Akbar Birbal Stories : The Mango Tree

The Mango Tree

One day, two men appeared in the court of Akbar. They were neighbors. They had a dispute over a mango tree. The mango tree had just borne fruits. Both Raghav and Keshav were laying their claim over the tree.

King Akbar asked the servant who was hired as a guard for the tree.

He said, “Sir, they both are my masters. They together appointed me and I got half amount of the salary from each of them.”

Akbar asked Birbal to do justice. Birbal requested them to come again next day. After they had gone, Birbal said something to the guard of the tree. He nodded and agreed to the plan.

During the night, the guard went to Keshav and said, “Sir, I have seen some thieves around the tree. They are planning to steal all the mangoes.”

“What did you say? Thieves!” said Keshav, “Sorry, I won’t go. They are thieves. They might be armed. I don’t want to risk my life for a few fruits.”

Now, the guard went to Raghav and repeated his statement.

Raghav stood up with a start and said, “They want to steal my fruits. How could they even think of it? I will teach them such a lesson that they will remember it throughout their lives.” Saying this, Raghav grabbed a stick and went outside. Birbal’s spies were watching the whole scene. They told the entire story to Birbal.

Next day, when Raghav and Keshav went to the court, Birbal said, “We have decided that the tree would be cut and the place vacated would be cleaned.”

To this, Keshav said, “Sir, you are the master. How can we deny your orders? You can do as you wish.”

But Raghav interrupted and said, “Please sir, don’t do that. The tree is the result of my endeavours. This is the first time it has borne fruits. I request you to please drop the idea of cutting it and give it to Keshav.”

Birbal said, “Raghav, we know that you are the real owner of the tree. You were the one who rushed to face the thieves last night, whereas, Keshav showed no interest regarding the matter. So I have decided to give the ownership of the tree to you.”

Raghav felt very happy and Keshav, the liar, hide his face and quietly slipped away.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : The Stolen Swan

The Stolen Swan

One day, a rich merchant appeared in the court of Akbar. After some formal greetings, he told him the reason for his arrival.

He said, “Your Majesty, a couple of months back, I bought a swan. It was very beautiful. It had golden feathers. I used to keep it in a large cage that I got exclusively built for it. One fateful morning, when I looked at the cage, I found it empty.”

“What do you think might have happened to your swan?” asked Akbar.

“Sir, I think one of my servants has stolen it,” replied the merchant.

Akbar asked his spies to investigate the matter well. They interrogated the servants, kept an eye on them, spied on them, but all in vain. Finally, they acknowledged their defeat and said bluntly that they had failed to find the thief. Birbal offered his help. He accompanied the merchant to his home. There he called all the servants and asked them to stand in a row.

Then he demanded the cage of the swan. He carefully examined the cage and pretended to whisper some words to it. The merchant got surprised.


“What are you doing, Sir”? asked the merchant.

“Sh sh... sh..., the cage is telling me about the thief,” said Birbal.

“Well, what is it saying?” questioned the merchant.

“It is saying that the thief has killed the swan and hidden its golden feathers in his turban,” replied Birbal.

Now, the servant who had stolen the swan got very nervous. He thought that he is carrying the feathers of the swan in his turban.

Instinctively, he started examining his turban. No one but Birbal noticed him. He asked all the servants to depart except that particular servant. After all the servants has gone, he cross-examined that servant. He denied having committed the theft. Birbal scolded him and threatened him that would be whipped. At last, he acknowledged his theft. Birbal ordered to whip him.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Birbal Betrays Himself

Birbal Betrays Himself

Birbal was missing. He and the emperor had a quarrel and Birbal had stormed out of the palace vowing never to return. Now Akbar missed him and wanted him back but no one knew where he was.

Then the emperor had a brainwave. He offered a reward of 1000 gold coins to any man who could come to the palace observing the following condition. The man had to walk in the sun without an umbrella but he had to be in the shade at the same time.

"Impossible," said the people.

Then a villager came carrying a string cot over his head and claimed the prize.

"I've walked in the sun but at the same time I was in the shade of the strings of the cot," he said. It was a brilliant solution. On interrogation the villager confessed that the idea had been suggested to him by a man living with him.

