CHATURBHUJ
- Master Plan

Chaturbhuj dismounted from his chariot as soon as they reached the outskirts of their kingdom of Amrapalli.  Thereafter, he walked barefoot and by the time he reached his destination, it was dusk.  Thinking him to be a sage, people bowed before Chaturbhuj who blessed them by showing his right palm.  After some inquiry, the minister reached the palace of King Narendra.  When the King learnt that a sage had come to see him, he himself came and received Chaturbhuj.  He took the sage to his chamber and after they were comfortably seated, Chaturbhuj began softly, “Maharaj, I am Vishwananda.  I am on a peace mission where I go to different kingdoms and ask the people to love one another and follow the path of righteousness.    I have now come to your kingdom for this purpose.  However, before I begin my mission I need to get your consent.”

Narendra smiled at the sage, “O revered one, you do not need my consent for such a holy mission.  Please go ahead!  You will get my full co-operation in this regard.”  “Thank you so much, O King!”  So saying, Chaturbhuj got up to leave only to be stopped by the King.  “Where are you going, O Sage?  As it is already night, you can rest today in the palace and begin with your peace mission tomorrow.”

A minor argument ensured which Narendra won just as Chaturbhuj had knew and wanted!  Thereby, the minister who was in the disguise of a sage was led to a chamber where he unfurled his mat on the floor and lay on it.  Chaturbhuj closed his eyes and invoked the Lord in his mind.  He prayed for the success of his plan and then went into a deep slumber.

The next morning, Chaturbhuj woke up and appeared to be very serious.  King Narendra, who came to see him, was perturbed to see him in such a disturbed state of mind.  “What’s the matter, O Sage?  Is everything fine?”  he asked with deep concern.

“Maharaj!” Chaturbhuj began with grim eyes, “…I just saw a horrible dream just before I woke up in the morning.  In that dream I saw that you and your vast army were marching towards your neighbouring kingdom of Amrapalli with an intention to attack it.  As soon as you reached that kingdom, the heads of you and your army were blown to pieces!” 

Narendra was aghast to hear this.  Chaturbhuj looked at the King and asked, “Tell me honestly, O Rajan, do you have any plans of attacking your neigbhour?” 

Narendra shook his head in the affirmative, “Yes, O Sage!  Very soon I plan to attack Amrapalli!” 

“No!” Chaturbhuj cried out in alarm, which startled the King.  Then, the minister took a deep breath and regained his composure, “I am sorry for reacting like that, O King!  I will tell you something very important.  Before coming here, I had been to Sukhdeva’s kingdom of Amrapalli.  It so happened that in one of the areas where I temporarily camped to forward my message of love and peace to the people, a person was ill in a nearby village.  Till the time I was there in that area, King Sukhdeva came to enquire about his health daily and ensured that he was being treated properly for his ailment.  I was highly impressed by this move of the King.  How caring he was towards his subjects!  Later, when I went to meet him before leaving for your kingdom he took great care of me which only enhanced my good impression about him.  I observed that something was bothering him and asked him about it.  He told me that he had lost a ring gifted to one of his ancestors by the Lord himself, under mysterious circumstances.  Since the ring was lost, he was now worried that his kingdom would be attacked by a powerful enemy.  Highly pleased as I was with King Sukhdeva, I granted him a boon that the heads of those who come to Amrapalli with evil intentions, like attacking it, would be blown to pieces as soon as they reach the 

kingdom!   I firmly believe that the people of Amrapalli deserve Sukhdeva to be their King for many more years to come.” 

Narendra listened to Chaturbhuj crestfallen.  Observing him keenly, Chaturbhuj continued, “From what I have heard, aren’t both you and Sukhdeva supposed to be very close friends?”  Chaturbhuj waited for a response and after a few moments continued when Narendra shook his head meekly in agreement, “Maharaj, it really pains me to see that you are planning to deceive your own friend.  Do you know as to how much affection and admiration Sukhdeva has for you?”

The King who was looking on the ground, now stared at the sage even as he continued, “Sukhdeva is of the opinion that you are the best friend that anyone could ask for!”  These words of Chaturbhuj had the desired effect on the King.  He began to experience a feeling of guilt for conspiring against such a person who was singing his praises all along.  “Maharaj, although Sukhdeva does not suspect you, he told me that he has a strong feeling about the hand of some ruler, who wants to attack his kingdom successfully, to have masterminded the theft of the divine ring.  If what he suspects is true, then I feel that the ruler who has committed this theft is a fool!”  Chaturbhuj stopped and looked at the King for his reaction.  Again, Narendra was trying to avoid looking at the sage and looked at the ground.  “From what I have learnt, the Lord gave the ring to Sukhdeva’s ancestors saying that as long as the rulers of his kingdom possess it, their kingdom would be benefited.  However, the Lord never told that this ring would benefit any other ruler who takes over it’s ownership by deceitful means.  God always sides by those who are honest and virtuous.  He punishes those who are wicked and cheat others.  As this ring is his very own gift, it would certainly not prove beneficial to a person who forcibly takes it’s custody deviously.  I feel that this ring which proved to be a boon for Sukhdeva’s kingdom may turn to be a curse for someone who takes it by crooked means!”  pointed out Chaturbhuj.  Narendra was appalled to hear all this.