One day a Brahmin visited Birbal. Actually, the Brahmin had come with a strange request to be fulfilled and he thought that only Birbal could help him. Since Akbar’s favourite minister had gained in a lot of popularity in distant villages too, everyone looked up to him for a smart way out of any trouble. So, the Brahmin had heard a lot about the smart minister, and approached him.
The purpose of the Brahmin was that he wanted to be called ‘pandit’ by everyone. But the problem was that he was an uneducated man. And, only educated Brahmins could be given the title of ῾pandit᾿.
“I beg your pardon, my friend. But you are not educated enough to be called a ῾pandit᾿. Thus your wish cannot be fulfilled, until or unless you pursue the required studies. Then only you will be called a ῾pandit᾿ by others,” explained Birbal.
However, the Brahmin turned out to be a very silly and foolish man. He turned away his ears and shut down all understanding coming his way. He remained stuck to his request. After trying again and again, Birbal thought that only some trick would get him out of this situation.
Then an idea struck in his extremely cunning brain. He called all the servants in the palace and made sure that the Brahmin didn’t hear what he would order the servants. “I order every single one of you to address this man standing over here by the title ῾pandit᾿,” said Birbal. Then, he sent all of them back and called the man back Birbal said to him, “Fortunately, the day is lucky for you. Your wish will be fulfilled. From now on, you will be called ῾pandit᾿. So, be happy. But do not forget to throw stones and yell at others with anger for calling you ῾pandit᾿.”
The last words of Birbal puzzled the foolish Brahmin, so he asked what it meant. Birbal further explained that since he was an uneducated man, he was obliged to do so. The Brahmin with foolish innocence nodded and left.
While on the way, Birbal’s servants, as per his orders, started calling the man ῾pandit᾿. And following his instructions, the Brahmin threw stones and harsh words at them. Gradually, the news spread in the kingdom of Akbar that a stupid man was acting crazy on being called ῾pandit᾿.
So, to make fun of him, they purposely passed by him and screamed ῾pandit᾿ at him. He reacted instantly as he was told. Though he had to wear an angry face while pelting stones at people yet he was beaming with happiness and excitement from inside.
Birbal was relieved that the wish of the foolish man was fulfilled.
