Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Medieval Rajasthan, lived a king and queen. The couple lived a content life as they had everything that they had prayed for. Many living in the kingdom admired and worshipped the queen. The only misery in the queen’s life was that she could not bear a child of her own.
During the spring seasons, the queen would sit outside on the banister where she would do what she loved the most which was painting. A parrot however ended up on the canvas which caught the attention of the queen. As she looked at its colorful feathers, she prayed and said
“I want a son!” “A son that will brighten up my day just as the colorful parrot has done”. “A son with the warmest of hearts to cuddle when I’m depressed and a son so strong that he would protect me in every circumstance to come”.
Not too long, after the queen’s prayer as heard. She had given birth to a baby boy whom they named him Maharawal. Sadly, the queen could not take up the responsibilities of being a mother because she died soon after giving birth.
After receiving the bad news, the king decided to marry another woman due to the fact that the king thought that he couldn’t raise the son alone. She was crowned queen where they stayed together in joy and splendor. However, she was consumed in her pride and envy so much that she was blinded from the love of her own step-son.
The king had fallen into the possession of the sword of truth, which is passed down to generations to generations. The sword of truth was considered a valuable item as it showed the reflection of who is worthy and it came with great power. The king had handed the sword to the son, however not long before the queen had stolen it, which no had been aware of.
Before sunrise and sunset, the queen would ask the sword,
Who out of all is the worthy one?
Whenever this question was asked, the sword would take a turn before it stops at the queen. The queen would be highly pleased as she knew that the sword couldn’t lie.
The next morning, as the queen asked the sword, “who out all is the worthy one”, she was startled when the sword didn’t show her reflection but of that Maharawal’s reflection. The queen was infuriated and envious whereby she had requested that her officers were to abduct Maharawal and kill him.
The officers than took Maharawal into the woods but they had pity towards him therefore let him go to live alone in the woods. Lost and sacred, Maharawal prayed hoping to find a house that would be suitable for him.
Maharawal hunted with fear not long before he came across an enormous house. Covered with leaves. The house contained everything. Against the wall there were seven beds all in a row and covered with duvets. Maharawal died of starvation that he ate whatever he found and after grew weary that he fell fast asleep on one of the beds.
Nightfall approached when the owners of the house returned. They were the seven warriors who is engaged aggressively in a warfare, that was filled with valorousness. As they entered the house, they were struck with amazement to see that someone had been there.
They were filled with delight when they saw Maharawal but did not want to disturb him therefore continued to let him sleep. As dawn approached, Maharawal was anxious to see the warriors. The warriors could not resist but to ask questions, “what is your name?”
“My name is Maharawal”, he replied.
He told them that his stepmother had tried to kill him, but the officers had pity, therefore spared his life. They made an agreement, that was, “if only you will be able to keep the house in an orderly manner on a daily basis, then you can stay with us”. Without any hassle, Maharawal gladly agreed.
As weeks went by, the queen started to believe that her step-son Maharawal was dead, where she thought that she was the only worthy one out all. She stood in front of the sword and asked,
Who in this land out of all is the worthiest one?
It replied:
You, my queen is worthy
But Maharawal in the hidden woods
With the seven warriors,
Is still ten times more worthy than you.
The queen was infuriated due to the fact that the officers had deceived her knowing that the sword only told the truth. She thought of several ways to kill Maharawal as her jealousy would give her no rest.
Suddenly the queen came up with an idea of poisoning pineapples where she would give it to Maharawal. She had poisoned it from the outside, it looked appealing and mouthwatering in which one that saw it would have it but a bite would result in their last breath.
The queen disguised herself as a beggar and then traveled to the warrior’s house. Maharawal stood outside the doorstep and asked, “how may I help you?”. She replied, “I have come to drop some pineapples”. Maharawal wasn’t keen on accepting the pineapples but he could not resist but had taken the poisoned one and ate it. Not long after he fell on the ground. The queen was satisfied and walked away.
Upon arrival, she asked the sword:
Who is this land out of all is the worthiest one?
It replied:
You my queen, is the worthy out of all
She was now at ease and slept with a happy heart.
The warriors arrived home and saw Maharawal dead on the floor. Luck was not in their favor and therefore mourned over his dead body. A transparent glass coffin was made so that the handsome Maharawal could be seen. He was buried on a mountain in the woods.
Subsequently, a princess entered the woods and entered the warriors house where he sought shelter for the night. The next morning, she went to the mountains and saw the coffin. She then told the warriors, “I will do anything you want me to do, but in return let me have the coffin”.
The agreement was made, so the warriors took the coffin and carried it back home. However, one of the warriors plunged and the piece of pineapple had come out of Maharawal’s throat and had opened his eyes, lifted the coffin lid and was alive once again.
The princess woefully looked at Maharawal and said “you shall be mine forever”. He told the princess what had happened and then they both went back to the kingdom where Maharawal asked the princes to marry him.
Before marriage. Maharawal had ordered the officers to steal the sword from the queen as the sword rightfully belonged to Maharawal and no one else. With great difficulty, the officers managed to find it, without to the queen finding out.
The whole kingdom was invited to the wedding feast. It was one of a kind. The queen had than realized that the sword was missing. She was filled with animosity when one of the officers had informed her. Not knowing that her step-son had been alive once again-the vicious queen ported from the kingdom forever.
Maharawal and the princess were overjoyed and lived an ecstatic life ever after.