Insatiety

 Brahmadutt, the King of Benaras, had two sons. When his time drew near, he decided to make his elder son king and appoint the younger one the commander-in-chief. But, on the eve of his coronation, the elder prince said, "I don't want the throne. Let my brother be king, instead."

In a spirit of renunciation the elder prince left Benaras. He went to a tributary state and engaged himself in the service of a rich man.  In course of time, some officers arrived in this kingdom from Benaras to inspect certain lands and fix the taxes. They went to the rich man's house to pay homage to the prince from Benares. The rich man took this opportunity to request the prince to recommend him to the King of Benaras, for reduction of taxes. The prince sent word to his brother and the rich man's taxes were reduced.

When they came to know of this, several others appealed to the prince to recommend reduction of their taxes, too. The prince forwarded all requests to his brother, who promptly granted Soon, everyone in the state began to look upon the prince as their real ruler. They paid all their taxes and addressed their petitions only to him. The prince, too, began to enjoy the status of royalty thrust upon him. He now began to crave for the throne which he had given up. 

He started living in one tributary state after another and deal with them himself. However, he kept informing his brother about what he was doing. The King of Benaras never raised a single objection to what his brother did. 

All the tributary states were now directly under the elder prince's rule. He gathered some messengers and sent them to the king. They told him: "Your brother wants to know whether you will return the throne to him or prefer to face him in a battle!"

The King of Benaras sent back his reply: "You need not fight for the throne which was yours.  You can take it back at your pleasure."
Soon, the elder brother returned to Benaras and became king. The ex-king became his commander-in-chief.

Once whetted, the thirst for power is not easily satiated. The new King of Benaras wanted his younger brother to go and conquer other kingdoms. More and more states were thus annexed to Benaras, but the king's thirst for power did not abate.