TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE

Matter of Succession
Successor is not only by relationship established

Vaitaal said - "Now the time is very short, let me tell you one another story, may be the last one." Vikram said - "So you will complete 25 stories." "Yes, And these stories will be famous as "Vaitaal Pachcheesee". How much good I have done by telling you these stories, only the Time will tell. So listen to it attentively.

There were two young men, Madan and Ratan, in Baatee island. Both were very fast friends. Once both went to do business together. They made a lot of profit. While returning, they sat down under a tree and started counting their remaining things and profit. They were busy in their work, that a beautiful woman came there.

Both looked at her surprisingly and asked her - "O Beautiful, Who are you?" She told the she was going with her husband that some robbers robbed them and killed her husband. After saying this she broke into tears and started crying loudly. She said - "Since now there is nobody for me to go - there was no use to go to my parents and other relations, I will commit suicide."

Madan and Ratan consoled her and assured her to provide every kind of help she needed. Woman got consoled. Their work was over so they took her along and started their journey. Both were thinking about her, as what to do of her.

Madan suggested that she should be remarried. Ratan said - "Maybe one of us can marry her." "But how?" Ratan said - "If you are interested, you may marry her." Madan said - "Yes, I can marry, but if you want, you can marry her." Madan again said - "Look, We both are interested to marry her. So, let us play the dice game and decide who will marry her. Then we will not have any complaint with each other." Ratan agreed.

Then both sat again under a tree, and played dice game for a long time. In the end, the match was drawn. They again started playing, but again the match was drawn. They did this several times, but nobody won the game, nobody lost the game. So they were unable to decide what to do. Then they asked her - "To whom you want to marry." She shyly told that she could marry both of them, because she liked both of them.

Now they were in real trouble. That woman was still with them. In the end they thought to pick the paper. They wrote their names on two papers and picked one. It was Madan's name, so Madan married her.

Vikram, see the Time, after a child was born to them, Madan died in an accident. The woman asked Madan's share of wealth from Ratan. Although Madan had no partnership with Ratan, still she asked his share from Ratan. Now tell Vikram, how far her demand was lawful?

Vikram said - "The matter must have gone to the royal court." Vaitaal said - "Yes, And I know the judgment also. The king refused her claim, but what is you judgment?" Vikram smiled - "My judgment? My judgment is that she should get it." "Why?" Vikram said - "It was true that Madan had won her by toss, but still she was the property of both of them. She had the right of succession."

Vaitaal said - "You are right, Vikram." He again laughed loudly. As Vaitaal lughed loudly Vikram became careful and he held him tightly, because now his destination was very near. Vaitaal said - "Don't worry, I will not run away now. I am with you." But Vikram didn't trust him so he held him tightly.


How Vaitaal saved Vikram

When the pyre of the cremation ground was in sight, Vaitaal said to Vikram - "Vikram, This Yogee is very cunning. He is planning to kill you. I know his plan. He will ask you to prostrate, and when you will prostrate before him, he will cut your neck with sword. So be careful."

Vikram got surprised to hear this. Although he had this doubt in his mind, but now he was more careful. Vikram came to the Yogee with Vaitaal on his shoulder. Yogee became very happy to see Vaitaal, he said - "Bravo king Vikram, You are really courageous. Now you will rule the whole Prithvi without any obstacles."

The Yogee cut the body of Vaitaal into pieces and sacrificed it in the fire, performed some Taantrik rites, and in the last offered Poorn Aahuti (last Aahuti). Vikram was noticing all this very carefully. He was standing just straight. After finishing everything, the Yogee said - "King Vikram, Now you earn Punya by prostrating in front of me.

Vikram was waiting for this moment only. He remembered Vaitaal's instruction, that "as you will prostrate in front of him, he will cut your neck." so he said - "I am a king, I do not prostrate in front of anybody. The Yogee got surprised to hear this. He said - "OK, Then I prostrate before you." As he bent down to prostrate before the king, the king cut his neck with his sword. The Yogee was dead.

