Hot Iron

One day, one rich man wanted to punish a man named Hasan. He blamed him that he had stolen necklace from his house, and reported to the Akbar. The case was brought in the court.

Akbar asked the man, “Why do you think that Hasan has stolen your necklace?”

The man replied, “Your Honor, I have seen him stealing the necklace.”

Hasan said, “No Huzoor I am innocent, I do not know anything about necklace.”

The rich man said, “Huzoor If he is innocent, let him prove his innocence. let me bring the hot iron, and if he can hold it in his bare hands, then I will agree that he has not stolen my necklace, and he is speaking truth.”

Hasan said, “If I am speaking the truth, then I will not burn my hands with that hot iron?”

“you are right. God will protect you.” said the rich man.

Now Hasan could not do anything but to hold hot iron in his hands to prove his innocence, and that he was speaking the truth. He asked Akbar to give him one day to look for that necklace again and He went home.

He took advice from Birbal . When he returned next day, he said, “I am ready for that. But the same thing should apply to him too. If he is speaking the truth, then the hot iron should not burn his hands also. So let him bring that hot iron holding in his both hands, then I will hold that iron in my bare hands.”

Now the rich man was speechless. He told the Akbar that he would go and search his necklace again in his house, maybe it was misplaced somewhere there.

Akbar ordered to give necklace to Hasan as a punishment to the Rich man.
                                           ******

Tweet

The Money Bag

Once an oil merchant and the villager came to Akbar with a quarrel about the money Bag.

Merchant said that When the villager came to buy oil from him he gave them the oil and collected money from them. But villager said he had never visited Oil shop. Each claimed that the bag belonged to him.

Everybody in the court were surprised and was waiting eagerly how Akbar would solve this problem.

Akbar asked Birbal to find the solution.

He asked for some water in a bowl. The servant brought the water. Birbal placed the bag in the bowl. After sometime everybody saw some oil float on water. Birbal told that the bag belonged to the oil merchant not to the villager. If villager didnt visit the oil shop then there would be no oil on coins or bag.

Everybody praised Birbal and the customer was punished.

                                           ******

Tweet

What The Drop Taketh!

The anecdotes of Emperor Akbar and his trusted aide Birbal are entertaining as well as enlightening.

Once, the Emperor received the gift of a rare perfume. As he opened the bottle, a drop of perfume fell to the floor. Akbar instinctively moved to retrieve it by wiping the floor with his finger.

As he looked up he noticed a bemused look on Birbal’s face… his eyes seemed to mock the Emperor for being scrounging.

To change Birbal’s perception, Akbar summoned him the next morning to his bath.

He asked his attendants to fill up the bathtub with the best of perfumes.

Akbar sought to show Birbal that as Emperor he could afford to waste as much perfume, as he wanted.

Birbal when asked to react said the immortal lines, “Boond se jati, woh haudh se nahi aati” (An entire tub full cannot retrieve what the drop took away!)

Birbal sought to tell the Emperor that his earlier instinctive action (that exhibited miserliness) could not be undone by an intentional action (aimed at bigheartedness).

Our character is determined by our reactions, not by forced posturing. It is better to be transparent then wear favourable masks.

In fact every little action and reaction, every spoken word and emerging thought reflects our true self!

                                           ******

Tweet

Identify The Guest

Birbal had been invited to lunch by a rich man. Birbal went to the man's house and found him in a hall full of people. His host greeted him warmly.

“I did not know there would be so many guests,” said Birbal who hated large gatherings.

“They are not guests,” said the man. “They are my employees, all except one man. He is the only other guest here beside you.”

Then a crafty look came on the man's face.

“Can you tell me which of them is the guest?” he asked.

“Maybe I could,” said Birbal. “Talk to them as I observe them. Tell them a joke or something.”

The man told a joke that Birbal thought was perhaps the worst he had heard in a long time. When he finished everyone laughed uproariously.

“Well,” said the rich man. “I've told my joke. Now tell me who my other guest is.”

Birbal pointed out the man to him.

“How did you know?” asked his host, amazed.

“Employees tend to laugh at any joke told by their employers,” explained Birbal. “When I saw that this man was the only one not laughing at your joke, and in fact, looked positively bored, I at once knew he was your other guest.”
                                                                                   
                                           ******

Tweet

Birbal Shortens Road

The Emperor Akbar was traveling to a distant place along with some of his courtiers.

It was a hot day and the emperor was tiring of the journey.

“Can’t anybody shorten this road for me?” he asked, querulously.

“I can,” said Birbal.

The other courtiers looked at one another, perplexed. All of them knew there was no other path through the hilly terrain.

The road they were traveling on was the only one that could take them to their destination.

“You can shorten the road?” said the emperor. “Well, do it.”

“I will,” said Birbal. “Listen first to this story I have to tell.”

