4 h 47 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 47 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A king carries a corpse through a cremation ground at night—and the spirit inside begins a story.
King Vikram of Ujjain accepts an ascetic’s strange request: bring him a corpse. But the body holds the Baital, a clever spirit with tales to tell and questions to ask. As Vikram walks, each story becomes a test of judgment. He must answer every riddle, yet answering means losing his prisoner.
The Baital Pachchisi: The Twenty-Five Tales of a Sprite gathers Indian riddle stories within this eerie journey. Kings, lovers, ministers, merchants, and thieves face choices that raise hard questions about right and wrong. Rooted in Sanskrit story collections and retold in Hindi and Urdu, these tales invite you to weigh each question alongside the king.
What you’ll discover
- A dangerous errand Follow a brave king into a cremation ground, where his strange task begins.
- A cunning storyteller Meet the Baital, whose stories turn the king’s journey into a contest of judgment.
- Riddles of right and wrong Weigh the choices of lovers, thieves, and rulers before deciding how you would answer.
- Stories within a story Move between Vikram’s dangerous errand and the lives unfolding inside the spirit’s tales.
- Deep storytelling roots Explore tales with roots in Sanskrit collections and a long life across Indian languages.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy riddles, folk tales and stories within stories will love this collection. It also suits those drawn to royal courts, spirits and old Indian ideas of duty, love and honor.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A fruit of immortality passes through many hands
- A holy man brings rubies and asks for one night
- A corpse that talks sets the first riddle
- Who owns a woman that three men claim
- Loyalty is measured by what a person gives up
- Cunning, desire and the thief who sees clearly
- Learning without wisdom, and strange, small puzzles
- How the frame, the refrain and the king work
Who’s who
- VikramThe king of Dharanagar who keeps his word, fights a demon, and carries a talking corpse through a haunted cremation ground while answering its riddles.
- The spriteA spirit that animates a corpse hanging from a siris tree and tests the king with tales and questions during his repeated journeys.
- ShantshilThe ascetic who gives the king rubies and asks him to spend one night at his rites, hoping to gain supernatural power.
- BharthariVikram's brother, who rules in his absence and gives up his throne after a fruit of immortality passes through many hands.
- The demon of DharanagarThe guardian of the empty city, who challenges Vikram at midnight and then warns him about the ascetic.
- PadmavatiThe princess of Karnatak whose silent gestures are read by a minister's son in the first tale.
- BirbarA Rajput servant who asks for a thousand tolas of gold a day and offers his whole family for his king.
- Jimut-bahanA prince who offers his own life to the great bird Garur to save a young serpent.
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Baitâl Pachchîsî : Les vingt-cinq contes d’un esprit
by Lallu Lal ; Mazhar Ali Khan Vila ; John T. Platts (traducteur)
A corpse hangs from a tree, and King Vikram must carry it through the night, answering its riddles.
Medium level2–5 hours to readfrançais
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In short
Would you carry a corpse through a haunted cremation ground at midnight, with rain pouring and snakes coiling round your legs? King Vikram does, and the corpse will not stay quiet.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A fruit of immortality passes through many hands
The story that holds all the others begins in the city of Dharanagar. Vikram kills his elder brother Shank, who took the throne, and rules so well that he becomes king of all India. Later he hands the throne to his brother Bharthari and wanders as a devotee.
A Brahman receives a fruit of immortality from a deity. His wife weeps, because an immortal beggar would beg forever, so he sells it to the king. Bharthari gives the fruit to the queen he loves best. She passes it to the kotwal, the city police chief, who is her lover. He gives it to a courtesan, and she carries it back to the king, thinking it a fitting gift. Bharthari asks the queen what she did with it. She says she ate it. He shows her the fruit, and she stands speechless.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 3 h 5 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Lallu Lal, and Mazhar Ali Khan Vila. The Baital Pachchisi: The Twenty-Five Tales of a Sprite. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-baital-pachchisi-the-twenty-five-tales-of-a-sprite.
Lallu Lal, & Vila, M. A. K. (2026). The Baital pachchisi: The twenty-five tales of a sprite. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-baital-pachchisi-the-twenty-five-tales-of-a-sprite
Lallu Lal, and Mazhar Ali Khan Vila. The Baital Pachchisi: The Twenty-Five Tales of a Sprite. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-baital-pachchisi-the-twenty-five-tales-of-a-sprite.
@book{lallulal2026baital,
author = {Lallu Lal and Vila, Mazhar Ali Khan},
title = {The Baital Pachchisi: The Twenty-Five Tales of a Sprite},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-baital-pachchisi-the-twenty-five-tales-of-a-sprite}
}
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What is the Baital Pachchisi about?
It tells of King Vikram, who must carry a corpse possessed by a sprite through a cremation ground at night. On the way, the sprite tells twenty-five tales, each ending with a question about guilt, virtue, relationships or another puzzle for the king.
What does the word baital mean?
A baital, or sprite, is a spirit said to haunt cremation grounds and animate dead bodies. In the book it lives in a corpse hanging from a siris tree and is the storyteller who tests the king.
Who is King Vikram in the story?
Vikram is a king of Dharanagar who takes the throne by force, rules well, and is known for his courage and justice. He keeps his promises, fights a demon, and gives reasoned answers until the final riddle leaves him silent.
The author
Lallu Lal
1763–1825 · Indian writer and translator
Indian academic, author and translator.
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