Wise Decision

Kamalnath was the king of Ujjain. He was childless for a number of years. After severe penance, two children were born to him. The elder one was a daughter and the younger one, a son. Rajeshwari was the daughter. When she grew up, the king wanted to have her married to the best of bridegrooms. So he obtained various pictures of suitable princes so that Rajeshwari could chose a groom of her liking. She felt she could not decide on any one of them by merely looking at pictures. So she left the decision to her parents but told them that she wished to marry someone who was intelligent and brave.

The news that Rajeshwari wanted to marry an intelligent and brave man spread far and wide. Many suitors came to Ujjain to gain her hand in marriage. Out of these, one was a weaver. He claimed he could weave five fine clothes a day. "I donate one such cloth to the God; the second is given to a Brahmin and the other three will be used by me to run my family," he boasted.

Another suitor was a trader. He said that he could understand the languages of all the beasts and birds.
The third suitor was a warrior. He was an ace swordsman and had successfully fought many battles.

The fourth one was a Brahmin. He said he could make even the dead come alive with his knowledge.

All the four suitors were handsome and intelligent. Neither the king nor the princess could decide whom to select as the bridegroom.

Betal ended he story and asked the king "Vikram! I have a doubt. Only you are capable of answering the question. Whom should Rajeshwari marry? You know what will happen if you remain silent". Vikram could not remain silent. He had to answer Betal's question.

Vikram said, "After all, Rajeshwari, being the king's daughter belongs to the warrior clan. So it is very natural that she should marry someone from her own community. Moreover, she has specified that her husband should be a brave man. The weaver, the trader and the Brahmin are not brave people, where as the warrior had already proved his bravery by waging many wars.

"How can Rajeshwari be happy with a husband who can understand the language of the beasts; or with some one who can weave fine clothes? The Brahmin seems to be a magician. Therefore the warrior is the right husband for Rajeshwari," explained Vikram.

read more stories

Brainy Brother

In the land of Magadha lived a brahmin who performed all rituals very religiously. This pious brahmin had two sons. Both of them were highly intelligent and gifted with rare powers. One son could reveal the identity and the origin of a thing just by touching it or smelling it.

The second son was a very good at judging women. Just one look at a woman and he could correctly say what her temperament was and what her likes and dislikes were.

The king of Magadha on hearing about these two talented brothers, appointed them in his service. Both of them were very happy to work for the king.

One day two persons fighting over a precious pearl necklace came to the king to resolve the matter. One of them was quite fat. The king turned to the two talented brothers and asked the younger one, "Can you make out as to whom the pearl necklace really belongs to?" The younger brother sniffed at the hands of both the contenders and declared that the necklace belong to the fat person.

The fat person was overjoyed to hear this verdict "Salutations" he exclaimed, "this brahmin has rendered justice".

The other person also admitted that the necklace belong to the fat man. He said that they had come to test the young brahmin's talent.

The king was pleased to hear this. He gave rewards to the talented brothers.

It so happened that the ruler of a neighbouring country was an enemy of the king of Magadha. Under the pretext of seeking his friendship, this ruler sent a messenger to the king, inviting him to visit their country.

The Magadha king was perplexed about his invitation. He wanted to know the truth. He therefore ordered the two brothers, "The ruler who has sent me an invitation to visit him has been our enemy for a long time. So, please go to his country and find out why he was sent this invitation."

The two brahmin brothers obeyed the kings' orders. They went to the enemy country and after assessing the situation, returned to Magadh.

Reporting to the king, they said "Your Majesty! Your enemy seems to be good-natured, But he is very jealous of you. He may overthrow your kingdom or he may even kill you. Please be careful before accepting his friendship".

The king decided to be watchful.

The next day, the king had an invitation to dinner from the enemy ruler. As a precaution, the king took both the brothers with him.

When the king and his retinue reached the enemy's palace, they wee given a grand welcome. A feast had also been arranged for them. After the heavy dinner, the king wished to sleep and relax for a while. Immediately, he was shown into a royal bedroom.

The king was about to climb on to the bed and lie down. At that moment, the elder brother stopped him, "Your Majesty! Please wait. I feel that there is an unusual strand of hair in the pillow. It may hurt you".

The pillow as thoroughly searched and indeed! There was actually a strand of hair amidst the pillow cotton. It was very rough and seemed to be of some wild animal.

The younger brother smelt the hair and said, "This hair is poisonous. If it had pierced your neck, you would have died instantly".

When the king returned to his capital, he had the hair examined by the royal physician. The physician also declared that the hair had been smeared with some deadly poison.

