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King Abhijit of Kosala was a great patron of arts. One day, two famous painters, Puneet and Sidhesh, went to him. “Please test our skills and tell us which one of us is the better artist,” they requested the king.
The king was in a fix. He was familiar with their work. But to pass judgement on their effort was quite difficult. The king pondered for a while. “I’m giving you two houses that look alike and are next to each other. Use your talent and give them a facelift,” he told them. ”Whatever you need will be given to you.”
“I’ll need a hundred colours, your majesty,” said Puneet. Sidhesh said he would not need any colours, much to the surprise of the king. When Puneet completed his assignment, he invited the king to see his work. He was confident he would be declared a better artist than Sidhesh.
King Abhijit was highly impressed by the way Puneet had painted his house. “Puneet, you’re indeed a wonderful artist!” the king exclaimed.
Next he went to Sidhesh. As he approached his house, the king stopped in his tracks. A thousand shades and hues brightly lit up the walls and the surrounding area. Sidhesh had achieved this effect even without using a single colour.
The king was lost for words. “How did you do this?” he asked.
“I just scrubbed the walls of the house until they were a sparkling clean, your majesty,” replied Sidhesh humbly.
Like the pure heart of a child that reflects the goodness surrounding it, Sidhesh’s clean walls reflected the brilliant hues on Puneet’s house!