There is a famous incident in the life of the famous emperor, Bhoj. He was well-known for respecting all kinds of talented people. His court was full of talented people. From all over the country, he had picked up the best – the cream – in every direction, in every dimension. He had the best scholars, the best philosophers, the best singers, the best poets.
One day a man appeared, and he challenged Bhoj: ”You are too proud of your so-called scholars. I challenge your scholars to recognize my mother tongue. I speak thirty languages; I will speak in those thirty languages, and if anybody can recognize which one is my mother tongue, then there are one hundred thousand gold pieces for him. If he loses then he has to pay me the same amount – and all are challenged.”
The first day he spoke a few passages in one language, then in another, then in another. A few people tried and they lost. Just one man, a poet, Kalidas – he is the Shakespeare of India – remained silent, for the simple reason that the challenge was for the scholars, not for the poets. But he was watching the man very carefully. But after thirty languages – and at least fifteen persons had already lost – even Kalidas could not manage to find even a small way to distinguish which one was his mother tongue.
When all the scholars were finished – nobody else was ready to take the challenge, seeing the fate of the fifteen most prominent scholars of the court – Kalidas appealed to the man, ”I could not participate today because you did not invite the poets. You invited only the scholars. It would be a great kindness if you can come tomorrow again and give a chance to the poets.”
The man was more than happy. He said, ”I can go on continuing as long as you want. Poets, singers, musicians, dancers, theologians, philosophers… anybody. I can go on coming every day.”
The next day Kalidas was standing in front of the gate with the whole court and the emperor. He asked them to stand there to receive and welcome the guest. They said, ”This is not necessary,” but he said, ”This is part of my strategy – you just stand here.”
There were at least a hundred marble steps leading to the palace, and as the man reached the upper step, Kalidas pushed him. He slipped on the steps, rolled down, and started shouting. Kalidas said, ”This is your mother language!” – and the man had to accept that this was his mother language.
”But,” the man said, ”this is not right.”
Kalidas said, ”There was no other way – either love or fight. It is something that cannot be managed superficially.”