"It could only be Birbal!" said the emperor, delighted. Sure enough it was Birbal and he and the emperor had a joyous reunion.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Who Are Donkeys

Who Are Donkeys

One day, when Akbar and Birbal were in discussions, Birbal happened to pass a harmless comment about Akbar's sense of humor.  But Emperor Akbar was in a foul mood and took great offense to this remark. He asked Birbal, his court-jester, friend and confidant, to not only leave the palace but also to leave the walls of the city of Agra.  Birbal was terribly hurt at being banished.

A couple of days later, Akbar began to miss his best friend.  He regretted his earlier decision of banishing him from the courts. He just could not do without Birbal and so sent out a search party to look for him. But Birbal had left town without letting anybody know of his destination.  The soldiers searched high and low but were unable to find him anywhere.

Then one day a wise saint came to visit the palace accompanied by two of his disciples.  The disciples claimed that their teacher was the wisest man to walk the earth.  Since Akbar was missing Birbal terribly he thought it would be a good idea to have a wise man that could keep him company. But he decided that he would first test the holy man's wisdom.

The saint had bright sparkling eyes, a thick beard and long hair. The next day, when they came to visit the court Akbar informed the holy man that since he was the wisest man on earth, he would like to test him. All his ministers would put forward a question and if his answers were satisfactory he would be made a minister. But if he could not, then he would be beheaded. The saint answered that he had never claimed to be the wisest man on earth, even though other people seemed to think so. Nor was he eager to display his cleverness but as he enjoyed answering questions, he was ready for the test.

One of the ministers, Raja Todarmal, began the round of questioning. He asked "Who is a man's best friend on earth?"  To which the wise saint replied, "His own good sense". Next Faizi asked which was the most superior thing on earth? "Knowledge", answered the saint. "Which is the deepest trench in the world?", asked Abdul Fazal. And the saint's answer was "a woman's heart". "What is that which cannot be regained after it is lost?" questioned another courtier and the reply he received was 'life'. "What is undying in music" asked the court musician Tansen. The wise saint replied that it was the "notes". And then he asked "which is the sweetest and most melodious voice at night -time? And the answer he received was "the voice that prays to God."

Maharaj Mansingh of Jaipur, who was a guest at the palace asked, "what travels more speedily than the wind?" the saint replied that it was "man's thought". He then asked, "which was the sweetest thing on earth?" and the saint said that it was "a baby's smile".

Emperor Akbar and all his courtiers were very impressed with his answers, but wanted to test the saint himself. Firstly he asked what were the necessary requirements to rule over a kingdom, for which he was answered 'cleverness'. Then he asked what was the gravest enemy of a king. The saint replied that it was 'selfishness'.  The emperor was pleased and offered the saint a seat of honor and asked him whether he could perform any miracles. The saint said that he could manifest any person the king wished to meet. Akbar was thrilled and immediately asked to meet his minister and best friend Birbal.

The saint simply pulled off his artificial beard and hair much to the surprise of the other courtiers. Akbar was stunned and could not believe his eyes. He stepped down to embrace the saint because he was none other than Birbal.

Akbar had tears in his eyes as he told Birbal that he had suspected it to be him and had therefore asked him whether he could perform miracles. He showered Birbal with many valuable gifts to show him how happy he was at his return.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Blend of Light and Shadow

Blend of Light and Shadow:

One day, Akbar was sitting along in his royal chamber. He was in a bad temper. That very moment Birbal arrived there. Being a humorous person, he cracked some joke which Akbar did not like.

He bluntly said to his brightest gem, “Birbal! Don’t you have any other work besides cracking these stupid jokes?”

Birbal was extremely surprised at such an odd behavior of the king. He still tried to talk to him.

But, Akbar said, “You just go away from here, Birbal. I don’t want to see your face ever in this court.”

Birbal was deeply hurt. He was too self-esteemed to remain in that kingdom after such an insult. He left the kingdom and took refuge in a remote village named Gokulpura. Nobody knew him in that village.

After a few days, Akbar realized his mistake. He started missing Birbal. He ordered his spies to search for him but all in vain. Finally, he made an announcement that he wanted the royal water pool to get married. For this purpose, the chiefs of all the villages were required to assemble in the court along with the “eligible bachelor ponds” of their villages. But the condition was that the chiefs should fetch a blend of light and shadow with themselves.

The chiefs were utterly astonished at such a condition. Bound by the royal orders, they all assembled in the court but without fulfilling the required conditions.

The king fined all of them. Suddenly, his eyes fell upon the chief of Gokulpura. He was carrying a worn-out cot on his head.  “Hey, what’s this?” asked Akbar with a smile.