The then a loud laughter echoed in that lonely forest. That laughter was of that Vaitaal. Vikram got stunned to see Vaitaal, he exclaimed - "Vaitaal you? You were dead?" Vaitaal said - "Yes, It is me. By sacrificing this Yogee, you have given me life. If you had not killed him, I could not have been born again."

The king saw that the form of Vaitaal has changed. Now he was a very handsome young man. Vikram asked him - "Now what will you do?" "Whatever you order." Vikram said - "Then you come and stay with me. I will appoint you my minister." Vaitaal became happy to hear this, he said - "I will serve you with my full honesty." He expressed his gratefulness to Vikram as he gave him a new life.

He said - "Hey Raajan, This Yogee was my elder brother. he had changed me into Vaitaal with the power of his Tantra. He abducted my wife too, and now he wanted to take your kingdom, that is why he wanted to kill you, but since you have killed him, you have saved your kingdom, as well as you have given me a new life. Your fame will remain in this world forever."

The day was about to break, Vikram had returned to his palace along with Vaitaal.


The Meanest Man
Even the meanest person has some conscious

Vikram pulled Vaitaal from the tree with full force, put him on his shoulder and started walking fast. Vaitaal again started telling a story to Vikram, he said - "Vikram, Now I tell you a true story of Swarn Desh.

There lived a rich man who helped poor people, that is why all people praised him. Even the king also praised him. He had only one son. Because of being the only child, he was brought up with great care and love. As the time passed, he grew up as a fine young handsome boy.

Now, there lived a newly married woman in his neighborhood. Her husband was not very good, so she got attracted to him. Since both houses were adjacent to each other, they could go to each other's house easily. Once that woman's husband went to foreign lands, so she was alone. She thought to go to that boy's room.

In the night she came to the house of the rich man and then entered that boy's room. She knew the room of that boy. He was awake at that time. He got stunned to see a woman's figure at his room's door. He asked her - "Who are you?" That woman didn't reply anything, just came near his bed and said - "I am your beloved." and she lay down beside him. The boy got scared. The woman requested to love her, but that boy took her as a witch and got unconscious. The woman also got scared seeing him unconscious.

By chance some thieves entered the rich man's house. That woman's husband was also among those thieves. He used to say at home, that he was going to foreign lands, but he used to steal during those days. He told the stolen things as his business profit and impressed his neighbors.

That woman hid seeing the thieves. And she was extremely surprised when she saw her husband among those thieves. She saw everything, her husband and other thieves stole the things from that rich man's house and went away. The woman came back to her house quietly.

A lot of noise rose from the rich man's house when the boy told everything to his parents. He told about the woman also. Everybody was stunned at this. The boy saw his neighbor's wife and he recognized her and told his father everything.

The rich man told this incident to the king. The king's soldiers came and took the woman to the king. The woman bluntly refused that she had committed any crime. She said - "It is only because of jealousy, that the boy is blaming me."

She was saying this to the king that the king's soldiers brought her husband also for stealing in rich man's house, along with the stolen things. Her husband was caught in a ruins. when she saw her husband, she got scared. After hearing everybody, the king ordered for the husband to be hanged, and for the woman to be expelled.

After telling all this, Vaitaal said - "This was the king's judgment, what is your judgment, Vikram?" Vikram didn't speak anything, Vaitaal asked him again.

Vikram said - "I think the king's judgment was wrong." "Why?" "It was all right to hang the man, but it was wrong to expel the woman." "Why?" "The woman hid everything in spite of knowing everything, and thus tried to save herself only; it was her Dharm." Vitaal laughed - "Does such a woman have any kind of Dharm, this is only womanish character." Vikram said seriously - "Even the meanest man has some kind of Dharm. Although she lost her mind because of her bad husband, still she loved her husband, that is why she did not want her husband to be punished. That is why it was not right to punish her. It is not right to consider a man mean all the time."

Vaitaal said - "You are right, Vikram." He again laughed loudly, that Vikram held him tightly. Vaitaal said - "Don't worry, I will not run away now." But Vikram didn't trust him so he held him tightly.

Who is at Fault?
A faulty man is he whose behavior encourages the crime

Vikram was walking fast. Vaitaal said - "Vikram, Walk slowly. There is still time, till then I tell you another story, just to pass time.

