Few stories from Baital-Pashisi - King Vikram and the Vampire

Stories and Poems

King Vikram and the Vampire

Introduction

First published in 1870, these witty and spirited legends established the literary foundations for the Arabian Nights. The tales first appeared in Sanskrit as the Baital-Pashisi, a collection of Hindu stories told by the baital (a vampire or mischievous spirit). They center on the adventures of the great King Vikram -- the King Arthur of the East -- who has promised delivery of the vampire to a magician. Pulling the vampire out of a tree, Vikram stuffs him in a sack and sets off on his journey. But the loquacious baital has his own designs and proceeds to instruct the king with a series of tales of the deception, villainy, and folly of human beings. As revealing today as they were in their own time, these stories will entertain and delight modern readers while illuminating the life and customs of classical India.

Orientalist, prolific author, and traveler-explorer, Sir Richard F. Burton (1821-1890) was one of the most remarkable and controversial men of his century. He is famous as the translator of The 1001 Arabian Nights, the Kama Sutra, the Ananga-Ranga, and the Perfumed Garden

The Art of reading Hindu Stories

To a person exposed to contemporary style of stories, it may be little difficult to read such stories. The difficulty also arises due to lack of knowledge of Hindu culture in those times (even among Indians), the style of English (19th century) and the sheer literary style in which it is written. The best way to read these stories is by not forming an opinion or having expectations from what you read in the beginning. The stories do not proceed with uniform pace or some time may not be connected with theme of the story. The story often pauses and even explores on arbitrary subjects.

Imagine you are hiking from one point to another. You are not solely interested in completing the journey but also stop and sometimes explore things which are curious or beautiful. Such should be the sprit of reading these stories.

If you are impatient to read the whole story or did not understand or want to know some interesting aspect of the story you may want to summary of stories