Once upon a time, there was a king named Nandaram in the Nayasar kingdom. He was sincere and courageous, and he genuinely loved his subjects. Everyone in his kingdom lived happily under his rule. However, one thing always troubled the king—who would take care of his kingdom after he was gone, as he had no children.
One day, the king decided to choose a young man from his kingdom as his successor. He wanted to hand over power to an honest boy like himself, someone who would care for the people.
After much thought, the king called all the promising children of the kingdom to the court and announced, “I want to make one of you my successor. For this, you will all take a test, and the one who passes it will become my heir.” The king then handed a seed to each of the children present and said, “Go home and plant this seed in a pot. After four months, everyone will gather here again with their plants, and I will choose my successor based on this.”
All the children thought the king was giving them an easy test and returned home happily. Time passed, and the seeds began to grow in the pots of most of the children, except for one boy named Tanvik, whose pot showed no sign of a plant.
As he watched the other children’s plants grow, Tanvik became very upset. He wondered why nothing was sprouting from his pot. He thought it might be that his plant needed more time, so he diligently took care of the pot, watering it and nurturing it with great effort.
Four months went by, but still, no plant grew in Tanvik’s pot. As the day arrived for the children to return to the king, Tanvik felt anxious. He feared everyone would mock him for having an empty pot and wouldn’t believe that he had cared for it every day.
Tanvik’s mother encouraged him, saying, “No matter the outcome, you should go to the palace and return the seed. We will face whatever happens together.”
After her encouragement, Tanvik agreed and went to the palace with his empty pot.
Upon arriving, he saw beautiful plants thriving in the pots of the other children, and everyone was filled with joy. As they noticed Tanvik’s empty pot, they began to laugh and boast about their hard work, while he sat quietly with his head lowered in shame.
Just then, the king entered and carefully examined each of the pots. When he reached Tanvik’s empty pot, he asked, “Whose pot is this?”
Tanvik replied, “It is mine, Maharaj.”
The king asked, “Why is your pot empty?”
Tanvik explained, “I watered it daily and took great care of it, but no plant grew.”
The king said, “Come with me!” Although scared, Tanvik obeyed and slowly approached the king. The king brought him to the throne and declared, “You are the rightful heir to this kingdom.” Everyone present was stunned by this decision.
The king continued, “The seed I gave you was fake; no plant could grow from it. While everyone else replaced their seeds with real ones, Tanvik worked honestly for four months, accepted his failure, and bravely brought an empty pot before me. Tanvik possesses all the qualities a king should have. Thus, I name him the next heir of this kingdom.”
The young men in the court bowed their heads in shame and quietly left.
In this way, Tanvik inherited the kingdom due to his honesty.
Moral: We should never give up on honesty, no matter the situation. A person will ultimately be rewarded for their truthfulness and integrity.