A wise sadhu enjoyed great respect throughout the entire kingdom. Therefore, none of the guards dared to stop him when he entered the palace. Recognizing him, the king greeted the sadhu, asking,
—“What is the purpose of your visit, Your Holiness?”
The holy man replied,
—“ There is no particular reason… I was just passing by and I decided to stop to rest and sleep in this inn.”
Extremely surprised, the monarch answered,
—“But this is my royal palace, why do you call it an ‘inn’ ”?
The sadhu said,
—“Your majesty, could you tell me, whom did this palace belong to in the past?”
The king replied,
—“The previous owner was my father, and when he left his body, it became my property.”
So the sage asked him again,
—“And to whom did this palace belong, before your father?”
The king replied,
—“To my grandfather. When he died, the palace became the property of my father.”
The sadhu remained silent for a few moments and then he said with a firm voice,
—“Your majesty, with all my respect, assuming that you are right and this is not an inn… In which way would you call a place where different people live for brief periods of time, leaving afterwards? Is it not appropriate to call it an… inn?”
The monarch invited him to sleep in his palace and named him his personal adviser.
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