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Birbal was one of the favourite gems of King Akbar. But
as there is saying that, “A favourite never has a friend”, there were many
courtiers who envied Birbal.
They always tried to disagree him before Akbar. Once they
decided to teach him a lesson. They made Akbar addicted to listening to
stories. Then, they convinced him that Birbal knew a lot of interesting
stories.
One day, King Akbar decided to listen to the stories of
Birbal. Now, Birbal was caught in a vicious web. He hardly knew any story.
Still the royal orders could not be violated. Birbal started narrating some of
the stories that he knew.
Akbar always wanted an epic to be written by
which his name could become eternal. When he heard about the Mahabharata, he
wished it to be written.
He expressed his wish to Birbal saying, “I
want the Akbari Mahabharata to be written.”
“That’s a very good thought, Sir. It’s not a
very difficult job,” said Birbal.
“Can you write it, then?” questioned Akbar.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” replied Birbal. “I
just need some time and money.” Akbar chuckled and said, “Take as much time as
you want. You can get money from the royal treasury.”
Once, King Akbar made an announcement that
whoever dares to spend a night in the chilling waters of river Yamuna shall be
handsomely rewarded. Hearing this, a poor washerman called Abdullah offered to
stand for the whole night in the freezing waters of Yamuna.
Next day, Abdulla rushed to the King to get
his reward. But the King questioned him, “What gave you strength to pass the
whole night inside the river?”
Abdullah replied, “Your Highness! Last night
I kept gazing at the earthen lamp lit at the terrace of your castle.”
