The exchanged heads....

               Once upon a time there lived a washerman named Dhavala. He once spotted a very beautiful lady at pond, who happened to be the daughter of another washerman. He instantly fell in love with her and pleaded with his parents to ask her parents for her hand in marriage. His parents did accordingly and the girl, Madanasundari, got married to him with her parents consent. She then went with Dhavala to live with him.

               Once the brother of Madanasundari, came to Dhavala to invite his sister and brother in-law to their place for festival season. Dhavala agreed and the three of them were returning to Madanasundari's home. On the way they happened to pass by the temple of Durga Devi, the all powerful goddess of power. Her brother wanted to pay a visit to the goddess, and went to the temple. But as soon as he came near the goddess, he wanted to make a massive sacrifice to the goddess. So saying he cut his head off for the goddess. Madanasundari was worried and she then sent her husband to see what the matter was. 

           

           On seeing the state of his brother-in-law, the husband was also moved deeply and he decided to offer his own head too to the goddess and cut his own head with his scitmar. Madanasundari, after a long wait came and saw both her brother and husband lying on the ground and then decided to take her own life but asked the goddesss to get the same brother and husband in the next life. The goddess was pleased and stopped her from dying and asked her to join their heads and bodies and then she granted them life. In a hurry, Madanasundari, exchanged the heads of her brother and husband and was perplexed. Betaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this question: Who among the two is the husband of Madanasundari?

             Vikram replies with a lot of thought, "The body that carries her husband's head is is her husband. The head is the most important part of the human body, and the rest of the body is identified by the head." As soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal disappeared back to the tree.

Reward of life....

           It was a dark night and was raining from time to time. Gusts of wind shook the trees. There were strange noises and in between the thunderclaps the moaning of jackals could be heard. Flashes of lightning revealed fearsome faces and there were strange and mysterious laughter of the spirits. But in spite of such a weird atmosphere king Vikramaditya  did not swerve a bit. He climbed the ancient tree to bring the corpse down and soon he began crossing the desolate cremation ground, with the corpse lying on his shoulder.

         The Betaal that possessed the corpse spoke: "O King, I pity you as you are making untiring efforts without relaxing as if you wish to achieve something. Instead of enjoying a comfortable sleep on a cozy bed, you're still coming after me. You seem to be quite adamant. Such arrogance may not help you keep your promise if you had given one to anybody. You'll realize the futility of the whole thing if only you listen to my story." And the vampire began his narration. Long long ago, Kanchannagar was being ruled by King Chandradeep. His daughter was Indumati. Being an only child, the princess was brought up like a boy, and given training in the use of arms and warfare. It was certain that whoever wed her would also become the ruler of Kanchannagar. The princes of many of the neighbouring kingdoms cherished a desire to marry Indumati, who was, besides everything else, extremely beautiful. Whenever the king broached the subject of marriage, Princess Indumati, would hesitate to give him a definite answer, but one day Indumati said yes to his father, "Yes, father, but...". The king stared at her, waiting for her to complete the sentence.

         “Whoever marries me must be strong and brave. And he must succeed in the tests that I give." Indumati then spelt out what kind of tests she was contemplating for her suitors.

          The king was horrified. "Don't insist on any such test," he advised the princess. “They’re all hazardous. No one will come forward to undergo the tests for fear their life. Just forget about them." "Don't worry, father," Indumati, assured Chandradeep. “All those who profess that they love me than their life will certainly take these tests. You just
watch!"
          The king consulted his ministers. They came out with a suggestion. "If the
princess is determined to impose the tests, let her wish be carried out," said
the prime Minister. "But when we make the announcement, let us not spell out
the details. They will be let known only at time of the test."

               Chandradeep agreed to the suggestion. The royal announcement about the princess wedding merely stated that the suitors would have to take certain tests.. The announcement was made in all the neighbouring kingdoms, including Jayanagar, where a young man named Kurupshana heard it. He had been born with both hands stunted. His mother died soon after he was born, and his father took a second wife. The boy was named Kurupshana, the ugly looking. His stepmother was not at all kind- hearted, and she illtreated him much. It was seldom that he even got a full meal. She knew that the boy, with his handicap, would not be much use to her. Kurupshana did not utter a word in protest or by way of complaint. But he lamented within himself. 'Mother is always scolding & harassing me under one pretext or other. Won't there be an end to all this? They feel that I'm no good and I had better die! I must take this as a challenge and show them that I too, can face life.'

                   He decided to go to Kanchannagar. Quite a few princes had by then assembled at Kanchannagar. There were some young men, too, wishing to try their luck, if the princes were to fail. They all spent their time guessing what kind of tests the princess would put them through. Some of them thought it could be wrestling. Some others thought it could be their performance with the bow and arrow.

