151 Vikram Baital Tales

The thief saw Chandrasena’s sad face. He asked her, “What is the matter? Why are you so sad?” Chandrasena told him everything that had transpired between her and Gurudatta. The thief praised her for keeping her word of meeting him. He wished her luck and let her go without taking her jewels. When Chandrasena reached […]

Chandrasena replied, “Please believe me. This is the word of a woman who comes from a respectable family.” The thief took her word and said, “You can go but keep your word. I will be waiting for you.” A thankful Chandrasena rushed off to meet Gurudatta. When Gurudatta saw her, he could not believe his

Gurudatta was very happy after reading the letter. Shortly afterwards, Chandrasena got married to Jaikaran. On the wedding night, she told her husband about Gurudatta. She told him of her promise to him. Jaikaran felt happy that his wife had told him the truth. He gave her his permission to go and see Gurudatta. So,

In the temple, he chanced to see a very beautiful lady. He fell in love with her there and then. Many days passed by but still his love for the lady did not diminish. One day, he asked his servant to find out all he could about the lady. A few days later, the servant

King Vikramaditya took down the corpse and hanging it on his shoulder began walking. Baital as usual could not keep quiet. He said to Vikramaditya, “I know you want to deliver me to the hermit. But in the meantime, hear a story from me. Listen very carefully.” So, Baital started his story—“There was a kingdom

A happy Virbhadra arrived in his kingdom along with the maiden. When Satyamani heard that the King had married the maiden, he committed suicide.” Baital ended his story and asked, “Tell me Vikram why Satyamani committed suicide. Answer in all fairness or I will break your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya replied, “Satyamani died due

The maiden was very happy and thanked the King. The King asked, “Why did the demon visit you on a moonless night?” The maiden replied, “Let me tell you my story. I am the daughter of Gandharva Vidyasagar. He ate food which was cooked and served by me only. Once, while playing, I forgot to

So, leaving Satyamani to manage the affairs of the court, the King went to the seashore. As soon as he saw the tree surfacing from the water, he swam up to it. The maiden was sitting on the tree, as usual, and playing a lyre. She said to the King, “Why have you come here?”

Satyamani saw a tree rising out of the sea. It was glowing. Its leaves were made of gold; the fruits and the flowers of the tree were made of diamonds, sapphires and pearls. And a more strange sight was that a young lady was sitting on a branch of the tree and playing a lyre.

King Vikramaditya was carrying the corpse back when Baital spoke. He said to King Vikramaditya, “I will tell you a story again to pass the time.” So, Baital told a story—“There was a kingdom called Punyapur which was ruled by King Virbhadra. He had a loyal minister whose name was Satyamani. One day, Satyamani came

At this point, Baital asked King Vikramaditya, “Now tell me, Vikram, whom princess Shashibala chose as her husband. Answer me or I will break your head into pieces. Do not remain silent.” King Vikramaditya was silent for some time. He held Baital tightly but knew that he had to answer the question. So, he spoke,

Shortly afterwards, another prince came to the court of the King. He too asked for Shashibala’s hand. He stated that he was a great scholar. He had mastery over the Vedas and the Upanishads. The King made him his guest as well. Next came the prince of Chedi kingdom. He too asked for the hand

The King replied, “That is exceptional. Please do stay as my guest till I make my decision. I will also have to talk to my daughter about this proposal.” So, the prince was taken to the guest house. The next day, the prince of Vaishali came to the King’s court asking for Shashibala’s hand. The

King Vikramaditya reached the tree, pulled down the dead body and putting it on his shoulder proceeded towards his kingdom. Baital said to him, “I will tell you a story to pass the time. Take note and reply to my questions honestly.” Then Baital told the story— “In the kingdom of Awanti lived a beautiful

Baital finished his story and asked King Vikramaditya, “Vikram! Whose sacrifice was the highest? If you knowingly avoid giving a correct answer to my question, I will smash your head into pieces.” King Vikramaditya laughed and said, “King Roopsen’s sacrifice was the highest as it was selfless and there was no ulterior motive to it.