In ancient times, there lived a Braahman in Chedi Desh. He was very healthy but he was very ugly. His complexion was dark and that is why he was not getting married. He was growing older and older day by day but nobody was ready to marry him, so he was very sad. He did not like to do his Karm. His name was Dharmdatt. Although he was not able to perform his work properly, still being a Braahman, he could get some work.

Once he got a job of performing a marriage. He performed many ceremonies of the marriage, but when the girl came carrying Varmaalaa in her hands, he just continued to look at her. Dharmdatt got attracted to her. When the marriage was over then he told the boy that the girl had Mangal Dosh, that is why he should not take her to his house immediately. The boy's parents agreed to this.

He performed some special fake ceremonies to remove Mangal Dosh of the girl and said to her parents that the girl will stay with him alone at Yagya Vedee for the whole night. He will perform some other ceremonies which will last for the whole night and in the morning she will be free from Mangal Dosh. So Vikram, trusting the Braahman, that girl was handed over to that Braahman. Braahman pretending that it was a ceremony, misbehaved with her. Thinking that it was a part of the ceremony, the girl did not speak anything. Next day that girl went to her in-law's house.

After some time that girl gave birth to a son. He was the son of Dharmdatt - bearing the same complexion and ugliness. Her husband got very surprised to see this. His wife told him everything. At this her husband expelled her. She went to the king with her complaint.

Vaitaal said - "Now tell me, Vikram, What justice that king should have done? why did that girl make noise? Why did she tell everything on asking by her husband? Who should be punished? Her husband? Dharmdatt? or the parents of the girl?"

When Vikram didn't speak anything, Vaitaal said - "Speak Vikram, You know that if you did not speak in spite of knowing, your head will split up and will be scattered around." Vikram said - "Listen, First that girl didn't speak, nor she opposed, nor she cried, but she told everything to her husband after the birth of the child; that is why the girl is not at fault at all. She must have been very innocent girl. The sinful Braahman did whatever with her, she considered it a part of the ceremonies." Vaitaal asked - "Then who was the culprit?" "Dharmdatt Braahman is also not at fault for this."

Vaitaal asked - "What about the parents of the girl?" "Yes, Parents of the girl, because first believing that the girl had Mangal Dosh, then to hand over her to that Braahman for the whole night, all are the wrongs of the girl's parents. They must be punished."

Vaitaal again laughed loudly and escaped Vikram's strong hold. He ran and hung on the same tree. Vikram ran after him, lifted from the tree, put him on his shoulder and again started walking. After a while Vaitaal said - "You were right Vikram, but the king punished that Braahman and he was hanged. The girl was considered innocent. The king asked her husband to accept her, but he refused to accept her, so he employed her as his queen's maid. But tell me, O Vikram, why that Braahman did so with her?" "Because he wanted to marry and no girl was marrying him." Vikram was walking fast, he was really in hurry.


Conclusion

TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE-

From Bhavishya Puran

Vikram era started in 57 BC by Vikramaditya the Great as a commemoration of his victory upon the Shaks. There is plentiful literature on Vikramaditya, and in the Bhavishya Puran itself there are descriptions of Vikramaditya in more than 40 chapters between Pratisarg Parv I and IV. Pratisarg Parv IV, chapter 1 of Bhavishya Puran says that after the elapse of a full 3,000 years in kaliyug (3102 - 3000 = 102 BC), a dynamic Divine personality was born who was named Vikramaditya. Bhavishya Puran further says that the great King Vikramaditya ruled for one hundred years. When he was only five years old he went into the jungles to worship God. After twelve years, when he came out, God Shiv sent for him a celestial golden throne which was decorated with thirty-two statues. According to the above descriptions Vikramaditya lived for (5 years + 12 years + 100 years) 117 years (102 BC - 15 AD).