And riding beside the emperor’s palanquin, he launched upon a long and intriguing tale that held Akbar and all those listening, spellbound. Before they knew it, they had reached the end of their journey.

“We’ve reached?” exclaimed Akbar. “So soon!”

“Well,” grinned Birbal, “you did say you wanted the road to be shortened.”
                                                                                     
                                           ******

Tweet

Birbal Denies Rumor

One day a man stopped Birbal in the street and began narrating his woes to him.

“I've walked twenty miles to see you,” he told Birbal finally, “and all along the way people kept saying you were the most generous man in the country.”

Birbal knew the man was going to ask him for money. “Are you going back the same way?” he asked.

“Yes,” said the man.

“Will you do me a favor?” Birbal asked.

“Certainly,” said the man. “What do you want me to do?”

“Please deny the rumor of my generosity,” said Birbal, walking away.
                                                                                     
                                           ******

Tweet

A Jest Recoils Upon The Jester

Once the Badshah said to Birbal, “I had a wonderful dream last night. I dreamt that I slipped into a tank of scented oils, and can you imagine where you fell?”

“No, Jahanpanah!" replied Birbal.

“It was a sewage tank into which you fell,” said the Badshah.

“I had also a similar dream,” said Birbal, “but there was something more in it.”

“What was it?” asked Akbar.

“In the dream, I saw that I was licking Jahanpanah's body and Jahanpanah was licking mine.”

Thus the jest recoiled upon the Badshah who deemed it wise to keep silent.
                                           ******

Tweet

Who Will Conquer?

Once Akbar was about to go to the battle front.

“Shall I win or lose the battle?”, Akbar asked to Birbal.

“Jahanpanah!”, replied Birbal, “I will answer that question on the battle field.”

On reaching the battle field, Birbal told the Badshah that he would be victorious in the battle.

“How could you know that?”, asked Akbar.

“Listen to me, Jahanpanah! The enemy King is riding on an elephant. Now the elephant is an inauspicious animal, because he throws dust over his head. On the other hand, you are sitting on a horse who is very auspicious. These facts lead me to the conclusion that your victory is a past doubt.”

Akbar was pleased with this answer and when Birbal's forecast came true, he rewarded him with a priceless gift.

                                           ******

Tweet

I Shall Do All Talking

One day Birbal entered the retiring chamber of Akbar, as he had some urgent work.

The Badshah who did not like anybody to encroach on his privacy, angrily said, “Why have you come here at this odd hour?”

“Your Majesty”, replied Birbal, “ I have to ask something about an important matter.”

“Birbal! I have no time to talk to you at present. Put it off till tomorrow”, said the Emperor impatiently.

“It does not matter”, said Birbal, “Your Majesty need not worry about it. I shall do all talking myself. You have simply to listen to my talk.”

The Badshah laughed at this witty answer and was pleased to give him audience.

                                          ******

Tweet

Half The Reward

Mahesh Das was a citizen in the kingdom of Akbar. He was an intelligent young man.

Once when Akbar went hunting in the jungle, he lost his way.

Mahesh Das who lived in the outskirts helped the king reach the palace. The emperor rewarded him with his ring.

The Emperor also promised to give him a responsible posting at his court. After a few days Mahesh Das went to the court. The guard did not allow him to enter.

Mahesh Das showed the guard the ring which the king had given him. Now the guard thought that the young man was sure to get more rewards by the king. The greedy guard agreed to allow him inside the court on one condition.

It was that Mahesh Das had to pay him half the reward he would get from the Emperor. Mahesh Das accepted the condition.

He then entered the court and showed the ring to the King.

The King who recognized Mahesh asked him, “Oh young man! What do you expect as a reward from the King of Hindustan?”

“Majesty! I expect 50 lashes from you as a reward.", replied Mahesh Das.

The courtiers were stunned. They thought that he was mad. Akbar pondered over his request and asked him the reason.

Mahesh Das said he would tell him the reason after receiving his reward. Then the king’s men whipped him as per his wish. After the 25th lash Mahesh Das requested the King to call the guard who was at the gate.

The guard appeared before the King.

He was happy at the thought that he was called to be rewarded.

But to his surprise, Mahesh Das told the King, “Jahanpanah! This greedy guard let me inside on condition that I pay him half the reward I receive from you. I wanted to teach him a lesson. Please give the remaining 25 lashes to this guard so that I can keep my promise to him.”

The King then ordered that the guard be given 25 lashes along with 5 years of imprisonment. The King was very happy with Mahesh Das. He called him Raja Birbal and made him his chief minister.

                                          ******

Tweet

Birbal Is Brief

One day Akbar asked his courtiers if they could tell him the difference between truth and falsehood in three words or less.

The courtiers looked at one another in bewilderment.

“What about you, Birbal?” asked the emperor. “I'm surprised that you too are silent.”

