Thugsen-Folktales From Mangalore

Long long ago ,in the kingdom of Avanti ,there lived a king whose name was Vikram.He had seven wives,while King Vikram loved them all,he loved the youngest ,Queen Shashikala ,the most.This made the other queens jealous .

When one day they heard that Queen Shashikala is going to have a baby , they felt more depressed that the kings  attention will turn totally to Queen Shashikala and not them .They plotted against the Queen.The six jealous queens went to the king with stories that Queen Shashikala was spreading slander against the King.The king didnt believe of this and approached Queen Shashikala personally regarding this. As Queen Shashikala saw her gentle husband looking so angry ,she became speechless when asked regarding it .The king mistook the silence as per agreement and ordered his prime minister to imprison Shashikala in his jungle fortress.As the prime minister led Shashikala away ,her maid Devaki tried to stop him.But the prime minister had his own plan of being the next ruler of Avanti if the king had no heir.

Months later in the jungle , with Devaki beside ,Queen Shashikala bore a son.They took care of the baby in the remote jungle fortress.Time passed,Devaki taught Thugsen the arts of mimicry and disguise.As Thugsen grew older,Shashikala taught him how to sing and play various musical instruments. Thugsen grew up without knowing the past. But one day , when he was 16 years of age, he overheard his mother s grieveness over the kings banishment of her to Devaki.Thats when Thugsen knew that his mother was the Queen and he ,a prince! He promised his mother that both the Prime Minsiter and the King will pay for the ill treatment .But the queen insisted that Thugsen should not do any wrong and learn to forgive and forget. Yet,Thugsen insisted that he will go to Avanti and make amends.As he got ready to set out ,the queen gave him a jewel hoping that it could help him in time of need.

Thugsen trudged along mile after mile of dusty road .Towards midday he reached a lake on the outskirts of a big city.He planned to take a rest .Suddenly from no where came five robbers.Thugsen taught of a way to protect his mothers jewel.He invited the robbers to share his food .The robbers agreed.Who would detest food?As they were about to begin eating,suddenly Thugsen woke up and said that he never take a meal without taking his bath first.Would they mind if he took a quick dip in the lake?The robbers had no objection.

Fifteen minutes passed but there were no sign of Thugsen.The robbers became impatient.They went to the lake in search of Thugsen. A dripping Thugsen came out of the lake with his fist clenched.He opened his fist to them and showed a jewel.The robbers were taken aback.Thugsen then told that he found the jewel at the bottom of the lake.He remarked that there were hundreds of them waiting to be picked and the robbers would be wasting their time robbing travelers. Then ,one by one the robbers jumped into the lake .Thugsen heaved a sign of relief .He smiled on how he had fooled the robbers and saved his mothers jewel.He quickly packed up his belongings and mounted the best of the five horses and rode away .

When he reached Avanti,Thugsen got off the horse and let it go .He wondered through the streets and bazaars and passed the palace. Towards evening he met a street-singer.Thugsen sang for the old man and they became friends.Thugsen then followed the singer to his hut.That night, when the street singer had fallen asleep,Thugsen stole out ,reached the palace entrance and began to sing a soft,melodious tune.So soothing was the song that one by one the guards fall asleep. Thugsen entered the palace grounds and walked into the palace.He then entered the queens chamber.He looked at them and thought back of his mother and how these queens have plotted against his mother .He removed the necklaces of the queens who were asleep, and then went up to the main door of the palace.There he drove a nail into the doorpost .Later he returned to the singers hut.

The next morning ,when the king ,who had been away on a hunt,returned and saw the nail on the door.He was angry.Just then he heard his queens wailing ,he hurried to their chambers and knew about the missing necklaces.By evening,the bold thief who entered the palace and stole the queens necklaces was the talk of the town.The king offered a reward of ten thousand rupees to the man who catches the thief.

One passer by,by the name of Balabhima bragged that he will catch the thief and throw him at the kings feet before sundown the next day .That night a fortune-teller went to see Balabhima. It was Thugsen in disguise. He looked at Balabhimas palm and said that it was a lucky time for him.He asked Balabhima to go to the cemetery that night if he wants to catch the thief. He could get the ten thousand reward money if he catches the thief. The fortune-teller then further gave him a tip.The thief will be wrapped in a black rug and carry a stick.He advised and told Balabhima what to do .Balabhima was pleased and gave the fortune-teller some money.The fortune-teller than went to the house of Hanuman, a wrestler of Avanti.There he told Hanuman that it was his lucky day .If he goes to the cemetery that night,he will find a pot of gold.He told Hanuman to wrap himself with a black rug and take a stout stick with him .

