Baital asked, “Was the snake guilty then?” The King replied, “Snakes have a natural tendency of spitting venom here and there. So, it is quite foolish to pass a judgement against these creatures.” Baital asked, “Then ultimately, who is to be held guilty?” The King replied, “Bhadraavat is the one who is guilty. But he […]

But a little while later, he began to perspire badly and his body started to stiffen. He immediately understood that he had consumed poison. He ran to Vasudev’s house. But it was too late. He started shouting, “You have poisoned me! You have poisoned me!” Then he fell down dead right at the entrance of

One day, Vasudev asked his wife to cook Kheer (rice and milk preparation). When she had prepared the Kheer, Vasudev asked her to give some to Bhadraavat. So, Vasudev’s wife put some Kheer in a bowl. She gave the bowl to Bhadraavat. Now, Bhadraavat did not eat the Kheer there and then. He went to

So, on the appointed day, Bhadraavat married Lilawati. He took her home. Time passed away. They were totally enjoying the marital bliss. One day, they were enjoying the sea waves when Lilawati was taken away by the strong waves. None could find her. Bhadraavat could not bear the shock of his wife’s death. He kept

Baital started telling a story as Vikramaditya carried him—“In a place called Choorapur lived a Brahmin by the name of Choodaavat. He was a learned man. He had a handsome son whose name was Bhadraavat. He was as learned as his father and knew all the Vedas. When Bhadraavat was of a marriageable age, his

“Then, who was guilty? Was it Dharam Datta?” asked Baital. King Vikramaditya replied, “No, the girl’s parents were guilty. They handed her over to the Brahmin for the whole night without thinking of the consequences. They must be punished.” Baital said, “You are right, Vikram but the king punished the Brahmin and he was hanged.

The girl’s husband was very shocked to see this. Then his wife told him everything. Her husband could not with stand the truth and told her to leave his house. The girl went to the King’s court to claim justice.” Here Baital asked King Vikramaditya, “What would have been the King’s decision in this case?

So, he thought of an evil plan to get her. After the marriage ceremony, he told the bride’s parents that their daughter was under the influence of a curse. It had to be removed to save her marriage. He told them that she would have to stay with him for one night to perform pooja

King Vikramaditya, as usual, reached the tree. He pulled down the corpse and put it on his shoulder. Then he walked towards the crematory. Baital could not keep quiet and said, “The crematory is very far. I will tell you a story to pass the time.” So, he started telling a story—“In the Chedi Desh

King Vikramaditya kept silent for a while, and then said, “Baital, I find no sacrifice here.” “Why do you say that?” asked Baital. King Vikramaditya replied, “His sacrifice was not selfless. King Jeemutwahan’s sacrifice was motivated by his wish to achieve moksha and earn virtues. Instead of yielding himself to the will of his unworthy

The King continued, “Tonight, I shall pretend to be your son and offer myself to the demon to satisfy his hunger.” But the old woman was hesitant about this. But the King did not change his mind, so the woman had to agree finally. When the son of the old woman came to know of

He also threatened his father. He said, “If you do not step down, you will face dire consequences.” Now, Jeemutwahan was a peace-loving man. He also loved his son, so he quietly stepped down from the throne. After that, he renounced the world and went to the forest to meditate for the rest of his