“I'm silent because I want to give others a chance to speak,” said Birbal.

“Nobody else has the answer,” said the emperor. “So go ahead and tell me what the difference between truth and falsehood is — in three words or less.”

“Four fingers” said Birbal.

“Four fingers?” asked the emperor, perplexed.

“That's the difference between truth and falsehood, your Majesty,” said Birbal. “That which you see with your own eyes is the truth. That which you have only heard about might not be true. More often than not, it's likely to be false.”

“That is right,” said Akbar. “But what did you mean by saying the difference is four fingers?”

“The distance between one's eyes and one's ears is the width of four fingers, Your Majesty,” said Birbal, grinning.

                                       ******

Tweet

The Mango Tree Dispute

Ram and Sham both claimed ownership of the same mango tree. 

One day they approached Birbal and asked him to settle the dispute. 

Birbal said to them, “There is only one way to settle the matter. Pluck all the fruits on the tree and divide them equally between the two of you. Then cut down the tree and divide the wood”.

Ram thought it was a fair judgement and said so. But Sham was horrified.

“Your Honor” he said to Birbal “I've tended that tree for seven years. I'd rather let Ram have it than see it cut down.”

“Your concern for the tree has told me all I wanted to know” said Birbal, and declared Sham the true owner of the tree.

                                              ******

Tweet

Birbal The Servant

One day Akbar and Birbal were riding through the countryside and they happened to pass by a cabbage patch.

“Cabbages are such delightful vegetables!” said Akbar. “I just love cabbage.”

“The cabbage is king of vegetables!” said Birbal.
A few weeks later they were riding past the cabbage patch again.

This time however, the emperor made a face when he saw the vegetables. “I used to love cabbage but now I have no taste for it.” said Akbar.

“The cabbage is a tasteless vegetable” agreed Birbal. 

The emperor was astonished. 

“But the last time you said it was the king of vegetables!” he said.

“I did,” admitted Birbal. “But I am your servant Your Majesty, not the cabbage's.”

                                             ******

Tweet

Birbal Outwits Cheat

A farmer and his neighbor once went to Emperor Akbar's court with a complaint. 

“Your Majesty, I bought a well from him,” said the farmer pointing to his neighbor, “and now he wants me to pay for the water.”

“That’s right, your Majesty,” said the neighbor. “I sold him the well but not the water!”

The Emperor asked Birbal to settle the dispute.

“Didn’t you say that you sold your well to this farmer?” Birbal asked the neighbor. “So, the well belongs to him now, but you have kept your water in his well. Is that right? Well, in that case you will have to pay him a rent or take your water out at once.”

The neighbor realized that he was outwitted. He quickly apologized and gave up his claim.
                                            ******

Tweet

The True King

The King of Iran had heard that Birbal was one of the wisest men in the East and desirous of meeting him sent him an invitation to visit his country.

In due course, Birbal arrived in Iran.

When he entered the palace he was flabbergasted to find not one but six kings seated there. All looked alike. All were dressed in kingly robes. Who was the real king? 

The very next moment he got his answer. Confidently, he approached the king and bowed to him.

“But how did you identify me?” the king asked, puzzled.

Birbal smiled and explained: “The false kings were all looking at you, while you yourself looked straight ahead. Even in regal robes, the common people will always look to their king for support.”

Overjoyed, the king embraced Birbal and showered him with gifts.
                                             ******

Tweet

The Sharpest Shield and Sword

A man who made spears and shields once came to Akbar's court. 

“Your Majesty, nobody can make shields and spears to equal mine," he  said.“My shields are so strong that nothing can pierce them and my spears are so sharp that there's nothing they cannot pierce." 

“I can prove you wrong on one count certainly," said Birbal suddenly. 

“Impossible!" declared the man. 

“Hold up one of your shields and I will pierce it with one of your spears," said Birbal with a smile.

                                             ******
       

Tweet

Intelligent Birbal

One day, a rich merchant came to Birbal. He said to Birbal, “I have seven servants in my house. One of them has stolen my bag of precious pearls. Please find out the thief.”

So Birbal went to the rich man’s house. He called all the seven servants in a room. He gave a stick to each one of them. 

Then he said, “These are magic sticks. Just now all these sticks are equal in length. Keep them with you and return tomorrow. If there is a thief in the house, his stick will grow an inch longer by tomorrow.”

The servant who had stolen the bag of pearls was scared. He thought, “If I cut a piece of one inch from my stick, I won’t be caught.” So he cut the stick and made it shorter by one inch.

The next day Birbal collected the sticks from the servants. He found that one servant’s stick was short by an inch.

Birbal pointed his finger at him and said, “Here is the thief.” The servant confessed to his crime. He returned the bag of pearls. He was sent to jail.

                                             ******

Download Story As PDF

Tweet