One day, Akbar said to Birbal, “We say God is kind, but sometimes I feel God is unfair. Many are blessed with good health, while many are ill. Some are poor; some are rich. If God is our father, why does He treat His children differently?” Birbal explained, “Your Majesty, if all was well, who […]
There lived a short-tempered Brahmin in Akbar’s kingdom. One day, he found a strand of hair in his food and shouted at his wife, “This should never happen again, or I shall punish you!” After a week, the Brahmin found a strand of hair in his food. “Enough! Your hair shall be shaved today!” he
One day, a messenger from a distant kingdom visited Akbar’s court. He said, “O Emperor, our king has heard many tales of your courtiers and their intelligence. He wants a pot of intelligence from your kingdom.” Akbar whispered to Birbal, “This king is making fun of us. How can we fill a pot with intelligence?”
One day, Fazalji, the royal painter, went to Birbal. He said, “Please help me.” Birbal asked, “What happened?” Fazalji replied, “Liaqat Ali asked me for a portrait. I spent a day painting his picture. He had a beard and a moustache then. But the next day, Liaqat Ali refused to accept it. He had shaved
One day, Akbar noticed that the plaster had peeled off in some of the rooms. “Dholak! I want these walls repaired immediately,” he ordered his servant. The next day, Akbar saw that the walls had not been repaired. He was angry. “Dholak! Come here!” he screamed. Dholak looked at the walls and said, “Pardon me,
One day, Akbar’s servant, Sevakram, rushed to visit Birbal. He looked scared. Birbal asked, “What is the matter, Sevakram?” Sevakram said, “A holy man had gifted a parrot to the emperor. His Majesty had asked me to take care of the bird. But he had also said whoever would inform him about its death would
One evening, Akbar, Birbal and several courtiers went for a boat ride. Akbar saw a twig floating by. He picked it up and said, “If any of you crosses this river just by holding this twig, I will make him emperor for a day.” The courtiers felt this was impossible. But Birbal said, “I will
Birbal’s wisdom was famous all over the world. Once, a king from another kingdom wanted to meet Birbal. He invited Birbal to his palace. Birbal visited the king. The king was very impressed with Birbal’s wit and wisdom. When Birbal’s stay came to an end, the king gave him many gifts. As he left the
One day, Akbar said, “Birbal, I have a challenge for you.” Birbal asked, “What is it, Your Majesty?” Akbar said, “Bring two persons to the court tomorrow. The first person should be extremely grateful and loyal.” Birbal said, “How should the second person be?” Akbar smiled and said, “The second person should be the exact
One day, a woman came to Akbar’s court with a man. She said, “Your Majesty, this man snatched all my ornaments.” The man said, “I’m a visitor, Your Majesty. This woman brought me here to meet you.” Birbal asked the woman, “How much were your ornaments worth?” She said, “Six thousand gold coins.” Birbal knew
Birbal was Akbar’s favourite courtier and this caused resentment among many other courtiers. They told Akbar, “Your Majesty, Birbal is not the only intelligent courtier. Please give us a chance to prove ourselves.” Akbar controlled his anger and said, “Get a shawl that is two metres long.” The courtiers rushed out and brought a shawl.
When Akbar was young, his nurse took care of him like her son. She would feed him her milk when his mother was away. Akbar respected her a lot and treated her like his mother. He considered the nurse’s son as his half-brother. Akbar loved his half-brother and made lavish arrangements whenever his half-brother came
One morning, Akbar looked into the mirror. Suddenly, he called his servant and said, “Go and call him now.” The obedient servant rushed out but soon realised that he didn’t know who he was supposed to call. But he was terrified of asking Akbar lest the emperor should be furious. So he went to Birbal
One day, one of Akbar’s courtiers told him about a man named Manohar. He said, “Your Majesty, whoever sees Manohar’s face gets into trouble.” Akbar said, “I don’t believe you. I want to see Manohar tomorrow.” Next day, Manohar entered the court. Akbar had barely seen him when he received news that one of his
It was the season of mangoes. Akbar’s subjects gifted him with many boxes of the fruit. After Akbar and Birbal had lunch together, they sunk their teeth into the juicy mangoes and relished their taste. They were having a good time, chatting and eating mangoes. When they would finish eating mangoes, they would throw the