The Loyal Gardener One day Akbar was stumbled on a rock in his garden while taking a stroll. He was not in a good mood already, and then this fall made him very angry.He ordered for the gardener's arrest and execution. Gardener was very scared and Birbal comes to know about this episode. He met the Gardener in the prison and told him something in his ear. The next day, at the time of execution, the gardener was asked what his last wish was. He requested for an audience with the Emperor. His wish was granted and he was brought in the Court. When he came near the throne, he loudly clear ... read more

The Cock and the Hen Since Birbal always outwitted Akbar, Akbar thought of a plan to make Birbal look like a fool. He gave one egg to each of his ministers before Birbal reached the court one morning. So when Birbal arrived, the king narrated a dream he had had the previous night saying that he would be able to judge the honesty of his ministers if they were able to bring back an egg from the royal garden pond. So, Akbar asked all his courtiers to go to the pond, one at a time and return with an egg. So, one by one, all his ministers went to the pond and returned with the egg which he ... read more

The Wicked Barber's Plight As we all know, Birbal was not only Emperor Akbar’s favourite minister but also a minister dearly loved by most of the commoners, because of his ready wit and wisdom. People used to come to him from far and wide for advise on personal matters too. However, there was a group of ministers that were jealous of his growing popularity and disliked him intensely. They outwardly showered him with praise and compliments, but on the inside they began to hatch a plot to kill him. One day they approached the king’s barber with a plan. As the barber was extremely close ... read more

9 gems of Akbar 1. Abul Fazl (1551–1602) was the chronicler of Akbar’s rule. He authored the biographical Akbarnama. Abul Fazl documented the history meticulously, over seven years, in three volumes, the third volume is known as the Ain-i-Akbari and a Persian translation of the Bible.[1] He was also the brother of Faizi, the poet laureate of emperor Akbar. 2. Faizi (1547–1595) was Abul Fazl’s brother. He was a poet who composed beautiful poetry. His father was Mubarak Nagori, a scholar in the philosophy and literature of Greece as well as in Islamic theology. 3. Miyan Tansen was a si ... read more

The Blind Saint There lived a blind saint in an ashram in the kingdom of Emperor Akbar. He was believed to prophecy the future correctly. Once he had a visitor who had come to treat their niece. The child's parents were killed in front of the girl's eyes. Once she saw the saint, she started to scream loudly saying that that saint was the culprit. Angered by the girl's words, the saint demanded the couple to get away with their child. The whole day the girl cried which made the couple to realize that the girl was not lying. Therefore, they decided to seek the help of Birbal. ... read more