NCERT Textbook: Transcripts | English Poorvi Class 8 - New NCERT PDF Download

 Page 1


46
TRANSCRIPTS
THE WIT THAT WON HEARTS
Let us listen (refer to page 12)
I	 	 You will listen to a woman narrating a story. As you listen, fill in the
blanks for the following sentences given below by selecting the
correct options.
Hello everybody! Today I’ll be narrating a story about a
quick-witted courtier in the kingdom of Vijayanagara.
A renowned scholar, proud of his abilities, once visited the
kingdom of Vijayanagara. You see, he wanted to challenge the
scholars in the court of King Krishnadeva Raya. The court scholars
did not want to accept the challenge as they were worried of
being defeated by the visitor. Besides this, they were also afraid
that the king would be angry if they refused to face the scholar.
They knew that only the quick-witted Tenali Rama would be
able to manage the situation. So, naturally, they asked him for
a solution. As expected, Rama told them that he would accept
the challenge.
The next day, Rama arrived at the palace. Rama and the
challenger sat facing each other. There was a bundle wrapped
in silk kept near Rama. He placed his hand on the bundle and
said to the visitor, “Let us start by discussing the merits of
tila-kashta-mahisha-bandhana”. The visitor was taken aback. He 
had read thousands of works. But he had never heard of this
work. He had no idea what to say. The scholar had to accept his
defeat. Ashamed, he quietly left the palace.
Now, the king was curious to know about the great work Rama
had mentioned. Rama smiled and removed the silk cloth. There
was a huge bundle of sticks tied with a thick rope! The king was
puzzled and asked for an explanation.
Rama told him, “O king!til is sesame; kashta is stick, tilakashta 
means sticks of sesame plants”. Then, displaying the rope Rama
said, “This is the rope used to tie a buffalo—mahisha means 
buffalo, bandhana means the rope used for tying—so, this is
tila-kashta-mahisha-bandhana.”
Unit 1.indd   46 13-05-2025   12:04:58
Page 2


46
TRANSCRIPTS
THE WIT THAT WON HEARTS
Let us listen (refer to page 12)
I	 	 You will listen to a woman narrating a story. As you listen, fill in the
blanks for the following sentences given below by selecting the
correct options.
Hello everybody! Today I’ll be narrating a story about a
quick-witted courtier in the kingdom of Vijayanagara.
A renowned scholar, proud of his abilities, once visited the
kingdom of Vijayanagara. You see, he wanted to challenge the
scholars in the court of King Krishnadeva Raya. The court scholars
did not want to accept the challenge as they were worried of
being defeated by the visitor. Besides this, they were also afraid
that the king would be angry if they refused to face the scholar.
They knew that only the quick-witted Tenali Rama would be
able to manage the situation. So, naturally, they asked him for
a solution. As expected, Rama told them that he would accept
the challenge.
The next day, Rama arrived at the palace. Rama and the
challenger sat facing each other. There was a bundle wrapped
in silk kept near Rama. He placed his hand on the bundle and
said to the visitor, “Let us start by discussing the merits of
tila-kashta-mahisha-bandhana”. The visitor was taken aback. He 
had read thousands of works. But he had never heard of this
work. He had no idea what to say. The scholar had to accept his
defeat. Ashamed, he quietly left the palace.
Now, the king was curious to know about the great work Rama
had mentioned. Rama smiled and removed the silk cloth. There
was a huge bundle of sticks tied with a thick rope! The king was
puzzled and asked for an explanation.
Rama told him, “O king!til is sesame; kashta is stick, tilakashta 
means sticks of sesame plants”. Then, displaying the rope Rama
said, “This is the rope used to tie a buffalo—mahisha means 
buffalo, bandhana means the rope used for tying—so, this is
tila-kashta-mahisha-bandhana.”
Unit 1.indd   46 13-05-2025   12:04:58
47
The king burst out laughing. The poor visitor had become scared
hearing such a difficult name. In this way, Rama had taught the
arrogant scholar a lesson.  
	 II 	 You will once again listen to the woman narrating the story. As you listen,
number the events of the story in the correct order of occurrence.	
Unit 1.indd   47 13-05-2025   12:04:59