The dead mother- A Parable transcending Multiple histories

I have read this parable in three versions:

• The hero is the Persian scholar Khaja Nasir Tusi and the King is the Mongol Khan
• The hero is Birbal ( of the Mughal court) and the king is Akbar
• The Hero is the dravidian monk Tenali Rama and the king is Devaraya
  For ease in narration I am using the mongol version

THE TALE:

The Mongol Army was knocking at the doors of Europe. The Horde was divided into various independent mitlitia and sent out while the headquarters were set up in Mazandaran with Hulego Khan as the King. His father had been very much impressed by the islamic monotheistic culture and Hulego had converted to Islam recently.

His mother died. Hulego not knowing what the Islamic rituals were consulted a host of scholars and among them the physicist and polymath Khaja Nasir Tusi. At that time the religious scholars were mainly Arab and Turkish, they considered Kahja Nasir as an oddity, moreover due to his wit and extensive knowledge of many fields the Khan kept him by his side. Looking at this occasion as an opportunity to get rid of Khaja Nasir they planned against him.

The scholars advised the Khan about how his dear mother should be buried and added that it was sad that she a newly converted muslim would not know how to answer the questions of the angels in the afterlife. This remark troubled the Khan greatly, as it was meant to. The scholars after much dilly-dallying and manipulation told the Khan that the only solution was to bury a wise person, whom the Khan trusted, in the grave along with his mother so that he could answer for both of them-and that was by consensus none other than Khaja Nasir.

In the open court Khaja could not deny the Khan but tried his best to get out of this predicament by praising the other scholars present. He tried to convince the Khan that he was not the best while all the rest of them insisted upon his knowledge and intelligence.

After a prolonged discussion Khaja Nasir accepted the honor but asked for a private talk with the Khan so that he could get some details about his venerable mother. When they were alone Khaja Nasir expressed extreme happiness and thanked the Khan for the honor of being buried alive alongside the queen mother, and began to ask about her. Suddenly he stopped and gravely turned to the Khan and said. "Great Khan the only sadness and anxiety I feel now is about you. After I am gone to be a guide for your mother who will be your guide when your time approaches?"

The Khan taken aback by the thought of his own ignorance and safety changed his decision and buried another person while keeping Khaja Nasir with him.

NOTE: Khaja Nasir was really a persian scholar and polymath. His famous work is a geometrical technique called the Tusi-couple . Used decades later by Copernicus to build a model of the solar system with the sun at it's center ( no credit was given Of course!)