A little before midnight,Hanuman set out for the cemetery and so did Balabhima.As Balabhima saw a man wrapped in a black rug approaching near to the tree where he was hiding ,he fell upon the startled Hanuman.Hanuman dodged and hit Balabhima.So sound was the thrashing he was given that Balabhima ran away in agony.After hearing the incident,the king was more adamant that the thief be caught.Until one day,the Prime Minister himself offered his services.When Thugsen heard of this,he was delighted.

Meanwhile Thugsen disguised himself as a merchant and went to the royal jeweler.He told the royal jeweler that he urgently needed some ornaments worthy for a princess and was willing to pay the price asked.The greedy royal jeweler doubled his fee and the merchant agreed.The royal jeweler showed the merchant(Thugsen) his finest ornaments.Since the merchant couldnt decide which he wants,he asked whether could he bring back the ornaments to his lodgings and then decide. He is willing to leave his steel box with money with the royal jeweler.The royal jeweler felt that the merchant was a honest man and agreed.But the merchant did not turn up and after two days ,when the royal jeweler opened the steel box ,it was full of stones.The royal jeweler rushed to the king and narrated what had happen and how he was robbed.A few more jewelers came wailing to the king with similar stories.

The king was furious.What was his prime minister was doing? He should have caught the thief by now.He sent for his prime minister and cautioned him to catch the thief fast.Then the prime minister ordered the guards that the city gate should be closed for all .That none should leave the city .That night the prime minister planned that he would go to the outskirt of the city to catch the thief.Thugsen heard about it and decided that he should be more careful now with his ideas.As the prime minister will also be more alert.That evening the city gates were closed before the usual hour.

That night a washer man came to the river gate. He pleaded to the guards to open the gate and let him go to the river bank .If he did not wash the clothes and return it to its owners by tonight,his family will starve.They took pity and let the washerman out.It was Thugsen in a disguise.When Thugsen reached the river bank,he took out a big hollow gourd from his bundle and climbed up a tree that overlooked the river.Thugsen threw the gourd into the river and it went floating.Just then the prime minister was passing by the river bank.The prime minister saw a round form floating on the river.Tying his horse to the tree he threw off his clothes and dived into the river.As he realized that it was only a gourd and not the thief,the prime minister was blind with rage.He returned as fast as he could to the river bank to find his clothes and horse missing .Shivering with cold ,the Prime Minister walked back at the city gates.The guards couldnt recognized the Minister ,ignoring the ministers protests,the guards dragged him to the palace .The king came out at once to take a look at the thief.When the miserable Prime Minister related the woeful tale,the King decided its time the king himself set out to catch the thief.As the King has arranged a hunting expedition ,he promised that he will call for the Prime Minister when the time comes. The street was buzzing with the news.

After some time a messenger came to the Prime Minister with the news that the King wanted to see him urgently.The Prime Minister rode out immediately with the messenger .When they were deep in the forest the royal messenger advised the Minister to rode slowly while he will inform of the Prime Ministers arrival.The Prime Minister was too glad as he was finding it hard to keep up with the messenger.The messenger sped off.The messenger then reached the Kings hunt out tent and informed of the Prime Ministers arrival.As the Prime Minsiter has just caught the thief he was very tired and is resting out in the woods. The King then decided to follow the messenger to go to met the Prime Minister.

Mean while the Prime Minister got lost in the forest.The paths became narrower and the jungle so thick that he had to get off his horse and walk.A few hours past,the king too was in a similar plight,the messenger led him to the thickest part of the jungle.The messenger advised the king to dismount and walk as it was difficult to ride the horse among the thick bushes.As it grew darker,the messenger quietly slipped away to where his horse was tied and rode back to the city. It was morning when the tired and hungry king and his Prime Minister met in the forest.Then they realized that they were tricked by the thief.When the king returned to the palace he heard that the jewels had been returned to the jewelers .Then the king announced that he wanted to met the clever thief who had fooled all and tricked even the king .For the thief shall be pardoned and rewarded .

The next morning , the kings hall was packed as everyone was eager to see the merry rouge.As the king called aloud,for the thief to show himself,an expected silent filled the hall.From among the crowd out came Thugsen .As Thugsen introduced himself, he related whose son he was and how his mother was unjustly banished 17 years ago.He showed his mothers jewel to the king. The king at once recognized Sashikalas jewel which he had given as a gift.Thugsen told that his mother was a victim of the six queens .The king stepped down from the throne and embraced Thugsen.He promised whoever was at fault will be punished.

A special chariot was sent to bring Queen Shasikala to the palace with honour.As a special feast was held to celebrate the reunion ,the king proclaimed that his son ,Prince Thugsen shall be on the throne replacing him from then on.