                    The time came to announce the details of the tests. The King & Princess Indumati came to the stage and sat next to the king, and on the other side of the king sat the Prime Minister. He got up from his seat and faced the princely suitors. “The contest is about to start! Several suitors are present here to win the hand of princess Indumati. It is her wish that they are put to certain tests. Whoever succeeds in the test will qualify to wed her. You all can see the wall in front of you. You have to climb the wall and jump down into the three- tiered cage of sharp knives. The test is, while doing so, you must be careful not to injure yourself. There should not be a single scratch on your body from the blades of the knives. Whoever is willing to participate in the test may step forward!"

                  Many princes rose from their seats, and went and took a good look at the high
wall as well as the cage of knives. One by one they went back to their seats. The wall looked too high for them; the cage was placed deep down below; and the space between the knives was very small. They would not be able to jump down without injuring themselves. None dared even to make an attempt. As they went back to their seats, some of them protested. "What kind of test is this? It could have been a sword- fight or wrestling or archery, or any other of that kind. But not this! It is almost trap from where one can't escape with one's life. Why should anyone sacrifice his life for the hand of a mad princess in the world?"

                     It looked as though no suitor was willing to take the test. The king was in a dilemma. He regretted that his daughter did not accept his advice and desite from insisting ontests. Kurupshana was watching all this from his seat. suddenly a thought struck him. After all, people back home, like his stepmother, were only wishing for his death. If he were to succeed in the test by the grace of god, he stood to win the hand of none else than a princess! So, why should he not try his luck? And if he were to die, nobody would grieve over his fate. He left his seat and walked up to King Chandradeep . "Your Majesty, can I have your permission to take the test?" The king was shocked. Who was this ugly- looking handicapped youth? Suppose he were to succeed in the test? His daughter would have to marry himaccording to the rules of the game. And if that happened, she would have to spend the rest of her life in the company of a handicapped husband! Princess Indumati, too, was in a similar dilemma. She was expecting to be married off to a prince, brave, daring and handsome. But look at this ugly youth! Would it be her fate to become his wife? She regretted she ever thought of tests for her suitors. Suddenly a doubt arose in her mind: would this young man be able to climb that high wall? How would he avoid a scratch while jumping into the cage when he had no hands to guide him through the sharp knives? She almost concludedthat he would only meet with his end if he were to be foolish enough to attempt jumping down from the wall. King Chandradeep waited for a moment to know his daughter's reaction, and then gave the permission to Kurupshana. Kurupshana went up the wall and asked the soldiers to take him to the top of the wall. He then took a good look at the cage and jumped down. He landed between the knives arrayed all around on all the three tiers. He was unscrathed! A loud cheer arose from the audience. The cage was slowly raised, to allow the young man to come out. He then walked towards the king and the princess. Their face had gone a milky white. Kurupshana realised their predicament. "O King! Please don't worry. I didn't wish to marry the princess. I had only wanted to take a challenge and I know I've succeeded. That itself is a big reward of my life and I can now face life." He bowed low before the king and retreated. The vampire ended his narration there and turned to King Vikramaditya. " O King! Didn't Kurupshana behave like a foolish? If he had no intention of marrying the princess, why did he at all decide to undergo the test?

          And after having succeeded in the test and qualified to wed the princess, why did not want to marry her? What was the reward he was referring to when he said he didn't want to aspire for anything more? If you know the answer and still decide not to satisfy me, beware, your head will be blown to pieces! ""True, Kurupshana was a handicapped young man," said the king. " He was fully aware of his handicap that bothered his stepmother. He really wished that she changed her opinion about him. She should not any longer feel that he was no good. Instead she should know that where people with no handicap had failed, he could, despite his handicap, come out a victor.

            That, for him, was the biggest reward he could aspire for. He decided to undergo the hazardous test not with the hope of marrying a princess. If he married her, he would one day be called upon to rule the kingdom. But as a ruler, he wouldn't be able even to hold sword.
If that was the case, it wouldn't be proper for him to marry her. That was why he gave up his claim to her hand. It was not any act of a foolish person. On the contrary, it was the decision of an intelligent, wise person."

             Betaal knew that king will definitely speak out the answer so he flew back to the ancient tree carrying the corpse along with him.
Vikramaditya drew his sword and went after the Betaal.....

King Vikramaditya...

                        In days gone by, Vikramaditya, a great king ruled over a prosperous kingdom from his capital at Ujjain. Mighty as the sun - he was a king with immense love for learning as well as for adventure. King Vikram sat in his court for hours every day, rewarding the virtuous, punishing the evil doers, and encouraging scholars, poets, musicians, and artists. During such sessions, numerous people came to meet him. They brought for him gifts of jewels, gold or other precious things.

