Thiruvazhuthan and the king

There was a king In Cochin long long ago. He had a foolish servant and his name was Thiruvazhuthan. The king used to call him Thiru.

One day the king wanted some buttermilk and he called Thiruvazhuthan and asked him to get some buttermilk from the market. Thiru told the king” You know sir, I am a fool .se tell me how buttermilk will look like”

The king was stumped but replied” The buttermilk will be white and once you leave it will run.” What the king meant was that once buttermilk is poured in the floor it will run.

Thiru started searching for the buttermilk and at last saw a crane flying near the pond. With lot of difficulty he managed to catch the crane and put it in a pot. He closed the pot and took it to the king. The king who did not have much belief in Thiru wanted to see the buttermilk. But Thiru was insisting that it would run. The king was not at all following the words of Thiru. He made him open the pot and the crane flew away. Then Thiru told the king “Did I not tell, it will run. You also please see that it is white.” The king was very angry and did not speak to Thiru.

Some more days passed and the king wanted an ash gourd. He called and ordered Thiru to bring an ash gourd. As usual Thiru asked, “How will I be able to identify an ash gourd?”. The king patiently replied , “It is very easy, it will have white powder all over it and it will be on the roof.”. he king was correct because in olden days the ash gourd used to be allowed to grow on the roof of the houses of people. Thiru started his search vigorously. He located an old man repairing his roof. Before climbing on the roof the old man had painted his house white. The paint was all over his body. Thirus men caught hold of the old man and put him in a bag. They carried the old man on his head to the house of the king.

Thiru went and told the king that he has brought a big ash gourd but it was shouting. The king was terribly surprised and came running. Then he saw the old man who was shouting and crying. The king let off the old man and beat Thiru for a long time.

Some more time passed. This time the king wanted a priest to be brought to his house. He called Thiru and asked him o bring a priest. Thiru asked him” How would he look like?” The king replied that he would be big and there will be several disciples surrounding him and chanting. Thiru told the king that he understood him completely. He went in search of the priest. He located a dead buffalo . Around the buffalo there were lot of crows making lot of sound. He made the servants carry the dead buffalo to the king’s house. He went and told the king that the priest has arrived. The king wanted the priest to be comfortable. He wanted him to apply oil all over his body and then take bath. He sent with Thiru lot of oil. After some time Thiru came running and told the king,” I have applied the oil but some more oil is required to apply to his horns”. The king was surprised and came running to see the priest with horns and what he saw was a dead buffalo. The king dismissed Thiru from his service.