Gonu Jha was a courtier in the court of King Hari Singh. He was very intelligent and used to help the king to manage and rule the kingdom. He also entertained him with his witty remarks and ideas.
The king was very fond of him. Other eminent personalities of the court also liked him very much. Still, there were a few courtiers who felt envious of him and always tried to find ways to humiliate him in public. One of them was the royal barber. He was very cunning. He got so insane by the praise and respect Gonu Jha received, that he decided to get him killed.
The barber was well aware that the king used to go his father’s tomb to offer flowers every day. The tomb of the king’s father was at the outskirt of the palace. He had a huge respect for him. The barber thought to take benefit of the king’s emotion.
One day when the King went to offer flowers at the tomb of his father, he saw a piece of paper. Something was written on it in golden ink. He picked it up and read.
Son, I am very pleased that you come here every day to offer me flowers. I am very well in heaven, but I have some problems in performing Pooja. There is nobody to help me. It would be great if you send Gonu Jha for some time. There is a heap of bricks in the east of the capital. You make him sit on that and lit after putting ten quintal hay straw on him. He will came directly to me. I will send him back after some time.
Blessings.
Your father
The king got confounded after reading the letter. He had never witnessed such an event in his life. He started contemplating over this matter.
He could not decide whether it was a move from the enemy of Gonu Jha or really his father had written him the letter. The handwriting in the letter matched with his father’s. He kept vacillating between the two probabilities, but was unable to reach on a conclusion. He decided to put the matter in the court for discussion.
That day in the court, everybody was very pleased to know that the king’s father was well in the heaven and had written a letter to him. One of them said – Gonu Jha is fortunate that the king’s father thinks of him even in the heaven. Some other said – Gonu Jha will be the only privileged person on the earth who will go to the heaven and come back after some time. Many people got jealous and shouted in excitement - We are not lucky enough, otherwise we are ready to go in place of Gonu Jha.
Hearing this, the royal barber got worried. He thought if somebody else would be sent, all his planning would go in vain. He said, “Maharaj, if your father has asked for Gonu Jha, only he should be sent. It seems that ordinary people will not be able to do the prescribed job, otherwise he could have called for anybody else.”
The King Hari Singh was still in confusion. He called it a day and decided to have a tête-à-tête with Gonu in the evening.
Next day in the court, while discussion was going on full swing among the courtiers about the letter, Gonu Jha said, “Maharaj, I am ready to go to the heaven. But I have three conditions --
1. I need three months’ time for preparation
2. Until I do not come back from the heaven, my whole salary should be given to my family
3. At this point of time I need fifty lakh rupees, so that I can arrange something at my home.”
The king was surprised. He asked, “Have you really decided to go? Do you think that my father has really sent this letter?”
“Yes Maharaj, I will really go to the heaven. Please do not worry about me.”
Maharaj Hari Singh was gloomy, but agreed with conditions of Gonu Jha. Most of the courtiers were surprised, horrified and curious. The royal barber was very happy. He was smiling on his victory.
After three months, everyone assembled in the north of the capital to witness this unprecedented incident. The king was also there. People were feeling dejected. Some were even weeping. But there was no sign of worry on the face of Gonu Jha. He sat on the heap of bricks. Soon, he got covered by hay straw. The hay straw was lit.
Six months had been passed since this incident. The king was sad and often in the court, he used to talk about Gonu Jha who had not returned yet. One day when everybody in the court was discussing about Gonu Jha, an announcement was made – “Gonu Jha is coming here!” People got amazed and were undecided if they should take this announcement seriously or it was a joke. In an instant, they saw that Gonu Jha was coming. He was looking even healthier. Some got horrified as if they had seen a ghost, but most of them were happy to see him again.
Gonu Jha offered Pranam to the King and handed over a letter.
The king asked – Gonu Jha, are you really alive?
Gonu Jha smiled and said – Yes, Maharaj. I am alive.
The royal barber was sweating with fear.
Gonu Jha said again, “Maharaj, I am coming from the heaven. Your father is well and happy. But his hair has been grown long for want of a barber. He wants the royal barber to be sent there for some time. That’s what he has written in the letter I have given to you.”
Hearing this, the barber started running towards the exit. But royal guards caught him. He was trembling and sweating heavily. The courtiers were dumbfounded to see his condition. They were expecting that the barber would be very happy to see his name in the letter.
The king said, “That time you were trying to make sure that Gonu Jha must go to the heaven. Now it is your turn and you are so terrified. Why?”
The barber understood it was better to speak the truth now. He said weeping and trembling, “Maharaj, I beg your pardon! It is me who had written the letter. It is me who had written that Gonu Jha should go to the heaven. Your father had not written any letter from the heaven.” He said further, “Gonu Jha knows black magic. That’s why he got saved from the fire. But I will die. Maharaj, please save my life. Please pardon me.”
The King got furious. He said, “Gonu Jha, tell me the truth. What happened with you?”
“Maharaj, I understood that somebody was playing a trick with me when I saw that letter. So, I thought of a plan to catch the culprit. I took three months’ time to make a tunnel to my home. When I was covered with hay straw, I came back to my home through the tunnel. People thought that Gonu Jha died. My enemies started celebrating with joy. Meanwhile, with the help of my confidants, I came to know that this barber had masterminded the plan. Today he has accepted his crime in presence of everybody.”
The king along with all the courtiers was astonished on his unmatched brilliancy. The royal barber got severe punishment. Gonu Jha got awarded for his intelligence.
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The writer says: Anecdotes of Gonu Jha are famous in the region of Mithila. He held the same place in the court of King Hari Singh (in the 13th Century) as Birbal did in the court of King Akbar, and Tenaliram did in the court of King Krishndev. There are several humorous folktales about him, depicting him as a witty and wise man. But he is a lesser known personality in other parts of our country. My efforts are to make people of other regions also enjoy stories about him.
Stories of Gonu Jha are liked specially by Children.
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