Birbal's Khichdi
- 3 minute read
- Ages 6-11
- Moral Stories
One winter Akbar was walking by the lake in his gardens and put his hand in the water, and it was so cold he pulled it straight out.
"No man could stand in that all night," he said.
Birbal said someone would, for the right sum.
So Akbar announced a challenge. Anyone who could stand in the lake all night, up to his neck, without coming out, would be given a thousand gold coins.
The poor man
A poor man from the city came forward.
He went into the water at sunset with guards watching from the bank, and he stayed in it all night, and when the sun came up he was still standing there, and they helped him out and wrapped him in blankets.
He came to the court to collect his thousand coins.
Akbar was pleased and had the money brought. Then, making conversation, he asked how the man had endured it.
"There was a lamp burning in a window on the far shore," said the man. "I looked at it all night. It kept me going."
The treasurer stopped counting.
"A lamp?" said one of the ministers. "Then he was warmed by the lamp. He did not do it unaided. That is not the challenge."
And Akbar, who was in a strange mood that morning, agreed, and sent the man away with nothing.
The invitation
Birbal did not come to court the next day, or the day after.
On the third day Akbar sent for him, and Birbal sent back a message saying he was busy cooking khichdi and would come as soon as it was ready.
By evening he still had not arrived. Akbar went to find him himself.
The pot
Birbal was sitting in his courtyard beside a fire.
There was a pole planted next to the fire, about the height of two men, and a pot was hanging from the top of it.
Akbar looked at the fire, and then at the pot four feet above it, and then at Birbal.
"What is that?"
"Khichdi, Your Majesty."
"The pot is nowhere near the fire."
"It is in the same courtyard," said Birbal. "If a lamp on the far side of a lake can warm a man standing in the water all night, this fire can certainly cook a pot hanging above it. I expect it will be ready shortly."
Akbar sat down on the step and did not say anything for a while.
The poor man had his thousand coins the following morning.
Moral of the story
Birbal did not argue that the ruling was unfair. He built it a kitchen and let the emperor watch it fail to cook.
Questions and answers
- What was Akbar's challenge?
To stand in the freezing lake all night, up to the neck, for a thousand gold coins.
- Did the poor man succeed?
Yes. He stayed in the water from sunset until sunrise with guards watching.
- Why was his reward refused?
He mentioned a lamp burning on the far shore, and a minister argued he had been warmed by it.
- What was Birbal doing when Akbar came to find him?
Cooking khichdi in a pot hung from a pole four feet above the fire.
- What point was Birbal making?
That if a lamp across a lake could warm a man, a fire four feet below a pot should be able to cook it.
Word meanings
- khichdi
- A simple Indian dish of rice and lentils cooked together.
- endured
- Put up with something difficult for a long time.
- treasurer
- The person in charge of a ruler's money.
- unaided
- Without help from anything or anyone.
Questions about Birbal's Khichdi
What is the moral of Birbal's Khichdi?
That an unfair argument is best answered by demonstrating it rather than disputing it. Birbal made the emperor see his own reasoning at work.
Why does Birbal not simply argue with Akbar?
Arguing had already failed at court. The whole method of these stories is showing rather than telling, which is why they are remembered.
Is khichdi a real dish?
Yes, and a very common one across India and Pakistan. It is rice and lentils cooked together, usually eaten as simple everyday food.
What can children learn from this?
That how you make a point matters. Birbal changed a decision without contradicting the emperor once.