A Brahman about to start on a pilgrimage, placed the savings of a life time of beggary, amounting to 1000 star pagodas, in a brass pot, and filling the vessel with dholl, carried it with the aid of his wife to the house of a Komati, in whom he reposed implicit confidence, and left it with him, with a request not to touch the contents, but to return it to him on his coming back. One night, there was an unexpected inflow of guests at the Komati's house, and it was too late to resort to the bazaar, the Komati bade his wife bring the brass pot left with him by the Brahman, intending to borrow therefrom what was urgently wanted, and to replace it before the return of the Brahman. On the vessel being fetched and emptied of its contents, there fell a regular shower of Star Pagodas on the top of the dholl. The Komatis-husband and wife-were delighted at this unexpected find, and after appropriating both the dholl and the pagodas, filled the pot again up to the brim, as before but minus the pagodas. When the Brahman and his wife returned from their pilgrimage, and got back their deposit, they were dismayed to find that their gold had disappeared. They sat in stony amazement for a long while, and then went to the Komati and appealed to him, shrieking for all they were worth, in the most piteous and heart-rending tones, to return their gold. Their expostulations, however, fell upon deaf ears, for the Komatis persisted in maintaining that they had returned the deposit intact, and knew nothing about the gold. The Brahmans thereupon carried their tale of woe to Mariada Ramanna, who cast about in his mind for a way of arriving at the truth, and was at length inspired with a happy idea. He had recourse to the following artifice. He had recourse to the following artifice. He caused a huge wicker-work figure to be fashioned like a giant, and concealing a man within it, bade the Komati and his wife carry the figure on their heads round a temple and swear to the truth of their allegations. The Komatis after bathing, lifted the wicker-frame on their heads and with trembling limbs ("conscience doth make such cowards of us all"), were carrying it round the temple. When they had come about half way round, the husband, who had by that time become a prey to indescribable fear, addressed the wife in these words:- "Alas! what have we cone! We have been compelled to swear to falsehood! I do not know what misfortunes would befall us on this account!" He thus unwarily, walked into the trap set for him by the judge, little dreaming of the dire consequences of this our-burst of compunction. The spy concealed within the wicker-frame, heard these words and reported them to Mariada Ramanna who thereupon extorted the truth from the lops of the Komatis-restored his gold to the Brahman, and punished the former suitably. Here was an instance of the saying that Heaven bears witness on the side of truth and justice.
