STORIES: The Donkey?

 

A story from the Akbar & Birbal Tales…

One day Akbar went to the river to take a bath with his two sons and Birbal.

Akbar and his sons left their clothes with Birbal and stepped into the river. Birbal waited for them on the river bank with their clothes on his shoulder. Looking at Birbal, Akbar teased him and said, “Birbal, you look like a washerman’s donkey with a load of clothes!”

Birbal quickly retorted, “Your Majesty! I am carrying the load of not just one donkey, but actually three.”

Akbar was left speechless.

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour.

 

 

STORIES: Fastest Thing

 

Another Akbar-Birbal Story today…

One day Akbar asked his courtiers, “What is the fastest thing in the world?”

The first courtier said, “Bullock Cart”. Another courtier replied, “Wind” and the third courtier said, “Light”.

Akbar turned to Birbal for his answer. Birbal responded, “Your Majesty! Thoughts are faster than anything else. One moment you are in this court and your next thought can take you anywhere in the world.”

Everyone was surprised. Akbar was proud of Birbal’s wisdom and rewarded him suitably.

 

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour.

STORIES: The Mango Tree – A Reliable Witness!

 

An old man was going on a pilgrimage. He took a bag containing thousand gold coins and asked his friend to keep it safe with him while he was away.

When the old man returned, he went to his friend and said, “I am back, my friend. Please give me my bag.”

The friend said in surprise, “What bag are you talking about? You never left anything with me.”

The old man was shocked and said, “The bag contained all my savings. Please do not joke with me. Please return my bag.”

The friend refused again. The old man was shattered. He went to Akbar’s court and asked Birbal to help.

Birbal said, “Where exactly did you give the bag to your friend?”

The old man replied, “Huzoor, I gave the bag to my friend under a mango tree in a mango grove.”

“It is a lie. I did not receive anything,” responded the old man’s friend.

Birbal continued, “Well, lets bring the mango tree here as a witness. He will help us to get to the truth.” He turned to the old man and said, “Go immediately and order the tree to come here.”

Everyone was puzzled. The old man was scared. He thought that Birbal will get angry if he questioned him. So he silently left for the grove.

After an hour Akbar said, “We have been waiting for an hour. The old man has not returned. How long do we have to wait.”

Birbal replied, “Be patient. He will be back soon.”

The old man’s friend said, “How can the old man be back soon? He cannot even have reached the mango grove.”

Birbal asked, “Is the mango grove far?”

“Yes, Huzoor. It is more than five miles away,” replied the old man’s friend.

“Well, we can do nothing but wait for him to come back,” said Birbal.

Few hours later the old man returned and said to Birbal, “Huzoor, I repeated your order to the mango tree three times. But it did not move.”

“Don’t worry. The mango tree has already borne witness,” said Birbal and turned to the old man’s friend, “You are a liar. How else do you know where the mango grove is and how far it is? The old man did give you the bag.”

The old man’s friend was caught and could not deny it anymore. The old man was relieved and got his bag back.

Everyone was amazed at Birbal’s approach and how he had cleverly reached the truth in the matter. Akbar praised Birbal for delivering justice.

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour. 

STORIES: The Mango Tree

 

Hello

Today i will tell you an Akbar & Birbal story. Its about a mango tree. It tells us that Truth always finds its way and cannot be hidden.

Parth

One day two farmers Ramu and Shamu approached Birbal.

Ramu said, “There is a mango tree on the edge of my farm. It has always belonged to me. Now Shamu claims that the tree is his.”

“Huzur, the tree belongs to me. I have watered it from the time it was a sapling,” said Shamu.

Birbal asked them to go home and come back the next day. He then called a trusted servant and said, “Go to their houses in the evening and tell them that some mangoes are being stolen by thieves. Report their reaction to me.”

When Ramu heard the news of the thieves he said, “I have some urgent work now. I will look into the matter later.” On the other hand, as soon as Shamu heard the news he ran out towards the tree with a stick in his hand.

Next day Birbal said to them, “The tree obviously cannot belong to both of you. But since I find it difficult to settle this dispute, I order that the mangoes be plucked and divided equally between the two of you. ”

“And for the tree, it will be cut down and the wood too will be equally divided,” Birbal added.

Ramu felt happy and said, “You are just and fair.”

Shamu had teers in his eyes and said, “Huzur, I have tended the tree for seven years. I cannot see it being cut down. Please let the tree go to Ramu.”

