EnglishCBSE Class 8 · The Wit that Won Hearts

The Wit that Won Hearts, Class 8: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

King Krishnadeva Raya stopped talking to Queen Thirumalambal because she yawned while he recited his poem. Tenali Rama did not argue with the king. He offered "special" paddy seeds, said the real trouble was the sower, and asked what would happen if the sower yawned. The king yawned himself, saw that a yawn is natural and apologised.

Understand The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy

The cause of the quarrel. The king had written a poem full of grand images such as the sun, moon and stars. The queen was tired when he recited it late one evening and yawned several times. He took it as an insult, stormed off and stopped speaking to her. The palace turned gloomy. The queen then asked Rama for help.

Why Rama does not speak directly. A direct word such as "Your Majesty, you were unfair" would have wounded the king's pride. Rama first listens patiently, asks for time and says the matter needs a well-planned approach. He then waits for the right moment in the court.

The plan in three moves. (1) Set a scene where the king is already talking about farming. (2) Present a plate of "revolutionary" paddy seeds that would triple the harvest. The courtiers mock him and the king calls the idea absurd. (3) Calmly say that the seeds are fine and that the problem lies with the person who sows them. If that person yawned while sowing, would the seeds fall evenly?

The analogy. A farmer who yawns while sowing is no less careful than any other farmer; a yawn is a body's own reflex. The sower stands in for the queen and the seeds stand in for the poem. Because the king is made to think about an outsider's case, he judges it fairly. Then he yawns himself, and Rama asks if anyone in the world does not yawn. The king sees that his anger was misplaced.

The ending. The king admits that his pride blinded him. The queen forgives him and asks to hear the poem. They reward Rama.

What to write in an answer. Name the cause, name the method (indirect, humorous, patient) and name the result (the king discovers the truth on his own).

The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy: key facts

Plan in order: Listen to the queen
Wait for the court scene
Offer special seeds
Blame the sower
Ask if a sower can yawn
King yawns; Use these six steps to describe how Rama acts.
Analogy map: Sower = queen
Seeds = king's poem
Yawning while sowing = yawning while listening
Natural reflex = no insult; Explain the analogy by matching each part.
Rama's qualities: Patient
Witty
Tactful
Calm under mockery
Strategic; Support each quality with one action.
The king's change: Proud
Angry
Silent for weeks
Yawns in court
Realises
Apologises; For questions on the king's character.

The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Showing a mistake without hurting pride

Suppose Meera is angry with her brother Kabir because he fell asleep while she read her story aloud. Their grandmother does not scold Meera. At dinner she says that even the best storyteller in a village could not hold every listener awake after a long day, and asks Meera whether she herself never dozed off during a long wedding ceremony.

How is the grandmother using the same method as Tenali Rama?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

She does not accuse Meera directly.
She builds a situation in which Meera thinks about her own tiredness.
Meera understands that Kabir was tired, not rude.

Answer: The grandmother uses an indirect, gentle comparison, as Rama does with the yawning sower, so that Meera discovers her mistake herself and no one's pride is hurt.

Memory hook: Let them find the mistake themselves.

Tricks to remember The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

S-S-S
Seeds, Sower, Snooze (yawn).
Use it when: Recall the three parts of Rama's trick in order.
P-W-P
Pride, Wit, Peace.
Use it when: The story moves from the king's pride, through Rama's wit, to peace in the palace.
Yawn is a reflex
A yawn is like a sneeze: nobody does it on purpose.
Use it when: Explains why the queen was not insulting the poem.

The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Why the king was angry · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Why did King Krishnadeva Raya stop speaking to the queen?
(a) She refused to listen to his poem
(b) She yawned when he recited his poem
(c) She laughed at his poem
(d) She disagreed with his ministers

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The queen was tired and yawned several times (1 mark).

Answer: (b)

Example 2: Why paddy seeds · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

Why did Rama choose to talk about paddy seeds in the court instead of speaking about the quarrel? Answer in 30-40 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The court was discussing paddy cultivation, so the topic fitted naturally (1).
Speaking about the quarrel directly would hurt the king's pride (1).

Answer: The court was discussing paddy farming, so Rama could bring in his seeds naturally. Speaking directly about the quarrel would have hurt the king's pride, so he used a harmless topic that led the king to the truth himself.

Example 3: Explaining the analogy · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Explain the yawning-sower analogy. Whom does the sower represent and what does Rama want the king to understand? Answer in 50-60 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Sower stands for the queen (1).
Yawning while working does not mean carelessness or disrespect (1).
The king should see that a yawn is natural (1).

Answer: The sower stands for the queen and the sowing stands for her listening to the poem. Rama asks whether a yawning sower would scatter seeds unevenly because he did not care. The king laughs and yawns himself. He understands that a yawn is natural, like breathing, and that the queen did not insult his poem.

Example 4: Why the plan worked · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Rama was mocked by the courtiers and the king at first, yet the plan worked. Give three reasons why it succeeded. Answer in 60-70 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

He kept calm and was not offended by the mockery (1).
The situation made the king reason about a stranger's case first (1.5).
The king yawned in front of everyone and the proof was in front of him (1.5).

