Why King Vikram Carried a Spirit
Vikram-Betaal Stories · 1 min read
A wandering sorcerer approached King Vikramaditya, famed throughout the land for his courage and unbreakable word, and asked a single favor: to bring him a corpse hanging from a tree in a distant, haunted forest, in exchange for a great reward once delivered.
Vikramaditya agreed and rode alone into the forest, finding the corpse exactly where described — except that it was possessed by a mischievous spirit called Betaal, who spoke the moment the king cut it down. "I will come with you," Betaal said, "but only on one condition: as we travel, I will tell you a story, and at its end I will ask you a question. If you know the answer and stay silent, your head will shatter into pieces. But if you speak the answer aloud, I will fly straight back to this tree, and you must start your journey all over again."
Vikramaditya, bound by his own vow to the sorcerer and unwilling to break it, accepted the impossible bargain and hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder, beginning a journey that would test his wisdom again and again, story after story, each one demanding he choose between silence and truth.
Moral of the story
A vow given freely must be honored, even when the path to keeping it grows strange and difficult.