There lived a king named Ciradātā in a city called Cirapura. Though the king was a nice person by his nature, he was surrounded by evil men. Prasaṅga and his friends who had come to the service of the king from a distant land did not get any remuneration, though they served him for five long years. Even if they wanted to see the king, they never got a chance to do so.
ಕನ್ನಡರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ಬಂದೊಡನೆಯೇ ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಕುರಿತ ಚಿಂತನೆ ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಮೇಲ್ಪದರಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುವುದು ಅಚ್ಚರಿಯೇನಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಮೂಲಕ ಮೈದೋರುವ ವಿಚಾರ ಸಾರ್ವಕಾಲಿಕವಾದರೆ ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಸಂಗತಿ ಮತ್ತಾವುದು? ಸದ್ಯದ ಈ ಬರೆಹ ಇಂಥ ಒಂದು ಮೂಲಭೂತಚಿಂತನೆಯನ್ನು ಆಸಕ್ತರೊಡನೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಹವಣು.
Another day, when Naravāhanadatta was in the court, a prince by name Samaratuṅga came to him and said, ‘O lord! My cousin Saṅgrāmavarṣa and his four sons are jointly destroying the country. I will go and arrest them!’ Knowing well that Samaratuṅga had but a small army, Naravāhanadatta offered to send his army along. However, without seeking the support of the king's army he waged a war and arrested all five of them.
The Mahābhārata is no different though the episodes related to Hāsya are few and far. Bhima’s childhood antics are sure to invoke some laughs, so does Uttarakumāra’s boasting in Virāṭa Parva followed by Bṛhannalā’s antics (Mahābhārata Virāṭa Parva Critical Text BORI, sargas 34-36) which has been utilized well by the later poets like Kumāravyāsa, who wrote in Kannada.
Vīravara’s son woke up and quickly understood the situation and said, “Father! I am indeed fortunate to be of service for our master’s wellbeing! We owe him our daily bread - hence it is only fit that I serve him in his time of need! Take me along, by all means!”. Vīravara happily said “Truly you take after me, my son!”. The king who had followed Vīravara overheard all this and felt amazed at their courage. Vīravara took his son on his shoulders and his wife Dharmavatī took her daughter up her arms.
On yet another occasion, the king had to fight a war with a rival from the frontiers. The seeker went with him and defeated many enemy men with his staff. The king was victorious and returned home. Though he had witnessed the strength and skill of the seeker, he did not reward him at all.
He followed her instructions and performed intense tapas to propriate Vindhyavāsinī. She appeared before him and said, “O brāhmaṇa! All four of you were my gaṇas; Pañcamūla, Caturvaktra, Mahodaramukha, and Vikaṭavadana; once when you were wandering on the banks of Gaṅgā you were attracted towards Cāpalekhā, who was the daughter of a muni; she protested saying, ‘I’m a kanyā; go away!’ the other three heeded her warning; but you persisted; she screamed, ‘Father!