King Vikramaditya returned to the Shishapa tree, brought down the corpse in which Vethala dwelt, and placed it upon his shoulder. Without speaking, he began walking through the cremation ground once more. After they had gone some distance, Vethala said, “O King, listen to another strange tale as we go.”

In the land of Kalinga was a village called Dakshaghata. There lived a wealthy Brahmin named Vishnuswami, who was learned in the Vedas. He had three sons, and all three were intelligent and eager to learn. When they were old enough, their father performed their Upanayana, and in time they travelled to Kanyakubja to continue their studies.

The brothers remained there for many years and completed their education. By then they had grown into young men, and they began thinking of returning home. Before they left, however, they were given some money and asked to buy a turtle for a sacrifice. They went together to find one and soon returned with a turtle.

On the way, the eldest brother refused to carry it. “I cannot bear to touch such a creature,” he said. “I know food so well that even the smallest fault in it troubles me.” The second brother replied that he too would not carry it, for his special knowledge was of women. The youngest refused as well, saying that he had an unusually delicate sense for beds.

The brothers began arguing over whose sensitivity was the greatest. None of them would give way, and the turtle was forgotten as their quarrel grew. Unable to settle the matter themselves, they decided to take their dispute before a king. So they went to Vitata-pura, where King Prasenajit ruled, and asked to be taken before him.

When they entered the royal court, the brothers explained their dispute. The eldest said that he could notice faults in food that no one else could detect. The second said that his sensitivity concerning women was just as remarkable. The youngest claimed that even the smallest fault in a bed would trouble him.

King Prasenajit listened with interest. “There is no need for you to quarrel,” he said. “Remain here, and I shall test each of you.” The brothers agreed, and the king began with the eldest.

He ordered a fine meal to be prepared in the royal kitchen. Fragrant rice was served with many dishes, sweets, and other delicacies. But as soon as the eldest brother began to eat, he stopped and covered his nose. “O King,” he said, “the food has been prepared well, but I can smell a dead body in this rice.”

Everyone around him smelled the rice, but no one noticed anything strange. To them, it smelled perfectly good. Prasenajit therefore ordered his servants to find out where the rice had come from. After making inquiries, they learned that it had been grown in a field close to a cremation ground.

The king was surprised that the Brahmin had noticed what no one else could. He then decided to test the second brother. A beautiful woman was bathed, dressed in fine clothes, adorned with ornaments, and scented with sandalwood and other sweet fragrances. The king then sent her to the Brahmin.

The woman had hardly come near him when he turned away. “Please take her away,” he said. “I cannot remain near her because she smells of a she-goat.” The attendants were astonished, for they could smell nothing but the fragrances she wore. They returned to the king and told him what the Brahmin had said.

Prasenajit ordered them to find out whether there was any reason for such a strange claim. After asking those who knew of the woman’s childhood, they discovered that her mother had been unable to feed her when she was an infant. She had therefore been raised for a time on the milk of a she-goat. The king now knew that the second brother’s sensitivity was also real.

Only the youngest brother remained. To test him, Prasenajit ordered seven soft mattresses to be placed one upon another and covered with a clean sheet. The youngest brother was shown the bed and told to sleep there for the night. Nothing seemed wrong with it, and the attendants left him to rest.

Before the night was over, however, the Brahmin called for them. When they entered the room, they found him sitting up and holding his side. “There is something wrong with this bed,” he said. “Something has been troubling me and pricking my skin. I have not been able to sleep.”

The attendants looked at his side and saw a red mark upon his skin. They began searching the bed and lifted the mattresses one after another. Nothing was beneath the first, the second, or any of the others. When they lifted the seventh and final mattress, they found a single hair underneath it.

They could hardly believe that one hair beneath seven mattresses had been enough to disturb him. Yet the red mark upon his body was plain to see. The attendants took the hair to King Prasenajit and told him what had happened. The king was amazed by what the youngest brother had felt.

The next morning, Prasenajit called the three brothers before him. Each had proved that his unusual sensitivity was real, and the king was pleased with them. He gave them gold and other gifts and treated them with honour. The quarrel that had brought them before him had also brought them good fortune.

When Vethala had finished the story, he said, “Now answer me, O King. Of these three brothers, which one was truly the most sensitive? If you know the answer and yet remain silent, your head shall split into a hundred pieces. But if you speak, I shall leave your shoulder and return to the Shishapa tree.”

Vikramaditya replied, “The youngest brother, who slept upon the seven mattresses, was the most sensitive.”

Vethala asked, “Why him, O King?”

Vikramaditya said, “The claims of the first two might possibly have depended upon something they already knew. But the youngest could not have known that a single hair lay hidden beneath seven mattresses. Yet that hair kept him from sleeping and left a mark upon his body.

“What happened to him could be seen with their own eyes. There could be no doubt about his sensitivity. Therefore, the youngest brother was the most sensitive of the three.”

As soon as Vikramaditya had spoken, Vethala slipped from his shoulder and returned to the Shishapa tree. Vikramaditya turned back through the cremation ground and went once more to bring him down.