Retold by DKM Kartha
Once upon a time King Bhoja went to visit his Queen in her garden.
He saw her sitting there talking privately with her favorite companion. Without respecting their privacy, the King barged in, and the Queen said as she saw him approaching, "Oh, come on in, you Foolish Man!”
Later, as King Bhoja returned to his palace he pondered about the Queen's addressing him a fool. Upon not being able to come up with a good answer, he tried a trick.
Bhoja had 14 scholars and poets in his court. As each of them started entering the court, he said: "Come on in, you Fool!"
None of them had any response. They sat down in their respective seats wondering, "Why did His Highness call me a Fool. After all he has honored me with a position in his court. Who appoints a Fool to his court ?"
Then arrived none other than the Great Poet KALidAsa. The King repeated his enigmatic ritual saying, "Come on in, you Fool"
As sooon as the poet heard the word "Fool | Moorkha" he took it up as a kind of samasya = a riddle and gave an instantaneous response:
खादन्न गच्छामि हसन्न जल्पे
गतं न शोचामि कृतं न मन्ये ।
द्वाभ्यां तृतीयो न भवामि राजन् !
किं कारणं भोज भवामि मूर्खः ? ॥
khādanna gacchāmi hasanna jalpē
gataṁ na śōcāmi kr̥taṁ na manyē |
dvābhyāṁ tr̥tīyō na bhavāmi rājan !
kiṁ kāraṇaṁ bhōja bhavāmi mūrkhaḥ ?||
"I do not walk and eat at the same time. I do not laugh and talk while laughing. I do not mourn for bad events in the past. I do not ponder and re-think my actions in the past. When two people are talking in private, I do not go into their midst and become the third one uninvited. Because I do not do these, I am truly wise. Why do you call me a fool, then, O Bhoja! (You have no reason to do so.)"
King Bhoja's surprise knew no bounds because the poet who had been blessed by MahAkALi, who is none other than PRatibhA (Creative Genius) itself had not only given a tit for tat answer to the King's rude welcome, but had even visualized the event between the King and the Queen using his ability of PRakhya (= the poet's ability to see into the past and future without actually being there) and using his ability of AkhyA had weaved the wisdom and the event into an elegant stanza created in an attractive meter and adorned with beautiful words. And through the stanza, the MahAkavi also gave Bhoja an explanation for the wise Queen’s reaction to his breaking into her private meeting without an invitation earlier in the morning. He was indeed acting foolishly,
In amazement and in recognition of genius, King Bhoja asked his Treasurer to reward the poet with one lakh gold coins per word in the poem. In those olden golden days, the Rulers knew how to reward genius -- the combination of PRakhyA and AkhyA = The magical ability of Vision and the ability to present the vision in a poetic form.