“Shamu, your concern for the tree has told me all that I wanted to know,” said Birbal and added, ” I declare you to be the rightful owner of the tree. Let Ramu be whipped for telling a lie.”

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour. 

STORIES: Always Speak The Truth

यह एक महाभारत की कथा है जो हमें यह सिखाती है कि हमें सदा सच बोलना चाहिए ।

वाणी और पार्थ

” सच का पाठ “

एक बार गुरु द्रोणाचार्य ने कौरवों  और पाण्डवों को शिक्षा देते हुए ” सदा सच बोलो ” का पाठ याद करने को कहा और दूसरे दिन जब पूछा तो युद्धिष्ठर के इलावा सबने कहा कि उनको पाठ याद हो गया है |

कई दिन तक जब युद्धिष्ठर ने कहा कि उसे पाठ याद नहीं हुआ तो गुरु द्रोणाचार्य ने उसका कारण पुछा ।

तब युद्धिष्ठर ने कहा की पाठ की बात तो मैं समझ गया हूँ पर बहुत कोशिश करने पर भी  मैं पूरी तरह से सच नहीं बोल पा रहा हूँ । इस लिए मैं कैसे कह दूँ की मैंने पाठ याद कर लिया है ।

यह सुनकर गुरु द्रोणाचार्य बहुत खुश हुए और सब बचों से कहा कि युद्धिष्ठर की तरह ” सही पाठ का याद करना उस पर चलने से ही होता है । “

STORIES: Birbal goes Missing

 

Another Akbar-Birbal Story…

One day emperor Akbar and Birbal had a quarrel. In a fit of rage, Akbar ordered, “Get out of my court. Leave the city of Agra. I do not even want to see your face.”

Birbal was hurt. He left the  palace and vowed never to return. All the courtiers were delighted to see the back of Birbal.

As days passed, Akbar started missing Birbal. He wanted to call Birbal back but did not know where he was.

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. He made an announcement, “Anyone who comes to the court in half-sunlight and half-shade, will get a thousand gold coins.”

The news spread all over the kingdom.

One day a villager came carrying a string cot placed on his head.

“You Majesty! I have walked in the sun, but at the same time i was in the shade of the strings of the cot. I have fulfilled your terms.”

Akbar was surprised. He thought, “This cannot be this man’s idea. Only Birbal can think like this.”

“This cannot be your idea,” fumed Akbar and threatened, “Tell me who is behind it or I will put you in jail.”

The villager trembled with fear and confessed, “My Lord, the idea was suggested to me by a stranger living with me.”

Akbar heaved a sigh of relief. He was very happy. He immediately sent his messengers to fetch Birbal.

It was a sight to see the reunion of Akbar & Birbal.

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour.

STORIES: The Dream

 

This is so funny!! I could not stop laughing. Enjoy the Akbar & Birbal story and their dream.

Parth

Emperor Akbar was feeling bored one day. He decided to have some fun. He said, “I had a dream last night.”

“Birbal and I were walking together on a moonless night,”  said Akbar as he started to narrate the dream. “It was very dark. We could not even see other. We collided and fell,” he added.

“Luckily,” said the emperor mischievously, “I fell into a pool of kheer. But can you guess where Birbal fell?”

“Where, your Majesty?” asked the courtiers with curiosity.

“A gutter!” said Akbar smilingly.

Everyone started laughing.

The emperor was very happy. He felt that for once he had managed to make Birbal look like a fool.

Birbal frowned but kept quiet. When the laughter died down, he said patiently, “Your Majesty! Strangely, I too had the same dream. But i slept on till the end.”

“After we climbed out we found that there was no water to clean ourselves. Do you know what we did?” he added.

“What?” asked the emperor.

Everyone looked at Birbal wanting to know what happened next.

“We licked each other clean!” Birbal said smilingly. “I licked the sweet kheer on your face while you licked the stinking water on my face.”

All the courtiers started to laugh but tried hard to hide it from the emperor by putting their hands on their mouth.

And Emperor Akbar! He became red with embarrassment and resolved never to try and get the better of Birbal again.

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour.

STORIES: Ring in the Well

 

Birbal is so smart. Enjoy the story – Ring in the Well.

Parth

One day, Emperor Akbar and Birbal went for hunting with some courtiers. Suddenly, Akbar’s ring fell into a dry well.

Akbar liked to test Birbal in odd situations. ‘Birbal, can you take out my ring without entering the well?” he Akbar.

Birbal tried to think of a way. Finally he said, “Your Majesty! It can be done but it will take time.”

