The King Who Bowed Before A Monk

Long ago, there lived a great king named Vikram Varma. He was loved and revered by everyone in his kingdom. The king was as powerful as he was kind.?

He decided to travel all over his kingdom, on foot, during a state festival. He took time to talk to his subjects and wanted to understand the problems of his people.

The subjects reciprocated with warmth and respect, telling the king about their challenges. Listening carefully to what needed attention, the king began solving the problems and instructing the ministers and commanders who had accompanied him.?

People were happy to see the king taking an interest in their lives. The festive mood in the kingdom was palpable. People waited eagerly for their turn to see the king.

While interacting with his subjects, he noticed a monk sitting under a lonely tree. King Vikram Varma approached him, prostrated before him, and checked with him about his well-being. He sought his blessings and then resumed the tour.

In the evening, his commander Shatrujit approached him and said, “Your Majesty, the experience of watching you interact with your subjects has sparked a question in my mind. If you allow me, I would like to ask you the question. The king said, “Go ahead”.

The commander said, “Your Majesty, at the festival today, I saw how people showered you with love and respect and bowed before you. But you bowed before a monk. Does that not dishonour you? Can a king’s head bow before anyone but God?”

King Vikram Varma smiled and said, “I understand your question. I will answer your question tomorrow, but before that, you have to do one of my tasks. Come tomorrow morning. I will tell you more about it.”

The next morning commander Shatrujit appeared before King Vikram Varma. Seeing the commander, the king said, “Come, Shatrujit, I have four boxes for you. Each box contains an item you have to sell. This is your task.”

The commander looked at the ornate boxes and said, “That’s a simple task, my lord. I will sell them easily. What do these boxes contain?”

King Vikram Varma said, “I will not tell you what the items are. And there is a condition that applies to this task. You will not open the boxes yourself. You can open the first box only while selling it. When the object in the first box gets sold, you get to open the second box and sell the object in it. That is how you have to sell all four objects. Remember that you cannot see the objects beforehand.”

Commander Shatrujit was surprised. Nonetheless, he obeyed the king’s orders and proceeded to complete his task. After going some distance into the city, he decided to sell the first box. He opened it and found a fish head inside. The commander thought to himself, “The king has given me such trivial things to sell. This will be sold in no time.”

He went into the market and gave a trade cry, “Who wants to buy this fish head?” People were amused to see the commander selling the fish head. A crowd gathered immediately, and the fish head got sold very easily.

Then the commander opened the second box and saw a goat’s head. That got sold easily too.

By this time, the commander had realized that the other two boxes also would have the heads of some animals.

The commander was right. The third box contained a deer’s head. That too got sold very easily. A man from a noble family came forward and bought it. The commander was happy that he had managed to sell three out of the four boxes so quickly.

Now only the fourth box was left. Everyone in the market was curious to know what was in the fourth box. The commander reached out for the fourth box with curiosity. His eyes opened wide in surprise when he unlocked the fourth box. People standing nearby ran away as soon as they saw what was inside.?Everyone who saw it was horrified. The fourth box contained a human head.

The commander was not prepared for this gory surprise. He tried hard but could not sell the head. He went from one market to the other, but people reacted the same way. They ran away as soon as they saw what was inside the box. Buying it was out of the question, they were not ready to look at it. The commander knew that it was impossible to make a sale.

He went back to the king and told him everything. After listening to him, the king said, “When you cannot sell a human head, then give it to someone for free. Go again tomorrow. I am sure you can do this.”

The commander said, “Your Majesty, no one is willing to look at it. Who will take it?”

The king said, “Try it. Come back tomorrow and tell me who took this human head.” Saying this, the king went back into his palace.

The commander stood there, worried for a while. He could not comprehend why someone would agree to take the head.”?

The next day, the commander went around and tried hard to sell the human head, but to no avail. No one took a second look at the head. The defeated commander decided to take some rest under a tree. He thought to himself, “It will not be possible for me to complete this task. Had it been a head of an animal, it would have gotten sold out. Even if a human head is given for free, no one will take it. This is a lost cause”. Right at that moment, the commander saw a monk walking along the tree-lined avenue.?

He approached the monk, narrated his problem to the monk, and asked, “ Why does no one take this head?”

The monk said, “This is the best human head.”.?

The commander was surprised. He asked the monk, “Why do you say so?”

The monk smiled and said, “Will this head offend anyone?”

The commander said, “No.”

The monk said, ”Will this head express anger towards anyone?”

The commander said, “No.”

The monk said, “This is because this head has no ego or anger. It has none of the vices that a living person has. So in terms of virtue and value, it is the best head. But no one will take it because they will not be able to judge its value”.

The commander asked, “Then whom shall I offer this to?”.

The monk responded, “You may give it to me. I will keep it with care and respect.”

The commander returned to the palace in the evening and told the king about this unique experience. He asked the king, “ Your Majesty, the monk said that the head of a dead man is free from ego and anger. But how is this related to the question I had asked you?”.

King Vikram Varma said, “You had asked me yesterday why I bowed my head before the monk because in your opinion a king’s head should not bow down before any human being, right?”

“That’s right,” said the commander. “A king can only bow before God.”

The king said, “This thought process is based on ego and self-conceit. We don’t bow down our heads because of pride. Today the conversation with the monk revealed that the head you were trying to sell was worthy because it had no ego. But the head of a person with conceit is worth nothing. Conceit takes up so much space that it leaves no room for learning. So I bowed my head before the monk because I wanted to crush the ego inside me. Ego is the enemy”

The fact that ego can be an obstacle to good leadership is timeless. The way this story drives home the point is fascinating. I think the essence of this story is relevant to leading in the current day and age. We are witnessing times of rapid transformation. With newer technologies emerging each day, it seems next to impossible to know everything. I think leading in these times requires King Vikram Varma's attitude of being willing to bow our heads and make room to learn from those around us so that we can grow each day.

I would love to hear your reflections on the story.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead ??

Inspired by:

1) The Power of Zen Story - The Story of the Ego