made them lazy and unwilling to hunt.”

Tenali Rama, always ready with a lesson, added, “When creatures—or people—are given everything without the need to work for it, they lose their drive and motivation. True solutions must consider the instincts and needs of those involved.”

The king nodded, impressed with Tenali’s wisdom. He ordered his ministers to rethink their approach and find a better way to help the village with its rat problem. As for Tenali, he was rewarded handsomely for his clever thinking and valuable lessons.