King Vikramaditya was one of the bravest and most judicious and adventurous ruler of ancient time in India. The fame of his justice and ability to rule, travelled far and wide. The people from distant places would visit his court with different problems. They often hoped that all their problems would find a solution in the presence of Vikramaditya.
One day a sage visited the court and presented a fruit to the king. The king called his treasurer and asked to keep the fruit in treasury. The next day the sage appeared again and presented another fruit. Vikramaditya gave the fruit to the treasurer to keep it safely. This practice went on for a number of days. Each time the presented fruit was preserved in a safe custody considering it a public property.
As usual, one morning the sage appeared in the court again and asked, “O great king, what did you do with the fruits given by me?” The king replied, “Your Holiness, the fruits are well preserved in treasury.”
“But those must have rotten and met the poor fate by now!” exclaimed the sage.
“Your Majesty, why don’t you find out yourself in what condition those fruits are,” asked the sage.
The king agreed and called the treasurer. Along with him, he himself went to the treasury. There he found all the fruits rotten. A few of them had lost their shape and had split. A shiny thing was peeping out of the each fruit. The king picked up a fruit and tore it apart. A fine big size gem popped out. Amazed to see it, the king tore off all the fruits one by one and was even further surprised to find similar fine gem in each of those fruits.
Vikramaditya returned to the court with the gems and sought from the sage, “Your Holiness, from where did you find such fruits? As per my knowledge, there is no such fruit.”
“O king, you are right. There is no such fruit tree. It has been possible by my supernatural power. If you wish to get more and more gems to keep your treasury full of riches, you must help me increase my spiritual power,” replied the sage.
“Your Holiness, for the prosperity of my kingdom, I’m ready to help you. Tell me, what can I do for you?” asked the king.
The sage replied, “O king, I know that no other king is equal or superior to you in courage and intelligence. The job which I’m going to assign you, no one can do barring you.”
The sage then explained, “There is a forest named Tanakpur Forest, which is twenty five miles away from your capital. As you move deep in the forest, at one place you will find a peepal tree. From the branch of it, a corpse can be seen hanging upside down. I want you to bring me the corpse.”
“But whose corpse is it and why do you want that ?” wondered the king.
“I’ve nothing to do with the corpse. But a ghost named Betal has made the corpse his home. I want to keep the ghost in my captivity. This will increase my occult power immensely and then I’ll be helpful for the goodness of your kingdom and bring prosperity to the subjects and the treasury.”
The king thought for a while and then accepted the challenge for his people. The sage briefed him about the path and the place of his mission. He asked him to proceed on his goal on the next no moon night and bring the corpse to the crematorium where he himself would be found waiting for the king.
On the prescribed no moon night, Vikramaditya armed with his sword proceeded for the forest. There, after a thorough search he could locate the said corpse, which was actually hanging from the branch. The determined king went near the tree, pulled the corpse on his shoulder and began walking towards the crematorium. Seeing the king walking, Betal in the corpse asked, “Who are you and why do you want to take me with you?”
“I’m Vikramaditya, the king of this kingdom. I’m taking you to the capital’s crematorium where a sage is waiting for you,” replied the king. “What will you get by taking me there?” sought the ghost.
“The sage will keep you in his captivity and that will increase his power. With his increased supernatural power, he has also assured me to do wonders for my kingdom,” said the king.
Hearing the king, the ghost replied, “O king, I’m Betal, a ghost. I would like to warn you that the sage is a wicked man. He does not mean welfare of your kingdom or the society. By keeping me as his captive, he wants to increase his evil power and eventually to harm the people with his enhanced power. I’m ready to accompany you, however you must live up to one of my condition.”
“What’s this condition?” asked Vikramaditya.
“On the way to your destination, I’ll tell you an interesting story. You must listen to the story carefully and quietly. If you speak anything during the journey, I’ll return to the peepal tree, ” said Betal.
The king agreed to his condition. Betal said further, “Vikramaditya, I’ve heard a lot about your wisdom and bravery. I expect you to resolve the hidden riddle in my story. If at the end of the story you knowingly avoid the answers to my questions just to remain quiet, your head will be split into pieces.”
“I’ll try to solve the puzzle to the best of my ability,” promised the king.
“I would like to believe you,” said Betal and began narrating his tale.
Dear Readers, try solving the riddles of Betal on your own before reading the answers provided by King Vikram.
All you readers will have a lot of fun solving the upcoming riddles 🤴😇👻!
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