King Vikramaditya cautiously approached the peepal tree. The corpse was hanging upside down as usual. He took the corpse down. Placing it on his shoulder he marched towards his kingdom. On the way, Baital the ghost narrated his next story as follows:
There was a beautiful princess named Chandralekha in the kingdom of Magadha. Many princes from far-off lands wished to marry her, but she did not find any of them suitable.
Days went by. Chandralekha’s mother became worried. One day, she asked Chandralekha, “Why have you rejected all the marriage proposals?”
Princess Chandralekha thought for a moment and then replied, “My husband should be strong and talented. He should also be courageous.” Her mother said, “If this is so, then look for these qualities yourself in the princes who propose to you for marriage.”
Some days later, a prince named Virendra came and proposed to Chandralekha. She did not beat about the bush and asked, “What is your expertise?” Virendra replied, “I tell the fortunes of people. And I have never been proven wrong.” Chandralekha told him to be their guest till she made up her mind.
The next day, prince Udaivir arrived in the palace and was asked the same question. Prince Udaivir replied that he possessed a chariot which could run on land and fly in the sky as well. He too was asked to stay as a guest by Chandralekha. A day later, a prince named Dhananjay proposed to Chandralekha. Princess Chandralekha put up the same question to him. He replied, “I am an unparalleled warrior. No one can face me.” He was also invited to stay as a guest.
Everything seemed to be going well when something terrible happened. Chandralekha was found missing from the palace. The worried Queen sent for Prince Virendra. She said to him, “You are a fortune-teller. Please find out where she is.” The prince went into a trance.
Prince Virendra made some calculations on a piece of paper and said, “A giant in the hope of marrying the princess has kidnapped her.” The panicked Queen summoned all the three princes in her room and requested them, “Please save my daughter Chandralekha.” The three princes got down to work immediately. Prince Virendra drew a map to reach the giant’s palace. Prince Udaivir offered to take the two princes in his magical chariot. Prince Dhananjay drew his sword and they all flew in the chariot towards the palace of the giant.
The giant rushed to fight against them. A fierce fight took place between Dhananjay and the giant. Finally, Dhananjay cut off the giant’s head with his sword.
Chandralekha and the three princes returned to the kingdom. The Queen thanked all the three princes. Everybody was happy. But the three princes were arguing amongst themselves as to who should get the princess. Finally, it was decided that Princess Chandralekha should herself choose her future husband.
Baital said, “Vikram! Answer me now. Whom did she marry? Who was the most deserving of the three?”
Baital continued, “If you do not answer my question correctly, I will break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya was silent for a few moments and then replied, “As the saying goes, ‘Might is right’, so it would be Prince Dhananjay who was the most suitable to marry Chandralekha. If he had not killed the giant, it would have been impossible to free the princess.”
Baital said, “Rightly judged, dear Vikram! But you have spoken in spite of my several warnings. Now, I have no choice but to leave you and return to my tree.”
Having said so, Baital left the shoulder of King Vikramaditya and flew away.
