Brainstorming sessions at Akbar’s court in the evening were very popular among the people of his capital. People always looked forward to Birbal’s witty answers. He always proved why he was the favourite minister of the Emperor.One fine evening, Akbar started the session by announcing that three questions would be asked. Whosoever gave him the […]
Once, Akbar and Birbal were invited by the King of Persia in his kingdom to a royal dinner party. The party was organized by the Persian king in honour of Akbar’s achievements in the battlefield. A lot of presents were showered on the Emperor.During the time of their stay in Persia, people had already started
One night, when the winter season was at its peak, Akbar and Birbal were roaming around in the palace. It was very chilly. A thought struck Birbal’s mind. He said, “Majesty, I believe that a man can do anything for the sake of money.” But the Emperor disagreed with him.They were passing by a pond;
After receiving the ring from the Emperor Mahesh Das Bhatt used to gaze at it day and night. One day finally, Mahesh Das Bhatt decided to visit Akbar. So, he left for his capital Agra. When he reached the palace, the gatekeeper stopped him from going inside. The young boy showed him the Emperor’s ring.
Once upon a time, Emperor Akbar went hunting with his soldiers. Akbar was riding slowly that evening. Some of his soldiers, who were faster than he, went ahead. The Emperor along with the other soldiers was left behind. As the day was getting darker, they lost their way back to the palace. All of them
One day, the Emperor asked the courtiers three questions— Whose son is the best? Whose tooth is the best? Which quality is the best?All the courtiers started discussing the question amongst themselves. One of the elder courtiers replied, “Maharaj! A king’s son is the best. An elephant’s tooth is the best and ‘knowledge’ is the
One day, the Emperor thought of making fun of Birbal through one of his clever plans. He had a trap. The trap was such that it didn’t look like a trap at all from its outward appearance. Then, the Emperor placed a fine Kashmiri apple in the trap and secretly hid himself near the trap
One day, Akbar said to Birbal, “I have often observed that people who have words like ‘wan’ ‘ban’ suffixed to their professional names, are very quarrelsome by nature like, gadiwan, kochwan, darban, etc.” (Meaning cart driver, coach driver, gatekeeper respectively)Birbal replied, “Yes! You are right, Meherban!”(Meharban—The respectful address of ‘Your Mercy’) The face of Emperor
Birbal being Emperor Akbar’s greatest favourite had many enemies in the court. Once, a courtier who was jealous of Birbal said to the Emperor, “Maharaj, instead of Birbal, you should appoint the world-famous singer Tansen as your Prime Minister.”The Emperor said, “Well! I shall have to subject them to a test and that will determine
As King Vikramaditya was about to reach the crematory, where the hermit was meditating, Baital said to him, “Vikram! I have already forewarned you that the hermit is an evil being. He wants to sacrifice you also in order to enhance his demoniac powers. He will ask you to bow before the sacrificial fire, and
King Vikramaditya was happy when Baital promised not to fly away any more. As he walked silently, Baital said to him, “Vikram, we are near the hermit’s place but there is still time for you to listen to my story. It may be the last one.” King Vikramaditya said, “So this will be your twenty-fifth
King Vikramaditya, as usual, walked with Baital on his shoulder when Baital started telling a story as follows:Once upon a time, there lived a rich merchant named Hemdeva in the city of Surya Nagar. He had a lovely daughter named Vidyawati. She was of marriageable age.One day, a young man named Haldhar came to meet
King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree where the corpse was hanging. He pulled the corpse down and putting it on his shoulder started for the crematory. While walking King Vikramaditya said to Baital, “Do not have any false notions. I am going to take you to the hermit. So, you had better not run away
Baital started telling a story as King Vikramaditya was carrying him:In a place called Choorapur lived a Brahmin by the name of Bhadraavat. One day, he was invited to a wedding. At the wedding he saw a beautiful girl named Lilawati. He fell in love with the girl. The girl also fell in love with
King Vikramaditya, as usual, reached the tree. He pulled down the corpse and put it on his shoulder. Baital said, “The crematory is very far. I will tell you a new story to pass the time.” So, he started telling a story as follows:In the Chedi Desh lived a Brahmin named Dharam Datta. Since he