Answer: The plan worked for three reasons. First, Rama stayed calm and smiling when the courtiers mocked him, so the king kept listening. Second, he spoke about a sower and not about the queen, so the king judged the case without pride. Third, the king yawned in court, and Rama's question about whether anyone avoids yawning became clear proof. The king realised his mistake himself.

Example 5: Direct or indirect · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Suppose Rama had told the king, "Your Majesty, you were unfair to the queen." Do you think the result would have been the same? Give your view with two reasons from the story in 80-100 words.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

State a view (1).
Reason 1: the king was proud and quick-tempered (1.5).
Reason 2: he could have felt humiliated in front of others, and Rama's method let him keep dignity (1.5).
Link to the result and expression (1).

Answer: I think the result would have been different. The king was proud of his poem and had already stormed away in anger, so a direct accusation would probably have made him angrier. He would also have felt shamed if it had happened before the courtiers. Rama's indirect plan let the king reach the truth on his own, laugh with the court and apologise without losing dignity. He judged the sower fairly only because the case was not about himself. Wit works better than blame when someone's pride is involved.

Where students lose marks in The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Saying the queen insulted the poem on purpose
The story shows she was tired.
Wrong working
The queen yawned because she disliked the poem.
Right working
The queen yawned because she was tired late in the evening; the king took it as an insult.
Do this: Write "tired" and "misunderstood".
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks.
Mistake: Calling Rama's plan "a trick to fool the king"
Rama's aim was to help the king see the truth.
Wrong working
Rama cheated the king with fake seeds.
Right working
Rama used the seeds as a device to lead the king to the truth about yawning.
Do this: Use "device", "strategy" or "indirect method".
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Missing the match between sower and queen
The analogy answer needs both sides.
Wrong working
A sower who yawns scatters seeds badly.
Right working
The sower stands for the queen; the sower's yawn stands for hers; neither is a sign of disrespect.
Do this: Write "stands for" for each pair.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks.

Exam tips

Begin with the cause (a yawn), then the method (indirect plan), then the result (the king apologises).
In character answers, give a quality and one action as proof, for example patient: he listened to the queen.
For the analogy, match sower with queen and yawn with yawn.
Use present tense for the story summary and keep each point separate.
Do not quote more than one short line; explain in your own words.

Practice questions on The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
In the story, who is described as a poet and witty adviser in the king's court?
(a) Krishnadeva Raya (b) Tenali Rama (c) the minister (d) the merchant
Hint
He belonged to the Ashtadiggajas.
Answer
(b)
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why did the king call Rama's idea about the seeds absurd, and why did the ministers' earlier suggestions sound more sensible? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Seeds alone cannot triple a harvest.
Answer
The king called it absurd because Rama claimed that a plate of seeds could triple the harvest. The ministers had offered ordinary, believable remedies such as better irrigation and manure, which farmers already knew. A magic seed with no change in method sounded impossible, and the courtiers laughed too.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What does the word "unfazed" tell us about Rama when the courtiers mocked him, and how did this help his plan? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Calm and in control.
Answer
Unfazed means not disturbed. It shows that Rama stayed calm and confident when he was mocked, because he trusted his plan. His composure kept the king and the court listening, so he could slowly lead them to the point about the sower and the yawn.
Q4 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Rama's comment that the real problem is the sower is the turning point of the story.
Reason (R): It makes the king think of a yawning sower and, soon after, of the queen's yawn.
(a) Both A and R are true and R explains A
(b) Both are true but R does not explain A
(c) A is true but R is false
(d) A is false but R is true
Hint
Does the second sentence explain why the first is true?
Answer
(a)
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Write the queen's diary entry (80-100 words) on the day the king apologised, mentioning the cause of the quarrel and Rama's part in solving it.
Hint
First person, past tense, feelings.
Answer
Tuesday, evening. Dear Diary, my heart is light today. For weeks the king did not speak to me because I yawned while he recited his poem. I was so tired that I could not help it, and I regretted it. Today Rama gave his trick with the paddy seeds in court and made even the king yawn. That evening the king himself came, admitted that pride had blinded him and asked me to forgive him. I asked him to read his poem to me. I shall always be grateful to Rama.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who was the queen in the story?Show answer
Queen Thirumalambal.
2.What did the queen do that angered the king?Show answer
She yawned while he recited his poem.
3.What did Rama present in the court?Show answer
A plate of so-called revolutionary paddy seeds.
4.What did Rama say was the real problem?Show answer
The person who sows the seeds.
5.What did the king do in court that proved Rama right?Show answer
He yawned himself.
6.What did the king say about his pride?Show answer
That it had blinded him.

The Wit that Won Hearts: Rama's Plan and the Yawning Analogy: frequently asked questions

What lesson does the royal quarrel teach?

Wit and wisdom can solve delicate problems without hurting anyone's pride, and admitting a mistake repairs relationships.

Why did Rama need a plan?

A direct complaint would have hurt the king's pride, so he needed an indirect approach that let the king discover the truth himself.

What kind of questions come from this part?

Short answers on the cause of the quarrel, Rama's character, the analogy and a long answer on why wit works better than blame.

Is the yawning analogy a simile?

No. It is an analogy, a comparison of two situations to explain a point; the sower's case stands for the queen's.