What's In A Comma ?

Punctuation, I am sure, has troubled all of us during our English examinations. 

Comma, the simple punctuation, would have been the second easiest of the lot - after the almighty full stop. But it certainly is not the least powerful.

The story goes as ahead. Back in the days when the kings pronounced judgements and punishments, one dally Maharajah pronounced his verdict on an innocent, wrongly accused man , "Spare him not, hang him".

The clever minister, aware of the man's innocence, noted his statement, "Spare him, not hang him" !

The man lived on and all his life thanked a comma, and the minister, for sparing him from the wrath of this king.

What's in a comma ?