“Your Majesty, this is a blend of light and shadow,” the chief chuckled, “See, this cot is torn from many places. The holes in it are filtering the sunrays which is giving a partially dark effect.”

The king laughed and said, “That’s a good one. Now,  tell me where is your pond, the bridegroom-to be.”

“Your Majesty, he has arrived in your kingdom. He is waiting for his bride to come and welcome him,” said the chief of Gokulpura. Now, Akbar understood the whole matter.

He was wondering how could the innocent chief of a village think so cleverly.

He asked him, “Just tell me one thing, who gave you these ideas?”

“Your Majesty,” replied the chief, “There is a person called Ramdas He has just shifted in our village. He suggested me all this.”

Akbar understood that Ramdas was Birbal himself in disguise. He requested the chief to take him to ‘Ramdas’. The chief did so.  As soon as Akbar meet Birbal, he embraced him and apologized for his mistake. Birbal too was waiting to return back to the service of his dear king. Within no time, he cast off his disguise.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : The Golden Sword

The Golden Sword

King Akbar was a very kind-hearted man. Every morning, he took Birbal, his favourite courtier, in the villages and cities where he heard the grievances of the people. One day, in the market they found an old woman carrying a sword in her hands. Akbar stopped beside her and asked “What are you doing with this sword?”

“Your Majesty,” said the old woman, “This sword was lying with me for many years. Now I want to sell this sword so that I get some money which will help me in my bad days.”

Akbar took the sword from her, took it out of its case and closely inspected it. It was rusted and useless. Akbar returned it back to the old woman and said, “This is of no use to me.” The woman took it out of the case and looked at it with surprised eyes. Akbar was left astonished. He asked “What’s wrong? Why are you so surprised?” Birbal interrupted and said, “Your Majesty, she is astonished because a very common saying is proved wrongly today.”

“Which saying are you talking about?” asked Akbar.

“That iron when comes in contact with Paras Mani gets converted to gold. This iron sword came in your hands, but it is still an iron one,” explained Birbal.

“Yes, Your Majesty, this is the reason why I was so surprised,” said the old woman.

Akbar instantly asked the treasurer to replace the iron sword in the hands of the old woman with a golden sword.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : The Box of Jewels

The Box of Jewels

Long long ago there lived an old main in Delhi. He was very rich and a miser too. He spent only that much as was necessary. He had an old, large box in which he kept his jewels. Once his hut caught fire. The man somehow managed to escape the fire. But as soon as he remembered his jewels, he started crying. Soon a large crowd surrounded him. A goldsmith came forward and said, “Now don’t cry, friend. It was just a thatched hut, it can be easily rebuilt.

Just thank God that He saved you.”

“But He didn’t save my jewels,” the old man sobbed, “Oh God! I’m lost.” “Jewels? Which jewels?” asked the goldsmith curiously.

 

“I had a box full of jewels that I always kept under my bed,” replied the man.

The goldsmith was very greedy. He made a plan to process the jewels.

He said, “What if I get that box for you?”

“Then I’ll do anything for you,” said the man wiping his tears.

“Okay! I’ll get the box of jewels for you. I’ll give you whatever I like and rest I’ll keep with myself,” said the greedy goldsmith.

The man gladly agreed.

The goldsmith risked his life and brought the box of jewels from the mouth of fire. He then said, “Do you remember my condition or not. . . that whatever I like,  will be given to you and rest will remain with me.”

The man gave an affirmative expression. To this, the goldsmith gave a vicious smile. He offered him the empty box and kept the jewels for himself.

The man was shocked. He said, “Dear friend, I understood that you risked your life to get these jewels but you are being unfair to me. You can have half of the jewels, I have no objection, but what you are doing is not fair. After all, it’s my hard-earned money.”

“I don’t want to listen to you,” said the goldsmith, “Whether unfair or fair, I’ll do what we had pre-decided.’ Saying this, the goldsmith bluntly denied to give him any jewels. Finally, fighting and cursing, they went to King Akbar’s court. King Akbar found the matter highly complicated. He sought the help of Birbal.

Birbal asked the goldsmith to repeat the condition.

“Your Majesty, the condition was that whatever I like, I shall give him and the rest I’ll keep with myself,” said the goldsmith.

“Okay, what do you like?” asked Birbal. “I like the jewels, Sir,” replied the goldsmith.

“Then give them to him.”

