Here is an interesting sloka/story from our recent Samskritham class as narrated by Professor Bhattar:
Long long ago under the rule of the King Bhoja Raja, the language of Samskritham thrived with his love and support. Poet Kalidasa was well-liked and respected by the King and Kalidasa was very close to him.
One day, four local poets assembled in a temple Prahara to write a beautiful sloka to impress the King and reap some rich rewards. These poets thought they were great experts in Samskritham and were weighed down by falsely inflated egos.
They discussed and finalized an arrangement where each one will compose one line of a sloka. They would then combine the four lines into a nice sloka and present it to the King to reap some nice rewards.
So, they started composing. Hours passed and nothing transpired. Their minds were blank as a slate! They also became hungry and with that hunger in their minds, they composed a line finally:
Bhojanam Dehi Rajendra Ghruta soopa samanvitam A raw appeal to the King to provide them with food (Ghee + Dal)!!!
Then they got stuck and could not think of any other lines. Kalidasa happened to pass by this sorry bunch of poets in the temple and took pity on them. He immediately added the following line to their upcoming sloka and asked them to present this to the King:
Mahishamca Sharacchandra chandrika dhavalam dadhi They were delighted. They ran to the court and presented it to the King. The king listened to the sloka with delight. He showered them with gold coins. He then commented on why he liked the sloka so much.
He said the first two lines were really ordinary and nothing to praise. He said the last line was the real gem and that is why they got the gold coins.
The last line was the one from Kalidasa! Kalidasa chuckled and kept quiet. The four poets downed their heads in shame and thanked Kalidasa and praised his erudition.
Here is the full sloka:
Bhojanam Dehi Rajendra Ghruta soopa samanvitam Mahishamca Sharacchandra chandrika dhavalam dadhi Here is the meaning of the sloka:
O Great King, give us food consisting of Ghee and Dal.
And curd that is churned from Mahisham's (Buffalo's) milk which is
as white as moonlight during Sharat Ruthu.
One more jewel to Kalidasa's crown...
