Baital started telling a story as King Vikramaditya was carrying him:
In a place called Choorapur lived a Brahmin by the name of Bhadraavat. One day, he was invited to a wedding. At the wedding he saw a beautiful girl named Lilawati. He fell in love with the girl. The girl also fell in love with him. Bhadraavat asked her to marry him.
So, on the appointed day, Bhadraavat married Lilawati. He took her home. Time passed away. They were enjoying the marital bliss. One day, they were relishing the sea waves when Lilawati was taken away by the strong waves. Bhadraavat could not bear the shock of his wife’s death. He kept sitting near the sea for a long time. He almost lost his mental balance. His condition was like that of a beggar. He went running from one place to another.
After a while, still wandering, he reached Kanchanpur. His father’s friend Vasudeva lived there. When Vasudeva saw Bhadraavat, he recognized him instantly despite his ragged state. He took him home. Vasudeva asked Bhadraavat to stay with him but he refused.
One day, Vasudeva asked his wife to cook Kheer (rice and milk preparation) and give some to Bhadraavat. So, Vasudeva’s wife put some Kheer in a bowl and gave it to Bhadraavat. Bhadraavat went to the garden of the house and kept the bowl by his side. Then he again started weeping in memory of Lilawati.
After a while, he fell asleep. The Kheer bowl was still there. Suddenly, a poisonous snake, which lived in the tree-hole, came out of its hole. It saw the Kheer bowl. It came near the Kheer bowl, spat some of its venom in the bowl and went back into its hole. When Bhadraavat woke up, he was feeling hungry. So, he ate the poisoned Kheer.
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 Vasudeva’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 Vasudeva’s house. Vasudeva was highly perplexed. He got angry at his wife saying, “You have murdered a Brahmin. Why did you mix poison in the Kheer?” But his wife was innocent. She felt deeply hurt at the false allegations. She got utterly frustrated and committed suicide by jumping into a well.
Baital stopped here and asked King Vikramaditya, “Tell me who is to be blamed for the death of Vasudeva’s wife. Was it Vasudeva? Or was it Bhadraavat? What is your opinion?” King Vikramaditya began to think. Then he said, “None of them are to be held guilty.”
Baital asked, “O King, was the snake guilty then?” The King at once replied, “Snakes have a natural tendency of spitting venom here and there. So, it is quite foolish on anybody’s part 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 cannot be blamed fully as he was not in his right state of mind. A mentally unsound person cannot distinguish between good and bad. So, in this particular case, no one is to be held guilty.”
Baital laughed and said to Vikramaditya, “You are right but since you have broken your promise of keeping silent, I am going back to my abode in the peepal!” Saying so, Baital slipped out of King Vikramaditya’s firm grip and flew away. King Vikramaditya again cursed himself for not remaining silent and ran after Baital.
