King Vikramaditya took down the corpse and hanging it on his shoulder began walking. Baital as usual could not keep quiet. He said to Vikramaditya, “I know you want to deliver me to the hermit. But in the meantime, hear a story from me. Listen very carefully.” So, Baital started his story—“There was a kingdom […]

A happy Virbhadra arrived in his kingdom along with the maiden. When Satyamani heard that the King had married the maiden, he committed suicide.” Baital ended his story and asked, “Tell me Vikram why Satyamani committed suicide. Answer in all fairness or I will break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya replied, “Satyamani died due

The maiden was very happy and thanked the King. The King asked, “Why did the demon visit you on a moonless night?” The maiden replied, “Let me tell you my story. I am the daughter of Gandharva Vidyasagar. He ate food which was cooked and served by me only. Once, while playing, I forgot to

So, leaving Satyamani to manage the affairs of the court, the King went to the seashore. As soon as he saw the tree surfacing from the water, he swam up to it. The maiden was sitting on the tree, as usual, and playing a lyre. She said to the King, “Why have you come here?”

Satyamani saw a tree rising out of the sea. It was glowing. Its leaves were made of gold; the fruits and the flowers of the tree were made of diamonds, sapphires and pearls. And a more strange sight was that a young lady was sitting on a branch of the tree and playing a lyre.

King Vikramaditya was carrying the corpse back when Baital spoke. He said to King Vikramaditya, “I will tell you a story again to pass the time.” So, Baital told a story—“There was a kingdom called Punyapur which was ruled by King Virbhadra. He had a loyal minister whose name was Satyamani. One day, Satyamani came

At this point, Baital asked King Vikramaditya, “Now tell me, Vikram, whom princess Shashibala chose as her husband. Answer me or I will break your head into pieces. Do not remain silent.” King Vikramaditya was silent for some time. He held Baital tightly but knew that he had to answer the question. So, he spoke,

Shortly afterwards, another prince came to the court of the King. He too asked for Shashibala’s hand. He stated that he was a great scholar. He had mastery over the Vedas and the Upanishads. The King made him his guest as well. Next came the prince of Chedi kingdom. He too asked for the hand

The King replied, “That is exceptional. Please do stay as my guest till I make my decision. I will also have to talk to my daughter about this proposal.” So, the prince was taken to the guest house. The next day, the prince of Vaishali came to the King’s court asking for Shashibala’s hand. The

King Vikramaditya reached the tree, pulled down the dead body and putting it on his shoulder proceeded towards his kingdom. Baital said to him, “I will tell you a story to pass the time. Take note and reply to my questions honestly.” Then Baital told the story— “In the kingdom of Awanti lived a beautiful

Baital finished his story and asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram! Whose sacrifice was the highest? If you knowingly avoid giving a correct answer to my question, I will smash your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya laughed and said, “King Roopsen’s sacrifice was the highest as it was selfless and there was no ulterior motive to it.

Then his son knelt before the goddess and Birbal beheaded him. But Birbal’s daughter could not bear the loss of her brother and killed herself. Birbal’s wife could not bear the loss of her children, so she also killed herself. Birbal was shattered. He thought, ‘What will I do living all alone?’ So, he also

Lady Luck replied, “Yes, he can be saved if someone sacrifices his own son at the temple of Mahakali to pacify Saturn.” Saying so, Lady Luck disappeared. Birbal was left gaping. He kept thinking and thinking. Then he rushed straight home. He was not aware that King Roopsen had followed him and had listened to