“You can take as much time as you want,” replied Akbar with a smile on his face.

Birbal asked the courtiers to bring a cow. When the cow was brought, Birbal gave it some grass to eat. Then the cow passed fresh dung. Birbal picked it up and threw it on the ring in the well.

Akbar was watching with amazement. “What are you doing with the cow dung?” he asked.

“Please wait and watch,” said Birbal. The courtiers thought that Birbal had gone out of his mind.

Birbal then tied a stone on one end of a string, and holding the other end in his hand threw the stone on the dung.

He waited for the dung to dry up. When it had dried, he pulled the string out of the well. The string brought the stone which was stuck to the dung. The dung had the emperor’s ring at its bottom. Akbar was astonished.

“Your Majesty! Here is your ring. I have brought it out without entering the well,” said Birbal.

Akbar was all praise for Birbal. He gave the ring to Birbal as a reward.

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour.

STORIES: Birbal shortens the Road!

 

I like this story very much. Its name is Birbal shortens the road. Hope you like it too!

Parth

One day, when Emperor Akbar was travelling with his courtiers he got very impatient and restless. It was a long journey and the sun was very hot. He suddenly said, “Can anyone shorten this road for me?”

“I can, your majesty,” said Birbal. All the courtiers looked at each other. They knew that there was no other road to their destination.

“Really! Can you shorten the road?” asked the delighted emperor. “Good. Then do it now,” he added.

“I will,” responded Birbal. “First listen to this story.”

Birbal started to tell a long and interesting story. It was so intriguing that the emperor and all the courtiers listened with close attention. Before they knew they had reached the destination.

The story was not yet finished when Birbal announced, “Your Majesty! We have reached our destination.”

“What! We have reached already?” exclaimed Akbar with disbelief. The other courtiers were also surprised and happy to see their destinations.

“Your Majesty, you wanted the road to be shortened and that is exactly what i did!” said Birbal and smiled.

Akbar was very happy. He was also proud to have a wise and witty minister.

The exchange between Akbar The Great (Mogul emperor) and Birbal (his minister) have become folk stories in Indian tradition and illustrate day-to-day questions through for wisdom, wit and subtle humour.

STORIES: The Real Culprit

Hello! This is a Tenali Rama tale.

Vani

One day, in the court of King Sri Krishna Deva Rayulu of Vijaynagar, the court had assembled as usual. As they were discussing  matters of the state, a shepherd ran in and fell before the feet of the King. His voice trembled as he said,”My Lord, I have come to you for justice.”

The king was amazed at what was happening. He picked the shepherd up and asked,”Please tell me what is the matter first.”

The shepherd between sobs, said,”My Lord, my neighbour is an old miser. He never paid money to repair his old walls and yesterday it finally crashed, killing my goat beneath it. Please ask him to compensate me for my loss.”

As the shepherd left after the king assured that he would look into the matter himself, Tenali Rama got up from his seat and told the king,”Sir, please give me some time. I feel there is more to this case than what the shepherd is saying. I will investigate and unravel the real culprit before you.”

With the king’s consent, Tenali Rama first summoned the neighbour of the shepherd. On hearing the charge he promptly replied,”My Lord, the blame does not rest with me. I hired a mason who, as it turns out did not do a good job. He is the one responsible for the shepherd’s loss.”

On hearing that, Rama called the mason to court. He in turn specified that he had hired a labourer to mix the cement. According to him, it was the labourer’s fault that the cement did not stick.

So it was the labourer’s turn to be summoned to the court next. He in turn said,”It is not me Sir, it is the man who brought the water.He poured more water than what was required and therefore the cement mixer was not strong enough. Please catch him.”

After the cement – mixer left, the man who had added the water came before Tenali. On hearing Rama’s accusation, he turned around and said,”Sir, the water carrier that I used was to big. It carried more water than what it should have. You must apprehend the shopkeeper who sold it to me.”

Now it was the turn of the shopkeeper. He made it clear that instead of holding him responsible, Tenali Rama should question the man who sold that water carrier to him. Rama asked the shopkeeper to send that man to him immediately.

Lo and behold, it was the shepherd who came back before Tenali Rama. The shopkeeper pointed to him and said,”Sir, he sold me the water carrier.”

Tenali Rama looked at he shepherd and said,”Look what happens when you do not work properly? One day it all comes back to you. I am sorry my friend, but your goat died because of your own fault. No one owns you any compensation.”

As the shepherd left the court, King Rayulu turned to Tenali Rama and said,”Well done, my friend, well done!”