Once upon a time, in the beautiful kingdom of Cholapuri, lived a king named Vikram. Vikram was a kind man, but he had one major flaw: he preferred to delegate all important decisions to his ministers without checking the details himself. He believed that if he gave a task to someone, it was entirely their responsibility.
One summer, the kingdom faced a crisis. The Great Dam needed to be managed carefully to prevent flooding. Vikram entrusted this vital task to his chief minister, Somasundaram. However, Somasundaram was busy with other matters and did not thoroughly inspect the dam's mechanisms. When the heavy monsoon rains arrived, the dam gates failed to open properly, and the surrounding farms were flooded.
When Vikram saw the ruined crops, he flew into a rage. He stormed into the council chamber and shouted at Somasundaram, 'How could you be so careless? Your incompetence has ruined my kingdom!' The minister stood there, trembling and heartbroken. He tried to explain the technical failure, but Vikram’s anger was too loud to listen.
Seeing this, the retired old king, Dharmam, who was Vikram's father, stepped forward. He gently placed a hand on Vikram's shoulder and said, 'My son, a leader may delegate tasks, but he must never delegate his understanding. You gave the task to the minister, but you did not study the plan yourself. When the failure happened, your first instinct was to rage against your minister instead of understanding why the plan failed. A king who only rages without reflecting on the cause will lose his prosperity.'
Vikram realized his mistake. He felt a deep sense of regret for shouting at a loyal servant. He went to Somasundaram, apologized, and together they investigated the dam's failure. From that day on, Vikram made it a rule to study every important matter himself before making a final decision.
