The Wanderer's Return: Stories from Beyond
A wanderer arrived at Dvaraka's gates—not a merchant, not a warrior, but one who had walked the lands beyond the Yadava territories, collecting stories the way others collect coins. Krishna received him with curiosity and asked him to speak before the city. The wanderer described kingdoms he had visited: some thriving, others failing; some led by wisdom, others by fear; some that had built walls and were now imprisoned by them.
He spoke of a kingdom where a ruler had instituted codes of restraint like Satyaki's and found that the restraint itself had become a point of pride for soldiers. He spoke of another where merchants were allowed absolute freedom and found that absolute freedom had created markets that only the wealthy could survive in. He spoke of cities that celebrated like Dvaraka and cities that only worked—and how the difference was visible not just in monuments but in the faces of those who lived in them.
Krishna listened and then asked the wanderer a question: "What have you learned from all these places?" The wanderer replied: "That there is no perfect kingdom, only kingdoms that are learning faster or slower. The difference is in whether they ask hard questions. A kingdom that celebrates the asking becomes wise; one that stops asking becomes brittle."
The story spread through Dvaraka and became reference point for decisions: before any major choice, councils would ask not "What is the right answer?" but "What questions should we be asking?" The wanderer stayed for weeks and then departed, leaving behind not a solution but a practice—the practice of inquiry itself.
Krishna walked with him to the gates and asked, "Will you return?" The wanderer smiled. "Perhaps. Or someone like me will, with newer stories. That is how cities keep learning—by staying open to visitors and the unsettling truths they carry." Krishna bowed, understanding that protection and growth sometimes requires opening doors, not closing them.