Tenali Raman and the Goddess's Boon

A poor young Brahmin named Ramalinga, before he became known across the land as Tenali Raman, undertook a difficult pilgrimage and meditation in hopes of pleasing the goddess Kali, praying desperately for wealth to escape his family's poverty.

The goddess appeared before him and offered a choice: he could receive great wealth, or great wisdom, but never both at once in this lifetime. Ramalinga, thinking carefully, requested wisdom instead of riches, reasoning that a wise mind could always find its own way to prosperity, while wealth alone could easily be lost by a foolish one.

Pleased by this answer, the goddess granted him not only sharp wisdom but a gift for words so clever they could turn any situation to his advantage, and blessed him with the promise that a great king would one day recognize his talent. True to her word, Ramalinga soon after made his way to King Krishnadevaraya's court in Vijayanagara, where his quick wit so delighted the king that he was given the honored name Tenali Raman and a permanent place among the court's most trusted advisors — wisdom, exactly as he'd hoped, having opened every door that wealth alone never could.