151 Vikram Baital Tales

The old Brahmin continued, “Listen, it is very important to gain knowledge at the right time or you will repent later on. But by then it will be too late.” All the four sons listened very keenly to what their father was saying. They were convinced of what the old man said. So, they finally […]

King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree. He put the corpse on his shoulder and as usual started for the crematory. Baital who never kept silent said, “Vikram, this forest is very scary. I know you are brave but still….” King Vikramaditya replied, “I consider fear to be a sin.” Baital laughed at this and as

So, they decided to visit King Sadachar. Krantideva became a young man and Shantideva his old self. Shantideva said to the King, “I have come to take back my daughter-in-law.” But the King apologized and said that the daughter had mysteriously disappeared from the palace. Shantideva was very angry. The King felt very much embarrassed.

As Bhairon started objecting, the King interrupted by saying, “I have made my decision. You will be married to him.” Bhairon Datta could not do anything. But he put a condition before the King. He said, “Since I am a Brahmin and he a Kshatriya, the law directs that before we can wed, he should

But when someone was around, Bhairon Datta used to remain as a girl. Time passed by. Bhairon Datta and Prabhavati performed gandharv vivah. One day, the minister’s son saw Bhairon Datta in the girl form. He found her very beautiful. He proposed to Bhairon to marry him. But Bhairon turned down his proposal. So, he

Shantideva disguised himself as an old man. Bhairon Datta put the pill in the mouth and changed into a beautiful young girl. Then they proceeded towards the palace. Upon reaching the palace they insisted on meeting the King. The King called them and asked, “What is the matter?” Shantideva introduced Bhairon Datta as his would-be

They sprinkled some water on the young man and chanted some mantras. And soon, the young man regained his consciousness and sat upright. Then Krantideva asked him, “Who are you? What happened to you?” The young man replied, “I am Bhairon Datta. I hit my head against the tree and lost my consciousness.” Krantideva then

Baital started off with a new story as usual—“In the kingdom of Kusumavati lived a princess named Prabhavati. Her father was King Sadachar. One day, as the princess was strolling in the palace garden, she saw a young man sleeping there. The princess got attracted to him. She woke him up and asked him why

The sage saw the dead body of the boy. He went near it. The sage was tempted to enter the lifeless body of the boy. At this point, he at first wept bitterly and then laughed aloud. Then, the sage discarded his old body and entered the dead body of the young boy. The boy

The Brahmin named the child Vishal Datta. With passing time Vishal Datta grew up. The Brahmin brought him up in a traditional way. He received good education. By the age of fourteen years, he had mastered the Vedas and the Upanishads. All was going well when something awful happened. Vishal Datta became seriously ill. None

King Vikramaditya caught Baital before he could hang upside down on the peepal tree. Putting the dead body on his shoulder, he walked towards the crematory. On the way, Baital remarked, “Vikram, it is for the first time that you have caught me even before I could be in my abode. It seems that you

Baital ended his story here. He asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram, you have heard the entire story. Now answer my question. Who was the real culprit in the story?” King Vikramaditya replied, “Baital! If the thief had not testified, Mrignaini’s husband would surely have been hanged to death. But the thief helped the husband and he

The next day, the husband was brought before the King for a hearing. The King heard everything. He pronounced the husband guilty and the husband was given the death sentence by the King. But, something very unexpected happened before Mrignaini’s husband could be hanged. A thief came to the court. He said to the King,

Now, this servant had been one of her former lovers. But seeing him, Mrignaini got angry. She told him to get out of her house, but the servant did not listen to her. So, Mrignaini made a plan. She began to talk sweetly to him and offered him a drink. The servant drank the drink

The newly-wed Queen Chandravati liked the idea very much. So, soon, both the birds were put in a single cage. One day, both the birds were talking to each other. Then, at the request of the jay, the parrot began to tell a story… “Once there was a wealthy man. His name was Dhanardhan. He