Kalidas, the greatest poet, writer and the literary figure of his time, living a pious life and sincerely devoted to his scholarly work, was one of the nine gems of King Vikram's court. The "Jyotirvidabharnam" by Kalidas tells in its first chapter



that Vikram era started at the elapse of (agni 3, ambar 0, yug 4 and ved 4 = 3,0,4,4) 3,044 years of kaliyug. Thus, the 3,045th year of kaliyug was the beginning of Vikram era which is 57 BC. At the end of Jyotirvidabharnam, Mahakavi Kalidas mentions the exact date of his writing and says that



in the Kali era 3067 he had started to write this book. It means, he wrote that book when 3,067 years of kaliyug had passed. That comes to 35 BC (3102 - 3067 = 35), which is after the beginning of Vikram era.
Thus, Vikramaditya was born in 102 BC (3102-3000), established his 'era' in 57 BC and left this earth planet in 15 AD.




Captain sir Richard R Burton has translated 11 stories under the caption

TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE and concluded – In other

words, to the present day, whenever a Hindu novelist, romancer, or tale writer

seeks a peg upon which to suspend the texture of his story, he invariably

pitches upon the glorious, pious, and immortal memory of that Eastern Kin Arthur,

vikramadita, shortly called vikram.



The eleventh story given by him was:

TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE


Once upon a time there was a king named Vikramaaditya who ruled Pratisthana on the river Godavari. He was a mighty and glorious king. Everyday when he used to hold public court,a beggar used to come along and present a fruit to the king and this went on for a couple of years when curiosity got the better of the king. The king used to pass on the fruit to his treasurer who used to throw them all in the storage. On hearing of the king's curiosity, the treasurer was surprised to see the storage full of emeralds and pearls and the fruit had disintegrated. He reported this to the king. The king questioned the beggar the next day about this. On hearing this, the beggar requested the help from the king for a magic spell he was going to perform. The king was asked to meet him at nightfall of the fourteenth night of the dark moon near the cremation ground. The king did as told and found the beggar there. The beggar was drawing a magic circle and all around were the howling noises of vampires, ghosts and other nightly creatures. The beggar asked the king to go further deep into the woods and bring the corpse, which was haging upside down on a tree.

The king found the corpse for sure, but as he started lifting it and taking it down he realised that it was possessed by a vampire. Everytime the king talked the vampire jumped back the tree. In the end, the king jumped up sliently and brought the corpse down. The vampire then started telling him a story. In the end of the story, he asked a puzzle to the king related to story. As soon as the king finished his answer, he fled back to the top of the tree. This happened 24 times. But for the 25th time, the question was so tough that the king could not answer. These 25 stories are very famous in Indian literature, known as Vikram-Betaal tales. On the end of the 25th tale, the vampire cautioned the king that the beggar would ask him to rest on a piece of wood when he would be sacrificed. In that situation the vampire asked the king to let the beggar show the way and asked the king to get rid of the evil beggar. So did the king. And the vampire granted the king for a boon. The king requested that the stories whichever were told to him, be told time and again in history and wherever these stories are told vampires would not dare. Hence the famous Vikram-Betaal stories.

As a sample, here we present the last of the stories, which the king could not answer. Betaal said,


"Once there was a king in the South who had lot of relatives. The relatives were always hungry after the throne. So once they usurped the throne, and the king had to flee the kingdom with his wife and daughter. They travelled through dense forests. In one area which was occupied by barbarians, he adivsed his wife and daughter to hide behind a bush while he fought the robbers but died a tragic death. The queen and the daughter wept for their king.


In the meantime, a peasent and his son came to the forest on horses. They saw the foorprints of the ladies, and were impressed. The son decided to marry the lady with the smaller feet while the father decided to marry the lady with the bigger feet. Upon a distance they saw the queen and the daughter. The peasent talked smoothly with the ladies and consoled them and heard their story after convincing them that they were not robbers. The peasant and the son then brought the two ladies home and told them of the plan of marriage. They consented. But alas, the bigger feet belonged to the daugher and the smaller feet belonged to the mother. So the son married the mother and the father married the daughter.


Betaal then asks this question: How are the children born on both the sides related to one another?


Vikram was speechless as he could not get any satisfactory answer. So the Betaal could not escape this time.

I thank you all for given me a patient hearing as that of king vikaram