The faded afternoon light was casting its glow upon that fragrant flower garden of the royal palace, where the Maharaja stood in a grave posture. Gazing into the fearless eyes of Rupanjan, he contemplated for a short while. Then, stroking his royal beard slightly, he said, "Alright Rupanjan, I am indeed extremely pleased to witness this extraordinary courage and outspokenness of yours. I will grant you work in this kingdom of mine. However, to secure a job in my kingdom, you must first undergo three extremely difficult and complex tests. Only if you can successfully pass and emerge victorious from these three tests will I appoint you to a highly honorable post under my command. Nevertheless, as to what that work is, I will inform you in detail only after the conclusion of the tests."
Hearing this proposal of the Maharaja, Rupanjan did not hesitate for even a single moment. Bowing his head politely, he said, "Very well, Maharaja, I am agreeable to whatever you say. However, please explain to me the rules and regulations, the subject matter, and from when this test will commence."
Flashing a sliver of a mysterious smile, the Maharaja said, "This test will commence from tomorrow early morning itself. One test will be conducted every day, which means your evaluation will span a total of three days. And I will declare the final result only toward the absolute end of these three days. Every day early morning your test will begin, and toward the evening, I will personally judge whether you have passed or failed that particular test. For now, you proceed to your assigned chamber. Tomorrow at dawn, all the rules of the first test will be explained to you."
Hearing about such strange regulations from the Maharaja's mouth, Rupanjan grew slightly annoyed. His two eyes knit together a bit. Standing before the Maharaja, he said in a direct tone, "Maharaja, this is a form of cheating! Because if I do not know beforehand on what subject matter my test is going to be conducted, how will I prepare myself accordingly? For instance—whether this is a test of drawing, a test of singing, a test of poetry, or a test of some deadly combat—that much at least you ought to tell me! Knowing what the test is about would allow me to prepare myself and arrive accordingly. Is sitting for a test without knowing even logical at all?"
Instead of growing angry at these direct words of Rupanjan, the Maharaja, on the contrary, found it quite amusing. Bursting into laughter, he said, "He yuvak, not being able to know beforehand is precisely your real test! Go now, without showing any more smartness, proceed toward your room. And listen, you do not have to return to that filthy room of that shrewd villager anymore; from this day onward, I grant you permission to reside in this massive royal palace itself."
Thereafter, the Maharaja immediately summoned the chief guards of the royal palace and instructed, "Go, guards, escort that Dhananjan sitting outside in the dust honorably back to his house. And however much this Rupanjan Babu stayed at his house, whatever he consumed or utilized, disburse all that compensation and the high rent money to Dhananjan from the royal treasury this very instant. Along with that, for the injury he sustained on his back, summon the royal physician to purchase medicines and arrange to send him home after a thorough medical examination."
Hearing this command of the Maharaja, the guards departed taking Dhananjan along. On the other side, standing outside the royal palace, Dhananjan became absolutely ecstatic with joy! He thought to himself, "Bravo! I received so much money just for sustaining a single blow! I had never imagined even in my dreams that a single kick from Rupanjan would open up my fortune in this manner!" Dancing with joy while holding the money, he set out toward his house. Meanwhile, the guards escorted Rupanjan to a well-decorated, luxurious chamber of the royal palace. Arriving there, while lying on the bed, Rupanjan began to contemplate about the following day, "What test will the King take? What test will he take?" Mulling over a thousand such thoughts, he finally fell into a deep sleep after consuming the royal dinner.
Meanwhile, sitting upon his throne in the main hall of the royal palace, the Maharaja fell into a massive dilemma. Placing his hand on his forehead, he thought, "Out of my mouth, I have declared that I will conduct massive tests spanning three days! But as to what test can be taken of this oddly courageous boy, nothing at all is coming to my own mind! He appears to be an extremely clever and powerful lad."
Right at this juncture, the Maharaja suddenly remembered the two extremely intelligent and renowned rulers of the Junagarh kingdom—Aditya and Aarohi. The Maharaja knew very well how Aditya and Aarohi conducted the administration of the Junagarh kingdom, and how they had made their country glorious and prosperous through the force of their sharp intellect. Although the Maharaja was aware that Aditya and Aarohi had currently gone to a foreign land via a sea voyage for a specific commercial requirement, still, without brooking any delay, he dispatched an extremely urgent letter to them through a swift messenger.
In the letter, the Maharaja wrote:
"Most respected arbiters of Junagarh's destiny, Aditya and Aarohi, an extremely strange and radiant stranger boy has arrived in this kingdom of mine from Junagarh. I wish to appoint him to a suitable post in my kingdom, but prior to that, I have announced the conduct of three difficult tests to verify his capability. However, the predicament is that I am unable to comprehend precisely what tests ought to be taken so that his true inner character and capability may be revealed. If you would kindly determine the rules and subject matter of the three tests for me, I would secure a supremely capable person for my kingdom."
