151 Vikram Baital Tales

His parents had asked him many a time to mend his ways, but all their efforts failed. Later, they left for their heavenly abode. After that he had full liberty to do as he pleased. He made his house a gambling place and he was gambling all the time. He went on losing everything—his father’s […]

King Vikramaditya as usual walked with Baital on his shoulder when Baital started telling a story—“Once upon a time, there lived a rich merchant named Hemdeva in the city of Surya Nagar. He had a lovely daughter named Vidyawati. When she was of a marriageable age, Hemdeva began searching for a suitable groom for her.

Here Baital stopped and asked, “Now tell me, Vikram, whom Roopmati should choose as her husband. Was it not a crime if she chose a wrong body and head? Tell me. Speak or I shall break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya replied, “Roopmati should accept the head of Gandharvasen as her husband.” But Baital

He thought that people might think that he had killed his friend so that he might marry Roopmati. So, in order to be on the safe side, Dev Datta also cut off his head with his sword. After some time, Roopmati herself went inside the temple to see what was wrong. She was shocked to

Gandharvasen decided that it was time to fulfil his promise. So, he went to the temple. Roopmati and Dev Datta also went with him. But Gandharvasen did not tell them about his oath. Reaching the temple, Gandharvasen asked Roopmati and Dev Datta to wait outside and he himself went inside the temple. Then, in the

The girl’s name was Roopmati. He told them about the marriage proposal of Gandharvasen. The parents were very happy to hear about the marriage proposal. All in all, their daughter would be married to a wealthy man. Roopmati was also happy to get the proposal of marriage from Gandharvasen. In reality, she herself had loved

The next day, he locked himself in his room. He did not come out at all. He did not eat anything nor did he drink anything. Gandharvasen’s health was affected. His poor parents could not understand what was happening. But he did not tell them anything. They called the doctor but he too gave up

Finally, all the washermen stopped work and left for home. Even the girl left for home along with the members of her family. Poor Gandharvasen was so captivated by her beauty that he could not bear to see her go. He kept looking at her till she had completely disappeared from his sight. After that,

He was a very handsome young man. Though he was not a prince yet he lived a princely life. He had a horse. Every day, he used to mount the horse and take a round of the city. When he rode, many women of the city swooned after him, but Gandharvasen did not pay attention

King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree where the corpse was hanging. He pulled the corpse down and putting it on his shoulder started for the crematory. While walking King Vikramaditya said to Baital, “Do not have any false notions. I am going to take you to the hermit. So, there is no need to run

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