King Vikramasimha was able to join forces with another king and together the two kings were able to defeat the five relatives who had first driven away King Vikramasimha.
The king came back to rule his kingdom and he was thrilled.
Then he turned to the courtesan. “It is all because of your help that I was able to get my kingdom. Today you can ask me anything that you want and I will give it to you.”
Kumudika nodded at the king. “Your majesty, I love a man by the name of Sridhara. Sridhara is in the prison of Ujjayini. The king of Ujjayini has thrown Sridhara in prison for a very small fault which could have been overlooked. But the king threw Sridhara in prison and refused to let him go.” Kumudika looked unhappy. “In fact that was the reason that I helped you. As soon as I saw you I realized that you were a king. So that made you the only man who could handle the king of Ujjayini.” Kumudiki shook her head in despair. “When I saw that you were about to die, I realized that you could not help me with Sridhara’s release. That was the reason that I decided to kill myself.”
King Vikramasimha was shocked when he heard this. He turned to his wise minister and realized that his minister was right. The minister had warned the king that he should not trust anyone who was good to him without expecting anything in return.
Though King Vikramasimha helped the courtesan by getting Sridhara out of prison, the king had learnt an invaluable lesson about people that day.
Adapted from Katha Sarith Sagara
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