The Baitâl Pachchisi; Or, The Twenty-Five Tales of a Sprite : Translated From the Hindi Text of Dr. Duncan Forbes

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Platts, John T. (John Thompson), 1830-1904.

Contributor:

Lallu Lal, 1763-1825

Vila, Mazhar Ali Khan, active 1805

Forbes, Duncan, 1798-1868

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"The Baitâl Pachchisi; Or, The Twenty-Five Tales of a Sprite" by John T. Platts et al. is a collection of traditional tales translated from Hindi, likely written in the early 19th century. This work showcases a blend of folklore, moral lessons, and supernatural elements, centering around themes of duty, justice, and the complexities of human behavior. The stories are framed by the character King Vikram, who engages with a sprite named Baitâl, who narrates various tales each ending with a moral quandary for the king to solve. The opening of "The Baitâl Pachchisi" introduces the core narrative and establishes King Vikram's character. After the death of his brother, Vikram ascends to the throne and becomes a formidable ruler, respected across India. However, he renounces his kingdom to wander as a devotee. The story quickly unfolds into a series of interactions with the sprite Baitâl, who challenges Vikram with moral dilemmas and legends involving other characters, such as demons, kings, and mystical creatures. This structure sets the stage for a rich exploration of ethical questions, human emotions, and the consequences of actions in the subsequent tales. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive

Notes:

Reading ease score: 76.6 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vetala_Panchavimshati

Release date is 2017-05-10