Betal had come to the end of the story. But he had a question to ask Vikram. He wanted to know which of the two brothers was the wisest.

Betal had come to the end of the story. But he had a question to ask Vikram. He wanted to know which of the two brothers was the wisest.

Betal warned Vikram "Don't keep silent. If you do, you know the consequence." Vikram with a knowledgeable smile on his face said "Betal! All of us know that wisdom has no limits. Both the brothers were wise and talented. But amongst the two, the elder one was the wiser one".

"How can you say that?" asked Betal.

"Well", replied Vikram, "He had the capacity of indicating the presence of hair inside the pillow without even looking at it." The younger brother could identify the poison only through smell. Hence he elder brother is the most intelligent of he two. Betal agreed with Vikram. But he found another opportunity to slip out of Vikram's hands.
read more stories

Difficult Decision

Dharmasheel, the king of Simhapuri was childless. He felt depressed without an heir to the throne. Hence he decided to worship Kali, the royal deity. He wanted to seek her blessings.

Goddess Kali was pleased at his intense devotion. She appeared in his dreams and said "Dharmsheel, I am pleased with your sincere prayers. You will have a son who will be very powerful".

Next morning, he king consulted the royal astrologer about his dream. The astrologer did some calculations and assured the king that his dream would come true.

Nine months passed. Dharamsheel's wife gave birth to a baby boy. The king and the queen took the baby to the temple and after offering prayers, named the boy as Suryadev. Suryadev grew up to be a fine young man. His best friend was Harisen, son of a washer man.

One day both the friends were walking on the banks of a river. There, amidst many washer men and washerwomen, Suryadev saw a beautiful young girl. He fell in love with her. At once, he went to the temple of Kali and prayed o the Goddess, "Mother! Grant me the wish to marry the girl I love and I shall offer my head at your altar on a full moon night".

Even after returning to the palace, Suryadev lost interest in all his surroundings. He could neither sleep nor eat. He could only think of the beautiful girl he saw at the riverside. As a result, he fell ill. But he did not reel to anybody the cause for his mental agony. Even the royal physicians were unable to diagnose his ailment.

Harisen was the only person the prince confided in. He told him about falling in love with a washer man's daughter.

Harisen was very eager to save his friend's life. He immediately went to the king and explained the situation to him. The king was desperate to see his only son, healthy and happy. Hence he agreed to this marriage even though he did not like he idea of a prince marrying a washer-girl.

Harisen approached the girl's father and urged him to accept this march. But none knew that Harisen himself was in love with the same girl. He sacrificed love for he sake of friendship.

On an auspicious day, the prince Suryadev was married to Kanthimathi, daughter of the washer man.

Soon the full moon night occurred. Suryadev went to Kali's temple along with his wife and friend. He asked both of them to wait outside the temple and alone entered the Sanctum Sanctorum. He stood before the Goddess and drawing the sword out, cut off his head as vowed by him.

After anxiously waiting for a long time for Suryadev to come out of the temple, Harisen instructed Kanthimathi to wait outside the temple itself and went inside in search of his friend. But he was shocked to find the body of his friend lying at one corner with the blood dripping head rolling nearby.

"After all, Suryadev was happily married to the girl he loved. Oh my Friend! Why did you take this extreme step?" cried Harisen.

He did not want to live without his friend. Moreover people might think that Harisen himself killed his best friend so that the could marry Kanthimathi. With these thoughts running in his mind, Harisen also cut off his head with the sword and died instantly.

Mother Goddess was moved by Suryadev's devotion and sacrifice and also Harisen's loyalty towards the prince. She therefore brought both of them back to life. But while doing so, by mistake she place Harisen's head on Suryadev's body and Suryadev's head on Harisen's body.

Suryadev and Harisen were now alive but with their heads and bodies interchanged. Kanthimathi was unaware of the incident that took place in the temple.

The story ended here. But Betal had a doubt. Whom should Kanthimathi accept as her husband?

Vikram had the right answer to this question. He said in a firm tone "Kanthimathi should accept the body which has Suryadev's head on it as that of her husband? He justified this reasoning and said, "It's because the entire body is controlled by the brain, this is, the head. A body is useless without the head. So, undoubtedly the person who has Suryadev's head is Kanthimathi's husband".

As soon as he had the answer Betal was back at the tamarind tree handing upside down. Vikram ran behind him.
read more stories

Nobel Person

Visakhadatta was the king of a big city. A rich trader called Chandragupta lived in the same city. The king had issued an order that no man could have more than one wife. Nobody could marry some other person's wife. Anybody found guilty was to be punished.

