Nothing Lasts Forever

Here is yet another story told by a good friend of mine. It makes me feel good that I have people around me who care enough to tell me stories to make me understand life better.
My mood swings are digital. There are just two states- Very Happy or Very Sad. I am never just happy or just sad. In order to make me understand that no situation or nothing lasts forever, my friend would tell me this.
There are various versions of this story as well. Some say the king in the story was Akbar and the minister was Birbal. Others say the king was Krishnadevaraya and the minister was Tenali Ramakrishna. I would just call them "The King" and "The Minister" in my story.

Nothing Lasts Forever

A long time ago, there lived a brave king who had a great desire to expand his kingdom. He trained his men and increased his cavalry. He improved his army and when the time was right, went out on an expedition. He waged war after war and was victorious. Months passed thus and he returned home triumphantly with his army after conquering all the neighboring states. His kingdom had increased ten folds.

There were celebrations in the kingdom. All the subjects sang praises of the king. The people celebrated the victory with songs and dances. Everybody in the kingdom was happy. 

While rejoicing the victory, the king called his favorite minister and said thus - "Dear minister, Isn't this a beautiful day? As I always dreamed, I have conquered all the neighboring states. My Kingdom has expanded beyond imagination. All my subjects are happy. Even the subjects from the newly conquered kingdoms are happy to be under my rule."

"Indeed Sir! It is a very happy occasion" said the minister.

"But it worries me minister. All the victory and the glory might get into my head. It isn't untrue that I am truly rejoicing this victory and I am indeed proud of it but this pride and happiness should not get into my head. I would need your help in this." said the king.

The minister replied "Of course My Lord. You are a great king and I am sure you would handle every situation ably. But please let me know of what help I could be."

The king was thoughtful for a while and then said "I want something that would keep me stable and unperturbed, whatever the situation maybe."

The minister replied "Certainly My Lord. I will do the needful. Please give me a week's time."

The king happily agreed. The celebrations in the kingdom went on for days. A week after the King's conversation with the minister, the King met the minister in his private chambers.

The minister gave the king a box covered in silk. The King eagerly opened to see what was inside. He was curious to know what was inside that would cater to the demands made by him. He pulled the silk cloth and opened the box. Covered in silk, inside the box, there lay an armlet. He pulled the armlet outside and checked it. There were no gems, no precious stones. The armlet was not even made of Gold. It was a silver armlet. The king was surprised. He took the armlet closer to the burning light and there it was. Engraved in the armlet were the words "This too will pass." The surprise on the king's face turned to a smile and he warmly hugged the minister. "This is perfect!" he said.

The minister was rewarded for the armlet. He returned home happily.

The king always wore the armlet. He ruled the kingdom very happily for a few years. The invasion on the kingdom started slowly and before the king could call for a war, the situation was out of control. His kingdom was invaded from all directions and the enemy kings plotted to capture the king and kill him. The King escaped from his palace on his horse with a few close aides and hid in the forest. The enemy troupes attacked the King's men and nobody but the King was left. The King fled and ran deeper into the forest for shelter. He reached the end of a cliff and saw that there was no way he could escape from the enemy troupes. He decided to jump off the cliff as he felt it was a better way to end his life.

As he was about to jump off the cliff, his armlet sparkled in the sunlight and there he saw the words engraved "This too will pass". He stood there stunned for a moment and thought- "This moment will pass too. If I plan my escape this time, maybe I can think and plan about reconquering my kingdom." Thinking thus, he saw a small rock which concealed a little cave behind it. He slowly walked towards the rock and hid himself in the cave. 

The soldiers from the enemy troupes rushed towards the cliff and on not finding the king there decided that the king must have committed suicide by jumping off the cliff. They returned back to report the same to their army and their king.

The King slowly came out of the cave after the last of the soldiers was out of sight. He spent the next few days in the forest sheltering himself in the cave. With the limited resources available in the forest, he started making his own tools and weapons. After a few days, a few men from his kingdom who had come deep into the forest for collecting firewood spotted him and were overwhelmed with joy. They explained the dreadful situation in the kingdom and the ruthlessness of the new king. The King was very unhappy and told his men that they could form an army and fight the new king. The men readily agreed.

In the coming days, many more men joined the King and they formed their own army with a small number of very well trained expert archers and swordsmen.

The King's army plotted and attacked the new king, when the time was right, and defeated him easily.

The King was re-throned and all his subjects celebrated the victory with pomp and show. The sound of the drums reached the skies. All the people enjoyed the celebrations. The king who watched all this from his palace, looked at his armlet, read the words engraved in it and smiled to himself. 

"This too will pass" he thought.