Question

Did the king behave as an ordinary person, rather than as a ruler, at the hermit’s hut? What shows it? Did he also act as a good, kind person? When did he do so?

Answer 1

Initially, the king didn’t behave as an ordinary man. We understand this when he straightaway asked the hermit to answer his questions. When he saw the old hermit trying to dig the ground for a long time, he felt sorry for him and helped him out of kindness. However, he still intended to get an answer from the hermit and thus lost his patience when the hermit didn’t reply, even after he had helped him dig for almost the entire day. The king showed generosity when he stayed and nursed the wounded man back to health and forgave him when the man revealed that he was his enemy, who had come to kill him. These actions of the king were completely selfless and showed that deep down, even he was a kind and humble man.