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NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 1 The Wit that Won Hearts (prose) — Let us think and reflect (II)

Book page 8 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
1. Why was the Vijayanagara Empire considered to be in its ‘Golden Era’ during Krishnadeva Raya’s reign?
Answer

Because under him (1509–29 CE) wealth, power and culture rose together, and the text lists the evidence for each.

  • Learning was supported from the throne. He was “a great patron of learning”, and his court held the Ashtadiggajas — eight celebrated poets, among them Allasani Peddana and Tenali Ramakrishna — who “enriched the literary tradition with their masterpieces”.
  • The ruler was himself a maker, not only a sponsor. He was “an eminent warrior but also a gifted poet”, author of the epic Amuktamalyada and the Sanskrit drama Jambavati Parinayam, “acclaimed even today”.
  • Every art flourished at once. “Art, literature, and architecture flourished” — not one field but the whole culture.
Why the phrase fits: A ‘Golden Era’ means more than a strong kingdom. Many rulers were wealthy and victorious; what marks this reign is that the strength was spent on poets and buildings, and that the work then survived its own century.
Q2.
2. How did Tenali Ramakrishna gain a special place in the king’s court?
Answer

Being one of the eight Ashtadiggajas already made him distinguished — but that alone did not make him special. What set him apart was his quick wit and humour.

The text is precise about his double role: he held his place “as both a poet and a witty advisor”. Other poets gave the court its literature; Rama also gave it a way out of its difficulties. “His clever solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems made him a beloved figure in the empire’s history.”

Check it yourself: The story you have just read is the proof of the claim. Eight great poets sat in that court, and it was Rama the queen sent for.
Q3.
3. How did the quarrel between the king and the queen affect the palace?
Answer

It changed the atmosphere of the whole palace, not merely the mood of two people.

The king “did not utter a single word to her” for weeks and “stopped visiting her altogether”. The result is given in one sentence: “His absence cast a shadow over the palace, and the once cheerful corridors seemed quiet and forlorn.” The queen herself was “distraught and upset”.

The effect reached the court too. Even on an ordinary working morning, with ministers debating paddy cultivation, “a tension hung in the air”, the king’s “expression stern, his sharp eyes scanning the room”, because “the unresolved quarrel still gnawed at him”.

Why the writer bothers with the corridors: Describing empty passages rather than sad people is a way of showing scale. When the ruler is unhappy, the unhappiness becomes public property — and that is why Rama’s cure has to be public too.
Q4.
4. What strategy did Tenali Rama use to make the king realise his mistake?
Answer

He built a trap out of a joke, and never once mentioned the queen.

  1. He chose the setting. Not a private audience but a full court, on a day already given to farming — so that his subject would look like business, not interference.
  2. He made an absurd claim. “I bring you a revolutionary type of paddy seeds… the yield will be three times greater.” The courtiers mocked it and the king called it “absurd”. The laughter is deliberate: it puts everyone, including the king, in an easy mood.
  3. He shifted the blame from the seed to the sower. “The real issue lies not with the seeds themselves but with the person who sows them.”
  4. He planted the key idea as a joke. “And what if the person had a habit of yawning while sowing? Wouldn’t the seeds scatter unevenly?” The court roared — and “even the king, caught off guard, sighed and instinctively yawned.”
  5. He stated the principle, gently. “Your Majesty, is there anyone in this world who does not yawn? It is as natural as breathing.”
Why this works when a plea would not: Rama never tells the king he is wrong; he lets the king’s own body supply the proof. Because the king yawns while listening, the conclusion arrives as his own discovery — “His mind raced back to the quarrel with the queen” — and a discovery costs a proud man nothing to accept. No one in the court even knows what has just happened.
Q5.
5. What was the reaction of the courtiers when Tenali Rama introduced his ‘special’ paddy seeds?
Answer

Open disbelief, and then mockery. “A murmur swept through the room.” One courtier “known for his sarcasm” whispered loudly enough to be heard, “I wonder if these are magic seeds! Next, he’ll claim they grow without water.” Another muttered, “Perhaps he found them on the moon!” and “Snickers rippled through the court.”

The king shared their view. He “frowned, unimpressed” and said, “That sounds absurd,” adding a practical objection — such cultivation would need “special soil, manure, and pest and insect repellents”, and if it failed “our farmers would suffer”.

Tip: Notice that the king’s objection is a sensible ruler’s objection: he is thinking about the farmers, not about the insult to his court. It is worth saying so — it shows he is not a foolish man, only a proud one.
Q6.
6. How does the story conclude, and what lesson can be learnt from it?
Answer

The conclusion: That same evening the king goes to the queen “with a softened expression” and apologises without excuses — “I have been foolish… I let my pride blind me. I’m so sorry.” She sets the quarrel aside and asks to hear the poem. Rama, “who had orchestrated this settlement, felt victorious”; the royal couple later present him with valuable gifts, and “the palace brimmed once again with joy and laughter.”

The lessons — the story carries more than one:

  • A misunderstanding grows only as long as nobody asks. One yawn cost weeks of silence because the king interpreted instead of enquiring.
  • Pride is the real obstacle, not the offence. The facts were simple; it was the king’s dignity that made them unsayable.
  • Wit succeeds where argument fails. Rama wins by letting the king arrive at the truth himself — the gentlest possible correction, and therefore the most effective.
Why the title is exact: “The Wit that Won Hearts” — not won an argument. Rama gains the king, the queen and the court at once, and no one is humiliated. That is the difference between being clever and being wise.
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