Baital Pachisi

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Baital Pachisi or Vetala Panchvimshati ("Twenty five tales of Baital") or Vikram and The Vampire is a collection of tales and legends from India. It was originally written in Sanskrit. Like Arabian Nights, it is a set of tales, within a frame story.

According to Isabel Burton, the Baital Pachisi "is the germ which culminated in the Arabian Nights, and which inspired the "Golden Ass" of Apuleius, Boccacio's "Decamerone," the "Pentamerone," and all that class of facetious fictitious literature."[1].

The story revolves around the semi-legendary King Vikram, identified as Vikramāditya (c. 1st century BC). Vikram promises a yogi to bring him the Baital (or Vetala in Sanskrit), a huge vampire. Baital hangs on a tree and inhabits and animates dead bodies. Vikram faces many difficulties in bringing the Baital. A series of Hindu fairy tales are strung on this frame story, which typically include the following sequence:

  • The Baital agrees to accompany the Vikram, provided the latter does not speak.
  • The Baital tells Vikram a tale in which one or more characters' behaviour seems to be awkward or injust.
  • The Baital concludes the tale with a question about the character's behaviour, which is actually a cleverly-disguised riddle about righteousness and/or politics.
  • Vikram answers and succeeds in justifying the character's behaviour.
  • As Vikram speaks, violating their agreement, the Baital flies back to the tree.

  1. ^ Preface to English translation, by Isabela Burton

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