Chandragupta was a bachelor. But once he met an extremely beautiful girl in a fair. He fell in love with her and decided to marry her. On reaching home, Chandragupta asked his servants to find out where she lived and what was her name.

The servants returned a few days later with information about the girl. Her name was Manimanjari. She was the daughter of another rich merchant Madhavchandra of the same city.

Chandragupta sent one of his close friends to Madhavchandra's house with the marriage proposal. But by that time Madhavchandra had already fixed up his daughter's marriage to a boy called Jayachandra. When he heard of this, Chandragupta was very upset. Having loved Manimanjari very deeply, he decided not even to think of marriage to any other girl. When Manimanjari heard of Chandragupta's love for her, she wrote him a letter. "I am helpless" she explained in the letter, "I have to abide by my father's decision. But I will come and see after my marriage is over". Chandragupta felt somewhat happy on seeing the letter.

Manimanjari's marriage with Jayachandra was a grand affair. She was a very honest girl. So, without hiding anything, she told Jayachandra about Chandragupta. Pleased with her honesty, her husband allowed her to visit Chandragupta. Unescorted, she left for his house. On the way, a thief who wanted to rob her of all her jewellery stopped her. Manimanjari pleaded with him, "Please let me go now. I promise you that I will hand over the jewellery on my way back". The thief believed her and allowed her to proceed.

It was dark when Manimanjari reached Chandragupta's house. He was shocked and angry at seeing her. He scolded her, "How can a girl and that too, a married girl come to me at such a late hour? Moreover, don't you know about the king's order? It is an offense on our part to meet like this. If he sees us now, he will impose death penalty on us."

Stunned by Chandragupta's attitude, Manimanjari at once left the place. The thief was waiting for her on the way. He was happy to see her again. But at the same time he was curious to know why she was walking the streets of the city at night.

Manimanjari told the thief all about herself. The thief took pity on her and told her," You are very honest. I will not steal anything from you. Instead I will escort you to your house".

Manimanjari reached home and told her husband about what transpired between herself and Chandragupta. But Jayachandra did not believe her. He threw her out of the house. Feeling distressed and helpless, she committed suicide.

Betal ended his narration here and asked Vikram "Vikram, you have head the story with rapt attention. Now, decide and tell me immediately who is the most noble of these four persons. Was it Manimanjari who ended her life? Or was it her husband who had agreed to send her to Chandragupta? Or the thief, who, without robbing her, sent her away? Or was it Chandragupta? If you know the answer and still prefer to remain silent, your head will split into pieces. Beware!

Vikram replied calmly "Betal! A sacrifice made without selfish motives is the greatest sacrifice. Judge this yourself. Chandragupta did not accept Manimanjari fearing the king's punishment. And her husband doubted her and did not want her back. Manimanjari was truthful. This created an unbearable situation for her. She committed suicide. All these had selfish motives".

Vikram continued to explain, "It was the thief who was the most noble of these four persons. He could have easily robbed her. But he let her go without any selfish on his part".

"Vikram" said Betal in an appreciative tone, "I like your judgement. But you have talked. So I am going back to the tree". Saying so, Betal flew back to the tamarind tree.
read more stories

Real Offender

King Vikramaditya reached the peepal tree in the forest. Pulling down the corpse and placing it on his shoulder, he started off as before in silence.

Betal said, Vikram ! your pace has slowed down and you are staggering too. Why don't you rest ?" But Vikram did not respond to it so Betal began his new story as follows:

"Once in the city of Chudapur lived a Brahman whose name was Chudavat. He had a son, named Hariswami who resembled of Kamadeva - God of Love. In due course of time, Hariswami grew up to be as wise and learned as his father. Chudavat decided to get his son married as soon as possible. But he died before Hariswami could be married off.

Shortly after Chudavat's death, Harisami was married to a very beautiful girl. Both the husband and the wife loved each other dearly. They were passing their days happily without any worry at all.

One day, the couple went for a holy dip into the Ganga. As ill luck would have it, Hariswami's wife was drowned in the river.

Separated by death from his beloved wife, Hariswami was so disappointed that he left home and went into the forest. Even there, he could not find any peace. Feeling restless, he wandered from one place to another.

In the end, Hariswami reached Kanchanpur where Vasudeva, an old friend of his father, lived. Vasudeva asked him to stay with him. Vasudeva asked his wife to prepare rice-porridge in milk for the guest.

