Baital began telling another story to King Vikramaditya—“A Brahmin lived in the city of Magadha. He was a very religious person. He performed religious ceremonies for his clients. He had two sons. They were very talented. The first son could identify if there was wealth buried under the earth or whether there was water under […]
Baital continued, “If you knowingly do not answer my question correctly, I shall break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya replied, “No, the hermit cannot be blamed. It was the fault of the King. It is not possible to master a mantra by just reciting it without concentration. Though the King did all that the
The King was ecstatic. The hermit said, “Master the mantra by heart. Then recite it for thirty days standing in cold water and then again for thirty days sitting in the fire.” The King promised the hermit that he would follow his instructions. He learnt the mantra by heart. Then he recited it for the
So, the woman took the King inside the hut. But the King was surprised to see a palace there. The woman served him delicious food in gold utensils. King Jwalasen was attracted by the woman. He enjoyed the food as well as her company. After eating to his heart’s content, he lay down to rest.
After a while, the hermit opened his eyes. He saw the King sitting before him and asked, “Who are you? Why have you come here?” King Jwalasen told everything about himself to the hermit. Then he also mentioned that he was very hungry. The hermit replied, “I am hermit, so I have only fruits and
King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree. He pulled the corpse down and putting it on his shoulder walked as usual. Baital again started telling him a story. “Once, there was a king named Jwalasen. He ruled the kingdom of Ujjain. But he was not a good king. The people did not like him. He was
The King got angry on hearing this. He could not believe his ears. He said, “You are insulting me now. I never take another man’s wife. It is also a sin to desire another man’s wife.” The furious King ordered death sentence for the maids.” Baital finished his story and said, “Vikram! Were the maids
King Samarjeet called the maids who had visited Chandramani’s house to meet Manimala. He said to the maids, “You had met Manimala and reported to me that she was not suitable for me. But I saw her today. She is very beautiful. Why did you lie to me?’’ The maids replied, “Your Majesty! It is
The King heard them and changed his mind about marrying Manimala. When Chandramani came to know about the King’s interest in Manimala, he himself offered Manimala’s hand to the King in marriage. But the King refused straightaway. A disappointed Chandramani got Manimala married to Krishnanand who was a courtier of the King. Now, one day,
The King called his most trusted maids. He ordered them to find out if Manimala was suitable to be his bride. So, the maids left for their mission. They went to the house of Chandramani. There they met Manimala. They were blown away by her beauty. They talked with her and were highly impressed by
Baital started telling King Vikramaditya another story as he walked towards his kingdom. “Long ago, there was a city known as Malaya Desh. Its king was Samarjeet. He was a learned man and a courageous warrior. In his kingdom lived a very wealthy merchant. His name was Chandramani. He had an extremely beautiful and intelligent
Brajmukut married the princess and took her to his kingdom.” Here Baital ended his story and asked King Vikramaditya, “Who is at fault in this story? Who was responsible for the miserable state of the princess? Answer me or I will break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya had no option, but to answer Baital’s
So, Brajmukut went to sell the jewellery in the same shop where the King got his jewellery made. The jeweller recognized the jewellery. He immediately informed the King. The King had Brajmukut arrested. He was presented before the King. The King asked, “Who gave you this jewellery?” Brajmukut replied, “A friend gave it to me.”
Ratanraj asked him the reason of his sadness. Brajmukut told him that the princess’ father had fixed her marriage with someone else. The princess herself was sad as she loved him. “I will find a way,” said Ratanraj. He thought for some time and said, “I have a plan.” “What is that?” asked Brajmukut. Ratanraj
Ratanraj told the old woman, “Tell the princess that whoever she saw in the temple garden is here.” The next day, the old woman conveyed the message to Padmavati. The princess heard everything. Then she smeared her hands with sandalwood paste and slapped the old woman on both her cheeks. Stunned, the old woman came