The Message of the Story

The first part of the message is a warning against arrogance and the abuse of power. The king treats his kingdom, its wealth and its wildlife as tools for his own vanity, killing without limit and spending recklessly to protect his pride. Kalki shows that such arrogance invites downfall: the mightier and more self-satisfied the king grows, the more absurd and vulnerable he becomes, until he is destroyed by the smallest and most trivial of things. Power used only to serve one's own ego, the story suggests, leads not to safety but to ruin. …