151 Vikram Baital Tales

“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

As King Vikramaditya was carrying Baital, he started telling another story—“Many years ago, in Himachal Pradesh ruled a king named Jeemutwahan. He was a very good king and was famous all over. He was very proficient and had a religious bent of mind. The King loved his people and took great care of his subjects.

Baital as usual tried to fly away because Vikramaditya had spoken but as soon as he tried to fly away, King Vikramaditya held him tightly. Baital said, “Vikram, you are getting smarter. I will not go away but you will have to listen to my remaining story and also answer my question.” King Vikramaditya nodded

He asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram! Which of the four princesses was the most fragile? And why did the physician decline to treat the King’s daughters? If you try to shun from answering my questions, I will break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya replied, “Baital, you will be astonished but none of the four princesses

The princess saw that the jewels which she had given to the maid were missing. So, she asked the maid, “Where is the jewellery I gave you?” The maid told her everything. Instead of being appreciative, the princess got angry at the maid. She said, “How dare you insult me by bestowing my jewels on

The King had deployed several maid-servants to look after the comforts of all the four princesses. Of these maids, one was a very kind maid. She used to help the needy and give alms to beggars. One day, one of the princesses gave the maid some jewellery as a token of appreciation. The maid was

The third princess was so delicate that she used to faint even at the faintest noise. Once, the sound of a wooden pestle from a house far away gave her a severe headache and she fainted. And finally, the fourth princess was so tender that a mere touching of her body left dark spots on

King Vikramaditya walked with the dead body when Baital spoke. He said, “Vikram! You will never be able to stop me; try as you wish. If I want, I myself will stop escaping.” King Vikramaditya did not say anything. Baital as usual started telling him a story—“The king of Swarga Desh had four very beautiful

The four brothers decided to put their learning to test. One of them arranged all the bones of the lion. Then the second produced flesh over the bones with the help of his magic. The third brother covered the flesh and bones with the lion’s skin. The fourth brother finally chanted some mantras and put