“But...  Sir...,” the goldsmith asked.

“Why?” asked Birbal. “Didn’t you say that whatever you like, you shall give to him? You said that you like the jewels, now fulfill your promise and give them to him.”

The goldsmith was speechless. He was caught in the web of his own words. But he could hardly do anything. He quietly picked up the empty box and went away.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Breaking the Bonds

Breaking the Bonds

Prince Salim was around eighteen or nineteen years old when he made friends with Haricharan, the son of a rich merchant. They got so much engrossed in their friendship that they forgot their other responsibilities. They just talked and unnecessarily wasted their time without doing anything worthwhile.

One day the merchant approached Birbal and said, “I am not against their friendship. But I believe that friendship is just an aspect of life. One should not stake his whole life and his work for friendship.

Birbal understood what the merchant intended to say.

But still he asked him, “State clearly, Sir. What do you want to say?”

The merchant said, “Sir, my son and Prince Salim have become very close friends. It may be fine for the Prince as he is not required to learn anything for his living. He is destined to become the ruler of India. But, with my son ignoring lessons of trade at this age, he will definitely suffer and miss the experiences.

“I can understand that,” replied Birbal, “Don’t worry, I’ll surely solve this matter.”

One day, Birbal talked to King Akbar about this.

Akbar said, “Even I am very worried about their friendship. Haricharan is just required to manage his petty business which anyone can do. But Prince Salim has to govern the entire country.”

“Then, what do you want, Your Majesty? Should I try to end their friendship?” asked Birbal.

Akbar patted his back and said, “I know it’s not good to spoil the friendly relation between the two persons, but at present it would be preferable to break their friendship.”

“Don’t worry, Sir,” said Birbal, “From now onwards, they will not see each other’s face.” That every evening, Birbal called both Salim and the merchant’s son and started talking to them.

Suddenly, he said to merchant’s son, “Haricharan! I want to talk to you about something.”

“Please do, Sir,” said Haricharan.

“It’s a very confidential matter,” saying this Birbal dragged him aside. The merchant’s son, highly confused, followed him like a kid. Birbal whispered some meaningless words into his ears. Before Haricharan could understand anything, Birbal went away and cried,

“Don’t tell this to anyone.”

Haricharan looked at him quizzically and went towards Salim.

“What did he say?” asked Salim.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” replied Haricharan.

“Don’t lie, my friend,” said Prince Salim. “Just now Birbal told you some confidential thing. Can’t you tell me that. After all, I’m your friend, am I not?” “Dear friend, he said nothing. Please believe me,” said Haricharan.

“How can I believe you if you don’t trust me?” said the Prince. “I don’t expect this from you,” he said and went away fuming with rage.

Haricharan too started burning with anger and walked away. When Akbar got this news, he called Birbal and asked him, “What did you say to Haricharan, Birbal?”

Birbal whispered those meaningless words into the ears of Akbar. The King understood the entire thing and started laughing heartily.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : A Trip to Paradise

A Trip to Paradise

Birbal, being a favourite of King Akbar, had a few enemies who envied him. Once, they made a plan to get rid of Birbal. The royal barber was also one of the conspirators.

One day, acting according to the plan, he said to the king, “Your Majesty, sometimes I feel that you don’t care about your dead ancestors.”

“That’s not correct,” replied Akbar, “I do think about them. But now that they are dead, I can hardly do anything for them.”

“You can do everything you want,” said the barber. “You can send someone to heaven who would bring some information about them.”

“But how is that possible?” questioned the king.

“It’s quite simple, Sir,” said the cunning barber, “You will be required to set up a funeral pyre in the open. Then someone will be gifted to the God of Fire who will take the person to the heaven.”

“That’s a great idea. But who will be the right person?” asked King Akbar.

“Sir, I think Birbal would be the most suitable for this purpose,” said the barber.

“Okay then, I’ll talk to Birbal about this matter,” said the King.

The clever barber felt extremely happy. He had his way. King Akbar called Birbal and spoke about this. He gladly accepted the proposal and said, “Your Majesty, I admire your concern for your forefathers. But I need a leave for a few days so that I can make some arrangement for my family.” Akbar agreed and permitted him leave.

Birbal constructed a long secret tunnel beginning from the place where pyre was to be set up to his house.

