Kunal was king of Kaushambi. He was brave and noble.
Bhadrasen was the senior minister of King Kunal. Kunal had full and ultimate faith in Bhadrasen. Bhadrasen would utter truth howsoever unpalatable it may be.
The king would always take Bhadrasen wherever he went. Bhadrasen was like a shadow of the king.
Once a visitor from foreign country came to the court of Kunal. The visitor offered a dagger fitted with a diamond to the King Kunal by way of present. The king liked the dagger very much.
Once the king was examining the dagger. He also tested the sharpness of the blade. While doing so the king through his own mistake got a portion of his left hand index finger amputated. The stub of the finger started bleeding.
Bhadrasen happened to arrive there at this juncture. Bhadrasen examined the wound and said, ?Sir don'tworry. Whatever happens, happens for the good. It is a grace of God that you got your finger amputated.?
King Kunal heard the words uttered by Bhadrasen. The king flew into rage. Raising his voice, the king said, ?What nonsense are you talking! In fact, you should express sorrow over my condition.?
However, Bhadrasen did not eat his words. On the contrary, Bhadrasen repeated his earlier argument. He said, ?Whatever has happened has happened for the good.?
The king was infuriated further. The words uttered by Bhadrasen added salt to his injury.
So the king threw Bhadrasen into prison by way of punishment.
After a few days King Kunal went for hunting into a forest along with his courtiers. Since Bhadrasen was put into a jail he did not accompany the king.
King Kunal went on chasing a wild deer. Soon he was separated from his courtiers. The deer then eloped away and it disappeared into the thick forest.
The king lost his way. In spite of his efforts he could not find the road back to the capital.
It was now evening. The king soon heard the drum beats followed by arrays of flames. He soon heard the wild screaming of tribals.
The tribals were like demons. They held the king and put him into a dungeon.
The next day the tribals performed their annual sacrifice to propitiate their deity. It was customary on the part of the tribals to offer a human victim in such sacrifice. The king came handy for such purpose.
So the tribals put a garland of red flowers around the neck of the king. They then paraded the king to the temple. They danced and screamed loudly. They were happy that a good looking young king became available by way of sacrificial victim. They were sure that the deity will be highly pleased with this excellent offering.
It was customary on the part of the tribals to examine carefully beforehand and ensure that the victim be has all his limbs intact as otherwise they would invite the wrath of the deity.
Upon close scrutiny the tribals came to know that the person tied to the pole by way of victim-be had his left hand index finger partially decimated. The tribals therefore discarded the King Kunal as a victim-be. They drove away the king.
With great efforts King Kunal returned to his palace. Everybody heaved a sigh of relief upon king'sarrival.
The king then realised that every incident good or bad has a divine dispensation before it and that whatever God does, he does it for the good of the man. What his sincere minister Bhadrasen said was perfectly right. Because the king had lost a part of his finger he was saved from death.
So King Kunal immediately released Bhadrasen from the prison. The king expressed regrets over his intransigence.
The king then asked Bhadrasen, ?You said whatever happens, happens for the good. In my case this has been proved beyond the shadow of doubt. But how does the principle hold good in your case? You went to a prison. Prison is a punishment. What good did the punishment do unto you??
Bhadrasen smiled and said, ?It was my good luck that I was put behind the bars. Had I been free, I would have definitely accompanied you in the hunting. I too would have been caught with you by the tribals. Since I have all my limbs intact I would have been chosen as a sacrificial victim in place of you.?
The king then realised the wisdom hidden in the utterance of Bhadrasen. He once again thanked Bhadrasen and started considering him his most trusted friend.
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