151 Vikram Baital Tales

She also liked the parrot because she spoke excellent Sanskrit. One day, the princess asked her, “Tell me Madan-Manjari whom should I marry. Who is suitable for me?” Madan-Manjari told her about King Gunwant. Chandravati without even seeing Gunwant fell in love with him. In fact, though neither had set eyes upon the other, both […]

Baital started telling King Vikramaditya another story as he carried him—“King Gunwant of the Avanti kingdom was a very strong ruler. He had a parrot named Churaman. He was very wise and well versed in Sanskrit. The parrot had travelled to a number of kingdoms and was well informed about people and places. One day,

Soon, Basant was arrested by the King’s soldiers. He was taken to the King’s court. Basant told the King everything. The King heard everything. Then he gave his judgement.” At this point, Baital finished the story. He asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram, tell me what judgement the King gave. If you fail to answer my question,

Therefore, one day, Basant married the maiden. To Basant’s surprise, the maiden looked beautiful. So, Basant asked her, “How do you look so beautiful?” The maiden laughed and said, “I am actually beautiful. I wanted to test you; that is why I put on false make-up. I wanted to find out who loved me for

The maiden replied, “No. Here take a look at me without my make-up. I am so ugly.” Saying so, she removed the make-up from her face. But Basant was a grounded man. Looks did not matter much to him. So he replied, “I am not swayed by looks. Beauty is a temporary thing. But you

Sant reached the garden excitedly. The maiden was already strolling there. Sant went up to her and said, “You are very beautiful. I have seen many girls but you are the first one I have liked. Will you marry me?” The maiden asked, “Do you really wish to marry me?” Sant said, “Yes, of course!

In the meantime, the young maiden strolled around a bit and then left the garden. The brothers saw her going to a house close by. An old woman was sitting outside the house. Sant went to the old woman. He wanted to find out about the maiden. Sant said to the woman, “Mother! Please tell

King Vikramaditya as usual pulled the corpse down from the tree and put it on his shoulder. He started walking towards his kingdom. Baital could not keep silent and said to him, “While you are walking, let me tell you an interesting story. King Vikramaditya did not say anything. Baital smiled and started off with

The King got the hair examined by experts. They found that the hair had been smeared with deadly poison.” Here Baital ended his story. He asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram, tell me which of the two Brahmin brothers was the wiser. If you do not answer my question knowingly, I will break your head into pieces.”

The brothers continued, “Do not rely on him blindly. This offer of friendship may turn out to be a passing phase.” The King was disturbed to hear this but kept quiet. The next day, the King received a gift from the enemy King. The gift was a beautiful throne-like cushioned chair with precious stones. The

The man continued, “But, in reality, we had come here to test the skill of the Brahmin brothers. And we are happy to say that they have passed our test. Please forgive us.” The King was very happy. He rewarded the Brahmin brothers with many precious gifts. Days passed by. One day, the King got

They were quarrelling non-stop. They wanted to settle a dispute. They were fighting over a necklace. One said, “This necklace is mine.” The other said, “Do not lie. This necklace is mine.” They continued arguing. The King got angry over this and told them to be quiet. Both said they had proof that the necklace

Baital began telling another story to King Vikramaditya—“A Brahmin lived in the city of Magadha. He was a very religious person. He performed religious ceremonies for his clients. He had two sons. They were very talented. The first son could identify if there was wealth buried under the earth or whether there was water under

Baital continued, “If you knowingly do not answer my question correctly, I shall break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya replied, “No, the hermit cannot be blamed. It was the fault of the King. It is not possible to master a mantra by just reciting it without concentration. Though the King did all that the

The King was ecstatic. The hermit said, “Master the mantra by heart. Then recite it for thirty days standing in cold water and then again for thirty days sitting in the fire.” The King promised the hermit that he would follow his instructions. He learnt the mantra by heart. Then he recited it for the