So, on the next moonless night, King Vikramaditya went to the forest. After looking for hours, King Vikramaditya found the peepal tree. He pulled the corpse down, placed it on his shoulder and started for his kingdom to give the corpse to the hermit. As King Vikramaditya travelled some distance, he heard a voice. It […]
The hermit continued, “I can give you more of these. Your kingdom will prosper and so will your people. But you will have to do something for me in return.” The King thought for a while and asked, “What can I do for you?” The hermit replied, “In the forest of Tanakpur is a peepal
One day, the hermit came as usual to the court. He asked the King, “O King! Where are the fruits I gave you? What did you do with them?” The King replied, “All the fruits have been kept safely in the royal treasury.” The hermit said, “They must have got rotten by now.” The King
Long ago, there lived a King named Vikramaditya who ruled over Ujjain. He was the most famous and fearless of all the rulers of his time. One day, he was presiding over his court as usual when a hermit came there. He offered a fruit to the King. The King was very judicious. He ordered
Hatim was a religious man. He served his people according to the rules of God. He even composed a book of devotion. In his last days, he called his family and said to them, “It’s time for me to go, but remember to help the needy. Do not abandon your duties. May God be with
The enchantment was broken and Hatim was the proud owner of the precious diamond. He returned to the city of Katan along with all the people whom he had rescued from their marble statue. He requested the king of Katan to make arrangements to send those people back to their homes. Hatim then went to
Hatim entered the palace of Kaiumarath and saw the words written on the wall, “On the chair within the hall is a set of bow and arrows. Pick it up and shoot the parrot right through the head. You have three chances to do so. If you hit it, you will break the enchantment. If
Hatim walked for many days in the desert, when he came upon an enchanted garden. He walked around in the garden and spotted a magnificent palace. Beautiful statues of marble surrounded it. He stood rapt in wonder. As if to break the spell, a parrot’s voice cried out to him, from within the palace, “O
Hatim, along with his guide, came to a beautiful building. Inside it, was the Bath full of cool water. Hatim stepped into the cold water. He had just thrown three jugs of water on himself, when the bath started filling up. The water started rising higher and higher, first up to his knees, then to
“These are the enchantments of King Kaiumarath, which are destined to last. Whosoever enters shall not return. Here he shall remain without hunger and thirst.” These were the words inscribed at the gates of the Bath. These words filled Hatim with doubts, but he entered the gates boldly, bidding farewell to the gatekeeper. He had
The king of Katan ordered one of his bravest soldiers to accompany Hatim to the place where the Bath was located. After travelling for many days, Hatim saw the top of a mountain. He asked his guide, “What is that mountain called, whose peak is touching the sky?” “It is the mountain of Badgard where
Hatim was not the one to back off. He maintained good relations with the king of Katan who thought Hatim was a merchant. Hatim visited his court daily, discussed political as well as spiritual matters with him. One day the king asked Hatim, “Tell me who you are. You are not a merchant, for your
Hatim reached the city of Katan. Here, he stayed for a few days in a travellers’ rest house. He met the guards of the king and told them that he was from Yemen and wanted to meet the king. He also sent through them some precious stones as gift for the king. He wanted to
Each day, Hatim came closer to his destination. His faith in God kept him moving. When he walked out of the strange jungle through the shorter route, the people of the adjoining city were surprised to see him. In their life they had never heard of a man who had crossed that path alive. They
Hatim’s difficulties increased when he found himself in the jungle of brass. The vegetation here consisted of sharp pins of brass and iron. As he walked, thousands of those pins pierced his feet. With each successive step, the pain became unbearable. His soles were pierced and bleeding; nothing worst could happen to him. At that