Giving a bribe is an evil …

The Tiger King had to bribe the British officer’s wife in order to save his kingdom. The British officer wanted to hunt a tiger in the King’s kingdom. But the Maharaja was firm in his resolve. He refused permission.

The British officer’s secretary sent word to the Maharaja through the Diwan that the durai (the British officer) himself did not have to kill the tiger. The Maharaja could do the actual killing. What was important to the durai was a photograph of him holding the gun and standing over the tiger’s carcass. But the Maharaja would not agree even to this proposal. If he relented now, what would he do if other British officers turned up for tiger hunts? Because he prevented a British officer from fulfilling his desire, the Maharaja stood in danger of losing his kingdom itself.

The Tiger king then sought his wise Diwan’s advice. He suggested that the British officer’s wife could save them from losing their kingdom. So, they sent fifty diamond rings as bribe to The ‘duraisani’ (The British Officer’s wife) expecting her to keep one or two out of them and send the rest back. However, the ‘duraisani’ turned out to be very greedy; she kept all the fifty rings and sent a ‘thank you’ letter to the king.