One day Akbar was seated with
Birbal when a guard came rushing and said, ‘My Majesty, one of your trusted
ministers from a bordering town is here to see you’.
Akbar ordered the guard to send
the minister inside.
The Minister came in and bowed respectfully
before Akbar. He also greeted Birbal. Akbar asked him the reason for his visit.
The Minister contended, ‘My Majesty, all is well by your grace. I am honored to
see you after such a long time. But I came here to seek your advice on an
issue. I am unable to resolve the problem myself’.
Akbar asked the minister his
problem.
The Minister called two men. He
asked them to explain their case to the King. The first man greeted the King
and said, ‘O Great King! I am Aameer. I am a trader by profession and I own
large chunks of land which I inherited from my father. However, this man standing
next to me claims himself as Aameer and the master of all my assets. He denies
by identity and claims that I am his servant. He is further claiming that I
stole his money and disguised myself as Aameer’.
The the second man stepped
forward, humbly greeted the King. He contended, ‘My Majesty, I am Aameer. I am a
rich trader and own large chunks of land. Six months ago, I went to Afghanistan
for a trade deal. It was a long period, so I left my money, land and my house
under his supervision. However woefully, after I returned this man claimed
himself to be Aameer. He banished me from my own house and claims his rights
over my money and land. Above all, he has marred by standing and claims that I
am his servant’.
Akbar was stunned to hear the
case. It was a perplexing situation and Akbar could not gather much to resolve
the issue. After a momentarily thought Akbar said, ‘Birbal, do you have a solution
for this case?’
Birbal smiled and said, ‘Sure, my
Majesty!’
Birbal went to the two men and
said, ‘I am possessed by a holy spirit and can read minds as well. No matter
how much you try, you cannot conceal the truth from me. Speak the truth
yourself, or I had use my mystical powers to elude truth from you’.
The men stood unmoved. So Birbal raised
his voice and in a firm tone said, ‘You won’t speak unless I use my powers? Right
now, lie down on the floor with your face towards earth’.
The men lied down. While he laid
Birbal said, ‘Soon my mystical powers shall reveal the real culprit. Birbal concentrated
for a couple of minutes. Then he hastily called the guard and in a loud
impatient voice yelled, ‘Guard, behead the servant right away!’
The guard came rushing. Seeing this,
the first man jumped up and ran away towards the king. He cried in fear and
anguish and said, ‘My Majesty, I plead forgive me for my sin. I am the servant.
I lied in want of money and land. I am not Aameer. I am Rizwan and Aameer left
to take care of his assets. Forgive me my Majesty! Forgive me!’
The case was decided and Rizwan
was banished from the country. Akbar was impressed by Birbal’s way of resolving
the perplexing case. He was appreciated and rewarded exceptionally.
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