Soon the porridge was served for Hariswami, but he did not eat it. He took the container full of porridge out into the garden and put it under a tree. Then sitting near it, he got lost in deep reflections.

Just near the tree, there lived a snake in a hole. Attracted by the flavor of milk, the snake came out of its hole. Sucking all the milk out of the porridge and vomiting poison into what was left behind, the snake reentered its hole.

Hariswami, unaware of what had happened, took the container in his hands and ate up the porridge. The poison showed its effect. Hariswami lost no time to realize that the porridge contained some poisonous element in it. He shouted, "You have given me poison in the porridge. Why have you done so?"

Vasudeva felt upset. Soon he saw that the body of his guest was turning blue. Before he could do anything, Hariswami breathed his last.

Vasudeva came to his wife and scolded her saying, "What have you done, O wretched women ? You poisoned the porridge and killed a Brahman."

Having been blamed for Harriswami's murder, though innocent, she jumped into a well and ended her life.

Having told this story, Betal said to Vikramaditya, "Was Vasudeva responsible, or not, for the death of his wife? Should he not be punished for this crime? What punishment did he deserve? Or alternatively, should the blame for the death of Vasudeva's wife be laid on Hariswami? Did he not falsely accuse her of poisoning the porridge and thus abetted her to commit suicide. Let me know your answers immediately."

Vikramaditya replied, "Betal ! Vasudeva was not responsible for his wife's death, he was not an offender.

"Why? He scolded his wife beyond the proper limit and compelled her to commit suicide, " said Betal.

"But, Vasudeva did not know that the snake has poisoned the porridge. He was misled by his guest's shouts as anybody else would have been," argued Vikramaditya.

"Do you think, then, that the snake was the offender?" asked Betal.

"To vomit poison, is no offense for a snake. It is just its nature. Don't you know this, Betal?" argued Vikramaditya.

"Hariswami himself was responsible for his own death. He must not have kept the container of porridge uncovered under the tree. Even then, he too was not the offender," replied Vikramaditya.

"Hariswami had gone mad because of his wife's sudden untimely death. And, he, who is insane, does not posses any sense of discretion. That is why he cannot be styled as an offender," said Vikramaditya.

"Right you are. But you are forgetful of the fact that I shall be free to leave you if you spoke. So, good-bye,
O King of Kings!" said Betal and flew away.
read more stories

The crows and the serpent

Once upon a time there lived a crow couple, who had built a nest on the top of a tree. But unfortunately the tree was inhabited by a serpent at its bottom. So the serpent used to crawl up the tree and eat all the eggs that the lady crow used to lay. The crow couple were deeply grieved and when this happened time after time, then they decided that the serpent was to be get rid of by a plan.

So the crow then approached his friend the jackal and asked for a plan. The jackal then told him to go and fetch a costly thing from the palace of the king and throw the thing in the burrow of the snake. The crow went to palace, and stole a necklace of the queen while she was bathing. The gaurds of the palace ran after it. The crow then dropped the necklace in the burrow of the snake beneath the tree.

The gaurds on reaching the bottom of the tree, found the necklace gaurded by the serpent. Then they lynched the serpent and recovered the necklace. So the crow family was now happy that their eggs were safe now.

MORAL: Wit can achieve anything.
read more stories

The heron and the crab

Once upon a time there lived a heron by the side of a pond. It was a lazy creature and once deivsed a plan to get a supply of fish without doing much work. So one day, he went to the side of the pond and put on a gloomy face without attempting to catch any fish. The pond was also inhabited by a carb, which was wise and often helped the fish in the pond. On seeing the gloomy heron, the crab asked her what the matter was.

The heron said, "Alas! I am worried that the pond is going to be soon devoid of any fish, which are in turn my source of food. I overheard a group of fishermen talking about catching all the fish in this pond. But I know of a pond somewhat far away, where all the fish shall be safe. If the fish are interested, i can carry a few each day to the other pond where they will be safe."

All the fish were eager to make use of the heron in reaching a safer destination. So everyday some of the them volunteer to go with the heron. The heron took some fish each day in the beak, and on reaching a large rock used to eat all the fish up and leave the bones of the fish at the rock. So she was able to get a continuos supply of fish at no effort at all. In the end, the curiosity got the better of the crab, and one day it volunteered to go with the fish. When it had gone closer to the rock, it realised the foul play the heron had been playing on the poor fish. Enraged, it tightened its claws around the neck of the heron and snapped the head of the heron off. The heron this died a selfish death. The crab crept back to the pond and told all the fish about the lies the heron had been telling.

MORAL: Excess of Greed is harmful.
read more stories