That messenger reached the seashore by riding a swift-footed horse and delivered that urgent letter of the Maharaja into the hands of Aditya and Aarohi, who were aboard the ship.
The moment she opened and read the letter, Aarohi looked at Aditya in extreme surprise. Aarohi said, "Look Aditya! A boy from our country, that is Junagarh, is searching for work in that foreign land, and the King of that country has sent a letter seeking advice from us to conduct his test! What do you think, Aditya? What test can be determined for him?"
Smiling gravely, Aditya then said to Aarohi, "Aarohi, I believe all kinds of character, mental, and humanitarian tests ought to be taken of that boy. How free of greed, how patient, and how compassionate he is—all of that must become as clear as water through this single test."
Thereafter, Aarohi and Aditya—both of them combined, after much contemplation, wrote down the rules and regulations along with all the descriptions of the three tests in an extremely flawless and intelligent manner upon a paper, and sent it back in a reply letter addressed to that foreign King.
The following day early morning. An hour before the Maharaja arose from his bed to make preparations for Rupanjan's test, that letter laden with a shrewd plot sent from Junagarh arrived at the royal court of the Maharaja. With extreme curiosity, the Maharaja took that letter into his grasp and hastily opened the envelope to begin reading.
At the very beginning of the letter, the guidelines of the first test were written:
"O Maharaja, the first test of the stranger boy who has arrived at your disposal shall center around a supremely beautiful woman. You select such a beautiful maiden, by the splendor of whose beauty the mind of any man would melt away. That extremely beautiful woman must be kept inside a closed room before the eyes of Rupanjan. Not only that, Rupanjan and that beautiful woman must be kept confined inside a single room for the entire day and night. Our first test is—will Rupanjan, falling subservient to lust, take a step toward that beautiful woman even by mistake? Will he make any hideous attempt to touch her, or will he keep his character intact and not even gaze with lustful eyes toward that beautiful maiden? This is the first test of his character."
The letter further stated in elaborate detail:
"However, this is not the conclusion, Maharaja. In the corner of that very same room, there shall reside two extremely elderly women. Among them, the first elderly woman is such a helpless human being who hasn't put even a single grain of food into her mouth for the past two days, and is writhing in the pangs of hunger. And the second elderly woman is an extremely harsh and quarrelsome lady who, the moment she sets eyes upon Rupanjan, will continuously hurl hideous abuses at him, and will even utter extremely filthy words regarding Rupanjan's character and his lineage."
The Maharaja continued to read the letter with even deeper attention:
"The real objective of this test is—if Rupanjan, upon hearing hideous abuses regarding his character from the mouth of that second elderly woman, considers himself a coward or, in a fit of rage, delivers a slap upon that elderly woman or utters any bad words—then he will completely fail or lose in this very first test. And if he gazes with eyes of lust toward that beautiful maiden or ventures to commit any act, then too he will fail. Furthermore, you shall dispatch royal lunch into that room meant for only one person, which in reality shall be sent solely for Rupanjan. Now, the point to be observed is—will Rupanjan, thinking of the hunger of his own stomach, consume that food all by himself, or will he offer his food into the mouth of that first elderly mother who has been fasting for two days? Through this single test, that boy's patience, heroism, character, and compassion—all will be proven simultaneously."
At the absolute bottom section of the letter, Aarohi and Aditya had penned a special warning note:
"Maharaja, alongside this first test, we have also penned the regulations of two more extremely thrilling and mysterious tests in the lower section of this letter. However, we have one massive request—you shall not venture to read the regulations of those remaining two tests right now under any circumstances! Because those two tests are so intensely exciting, thrilling, and shrouded in mystery that if you read them right now, you will desire to conduct those two tests this very instant without even taking this first test! But we do not wish for this sequence to be disrupted. Therefore, to uphold our honor, you complete this first test itself today. Thereafter, you may read the remaining two tests at leisure within the deep hours of tonight. But for now, make preparations for this test first!"
Concluding the reading of the letter, the Maharaja leapt up from his chair. He said in his mind, "Bravo! Aditya and Aarohi are absolute geniuses! What a ferocious and flawless test they have devised! Within this single room, the boy's lust, anger, and greed—all three will be tested together!"
The Maharaja did not waste another single moment. Summoning the chief vizier of the royal palace, he immediately instructed him to make all arrangements according to the words of Junagarh's letter. A dark yet secure secret chamber of the palace was selected. An extremely beautiful, radiant maiden was brought and seated there, within whose eyes lay a magical gaze. In another corner of the room was seated that thin, gaunt elderly mother who had been starving for two days, and right beside her was seated an extremely loud-mouthed, quarrelsome old woman—who spews venom the moment she opens her mouth.
The Maharaja smiled in his mind and commanded the guards to escort Rupanjan toward that room. Standing before the shrewd move of Junagarh, Rupanjan's life was now about to face a terrifying ordeal, the outcome of which remained completely uncertain.