Finally, the fateful day arrived. Birbal lay down at the mouth of the tunnel and said, “I’m ready. Build the pyre.” The pyre was built and after sometime was lighted up. It began to burn. The royal barber and his friends were elated. Their conspiracy had successfully worked. However none of them knew that Birbal had reached his house through the secret tunnel.

After spending some months at his place, Birbal returned back to the court with a long beard and moustache. The king greeted him and asked him about his ancestors.

“Every one is fine, Your Majesty,” Birbal assured him, “There is nothing that they lack, except one thing…”

“What’s that thing?” asked the King.

“A good barber, Sir,” replied the wise Birbal, “Aren’t you seeing my condition? They want you to send your royal barber there.”

The royal barber overheard their conversation. He realized that he was caught in the trap that he himself had woven. He discussed this matter with his fellow conspirators, but no one offered him any help. As a result, he soon left the kingdom and never showed his face again.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : A Pitcher of Wisdom

A Pitcher of Wisdom

Once, an ambassador of a neighbouring country visited the court of Akbar and said, “Sir, we have heard that there are too many wise and witty people in your court. So our King has sent me to fetch a pitcher full of wisdom from here. I expect you to fulfill our king’s wish soon.”

Akbar was puzzled to hear this. He thought what a senseless wish was this. How can one procure a pitcher full of wisdom? Finding no way out, he sent for Birbal, the wisest of his gems.

Birbal having heard the entire thing, slightly chuckled and said, “Do not worry, Your Majesty, I will fulfill their demand, I just need few weeks time.” Akbar granted him this.

Birbal asked a servant to get a pitcher. Then he took the pitcher to a pumpkin creeper and placed it inverted over the pumpkin flower.

Birbal then went to the ambassador and said, “Sir, we just need two weeks time. I assure you, the wisdom will reach the brim of the pitcher within a fortnight.”

After fifteen days,  Birbal stopped his experiment and found that the pumpkin had got completely stuck inside the pitcher.

He took the pitcher to the ambassador and gifting it to him, said, “Sir, here is your pitcher full of wisdom. You please take the fruit of wisdom out of it without causing it any harm and return us our pot.” The ambassador closely inspected the fruit of wisdom and feeling embarrassed left for his country.

King Akbar, seeing the gesture of the ambassador, said to Birbal, “Show me the fruit of wisdom, Birbal. I want to see what is there in the fruit that made the ambassador leave without uttering a single word.”

At this, Birbal handed the pitcher to Akbar. The King found a pumpkin stuck inside it. He could not help laughing and praising his wisest gem heartily.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Count of all the Crows in the Kingdom

Count of all the Crows in the Kingdom

King Akbar was a kind-hearted man. On one evening, when Akbar and Birbal were on their daily walks in the palace gardens, they noticed the lurching of a host of crows on the garden trees. Suddenly Akbar got a thought:"How many crows are there in my kingdom?"

He asked Birbal, “Birbal, What do you think? How many crows would be there in my Kingdom?”

Birbal had wit enough to realize what to do in such emergency. He thought for a while and said, "There are ninety five thousand four hundred and sixty-three crows in the kingdom".

Amazed at his quick answer, Akbar got curious and tried to outfit him.

"What if there be more crows than you answered?" said King Akbar.

Birbal replied without hesitation,  "Then some crows must have visited from neighboring kingdoms."

"And what if there be less crows?" asked Akbar.

Instantly Birbal said, "Then some crows from our kingdom must have gone on vacation to other parts."

King Akbar, thereby, realized that Birbal's wit was a hard nut to crack. Nevertheless, he realized his administrative folly on statistical data.

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Akbar Birbal Stories : Birbal Caught the Thief

Birbal Caught the Thief

Once a rich merchant’s house was robbed. The merchant suspected that the thief was one of his servants. So he went to Birbal and mentioned the incident. Birbal went to his house and assembled all of his servants and asked that who stole the merchant’s things. Everybody denied.

Birbal thought for a moment, then gave a stick of equal length to all the servants of the merchant and said to them that the stick of the real thief will be longer by two inches tomorrow. All the servants should be present here again tomorrow with heir sticks.

All the servants went to their homes and gathered again at the same place the next day. Birbal asked them to show him their sticks. One of the servants had his stick shorter by two inches. Birbal said, “This is your thief, merchant.”

Later the merchant asked Birbal, “How did you catch him?” Birbal said, “The thief had already cut his stick short by two inches in the night fearing that his stick will be longer by two inches by morning.”

Moral: Truth will always Prevail.

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