 

                         Among such visitors was a mendicant who, on every visit, presented the king
with a fruit. The king accepted his humble gift with the same show of courtesy with which he would have accepted a diamond from a rich merchant. He used to hand over the fruit to the royal storekeeper. One morning, the mendicant gave him his usual gift just when the king was going out to inspect his stables. The king accepted the fruit all right and went out while 

playing with it, tossing it up and then catching it as it came down. It so happened that after a while the fruit fell down from his hand. Instantly a monkey who was on a nearby tree swooped down upon it and tried to crack it with his teeth. The fruit broke and pop came out a handy ball of ruby. The king's surprise knew no bounds. He picked up the ruby and sent for an expert.

                         He examined it and said it was the finest ruby he had ever seen. "What did
you do with all the fruits I have been giving you?" the anxious king asked of his store-keeper. "My lord, I threw them all into our store through the window!" replied the store-keeper. The king ordered him to fetch them, and when they were produced before him, he was further astonished and delighted to see that each one of the fruits contained a precious ruby. When the mendicant came the next day, the king gave all attention to him and asked him: "Why have you bestowed so much kindness on me?" "To be frank, I expect you to help me in a very important work of mine, O king, but of that I'll tell you in confidence," replied the mendicant.
                          

                            The king led him into the private audience chamber. The mendicant then said: “I know how brave you are. Hence I will ask you to do something which requires courage. But, for that, you must meet me under a Banyan tree in the center of the cremation ground beyond the city, at night, on the 14th day of the dark half of the month." Vikram hesitated for a while. But the spirit of adventure got the better of him. He agreed to meet the mendicant at the appointed hour. It was a dark night with a terrible gale blowing. When Vikram approached the cremation ground, he was received by the howling foxes and jackals. As he made his way through the ground, he saw in the flashes from lightning fearful faces of ghouls and ghosts staring at him or dancing around him. But undaunted, Vikram reached the banyan tree. The mendicant was delighted to see him. "Now, what's the work you want me to perform?" asked the king. "At the northern-most corner of this ground stands a very ancient tree. You will see a corpse hanging from one of its branches. Go and fetch it for me. I am seeking certain occult powers which I will get only if a king brings this particular corpse to me and if I practice certain rites sitting on it," disclosed the mendicant. To fetch a corpse that hung on a distant tree in that stormy night was not at all a pleasing task. But King Vikram braved the weather and the darkness as well as the menacing yells and shrieks of ghosts and ghouls and soon reached the old tree. Raising a burning torch he found the corpse hanging. He climbed the tree and with a stroke of his sword cut the rope with which the corpse had been tied to the branch. The corpse fell to the ground, and gave out an eerie cry.

                     

                      Vikram, not knowing that the corpse was possessed by a spirit, thought that the fellow was alive. He came down and lifted up the body lying sprawled on the ground. At that the corpse began to laugh. Surprised, the king asked: "Why do you laugh?" No sooner had the king opened his mouth than the corpse slipped away from his hands and hung on to the tree by itself. Six times did King Vikram bring it down and six times the corpse gave him the slip. At last Vikram realized that the corpse did the mischief only when he talked. On the seventh time Vikram put the corpse on his shoulder and began walking quietly. He had gone only a few steps when the corpse which, in fact, was a vampire, said: "O King, tiresome is the way. Let me tell you a tale to keep you amused!"

Baital Pancsihi:

                           A very famous account of human and vetal interaction is chronicled in the Baital Pancsihi ('Twenty Five Tales Of The Vampire) which consist of twenty five tales chronicling the adventures of King Vikramaditya and how his wits were pitted against a vetal a sorcerer had asked him to capture for him.

                          Vetals have great wisdom and insight into the human soul in addition to being able to see into the past and future and are thus very valuable acquisitions to wise men. This particular vetal inhabited a tree in a crematorium/graveyard and the only way it could be captured was by standing still and completely silent in the middle of the graveyard/crematorium. However, every single time the king tried this vetal would tempt him with a story that ended in a question the answering of which King Vikramaditya could not resist. As a result the vetal would re-inhabit the tree and the king was left to try again. Only after relating twenty five tales does the vetal allow the king to bear him back to the sorcerer, hence the name Baital Pancsihi.

                          The vetal informs the king of the treacherous sorcerers’ true intentions. The sorcerer means to trick Vikramaditya, possessor of thirty two virtues, and sacrifice him to a Goddess which would give him control over the vetal and his kind.

                            The vetal advises the king to ask the sorcerer how to pay his respects to the Goddess (which the sorcerer would ask him to do and use this opportunity to sacrifice him) and behead him while he is distracted. On following the vetal's advice the king is blessed and granted a boon by Lord Indra. The king wishes the sorcerer to come back to life and wishes that henceforth he would have the help and advice of the vetal whenever he needed it. The Baital Pansihi was originally written in Sanskrit and is said to be the
inspiration for the Arabian Nights and subsequent collections of fantastic
mythological tales.