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1 )The Monkey and the Crocodile

Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy.
One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed.
The crocodile returned the next day. And the next. And the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The crocodile's wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day.
Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they spent more and more time together. The crocodile's wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile's wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose monkeys, his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house.
The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the river. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey's flesh. So she thought of a plan.
One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey's heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her his friend's heart.
The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile's wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey's heart, she would surely die.
So the crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. He told the monkey that he could ride across the river on the crocodile's back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife's life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the crocodile's wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tree. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.
The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.

21 ) Re-Union

One day, when Akbar and Birbal were in discussions, Birbal happened to pass a harmless comment about Akbar's sense of humour. But Emperor Akbar was in a foul mood and took great offense to this remark. He asked Birbal, his court-jester, friend and confidant, to not only leave the palace but also to leave the walls of the city of Agra. Birbal was terribly hurt at being banished.
A couple of days later, Akbar began to miss his best friend. He regretted his earlier decision of banishing him from the courts. He just could not do without Birbal and so sent out a search party to look for him. But Birbal had left town without letting anybody know of his destination. The soldiers searched high and low but were unable to find him anywhere.
Then one day a wise saint came to visit the palace accompanied by two of his disciples. The disciples claimed that their teacher was the wisest man to walk the earth. Since Akbar was missing Birbal terribly he thought it would be a good idea to have a wise man that could keep him company. But he decided that he would first test the holy man's wisdom.
The saint had bright sparkling eyes, a thick beard and long hair. The next day, when they came to visit the court Akbar informed the holy man that since he was the wisest man on earth, he would like to test him. All his ministers would put forward a question and if his answers were satisfactory he would be made a minister. But if he could not, then he would be beheaded. The saint answered that he had never claimed to be the wisest man on earth, even though other people seemed to think so. Nor was he eager to display his cleverness but as he enjoyed answering questions, he was ready for the test.
One of the ministers, Raja Todarmal, began the round of questioning. He asked "Who is a man's best friend on earth?" To which the wise saint replied, "His own good sense". Next Faizi asked which was the most superior thing on earth? "Knowledge", answered the saint. "Which is the deepest trench in the world?", asked Abdul Fazal. And the saint's answer was "a woman's heart". "What is that which cannot be regained after it is lost?" questioned another courtier and the reply he received was 'life'. "What is undying in music" asked the court musician Tansen. The wise saint replied that it was the "notes". And then he asked "which is the sweetest and most melodious voice at night -time? And the answer he received was "the voice that prays to God."
Maharaj Mansingh of Jaipur, who was a guest at the palace asked, "what travels more speedily than the wind?" the saint replied that it was "man's thought". He then asked, "which was the sweetest thing on earth?" and the saint said that it was "a baby's smile".
Emperor Akbar and all his courtiers were very impressed with his answers, but wanted to test the saint himself. Firstly he asked what were the necessary requirements to rule over a kingdom, for which he was answered 'cleverness'. Then he asked what was the gravest enemy of a king. The saint replied that it was 'selfishness'. The emperor was pleased and offered the saint a seat of honour and asked him whether he could perform any miracles. The saint said that he could manifest any person the king wished to meet. Akbar was thrilled and immediately asked to meet his minister and best friend Birbal.
The saint simply pulled off his artificial beard and hair much to the surprise of the other courtiers. Akbar was stunned and could not believe his eyes. He stepped down to embrace the saint because he was none other than Birbal.
Akbar had tears in his eyes as he told Birbal that he had suspected it to be him and had therefore asked him whether he could perform miracles. He showered Birbal with many valuable gifts to show him how happy he was at his return.

20 ) 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 to the king, they asked him to help them get rid of Birbal permanently. And of course, they promised him a huge sum of money in return. The wicked barber readily agreed.
The next time the king required his services, the barber started a conversation about the emperor's father who he also used to serve. He sang praises of his fine, silky-smooth hair. And then as an afterthought he asked the king that as he was enjoying such great prosperity, had he made an attempt to do anything for the welfare of his ancestors?
The king was furious at such impertinent stupidity and told the barber that it was not possible to do anything because they were already dead. The barber mentioned that he knew of a magician who could come of help. The magician could send a person up to heaven to enquire about his father's welfare. But of course this person would have to be chosen carefully; he would have to be intelligent enough to follow the magicians instructions as well as make on-the-spot decisions. He must be wise, intelligent and responsible. The barber then suggested the best person for the job - the wisest of all ministers, Birbal.
The king was very excited about hearing from his dead father and asked the barber to go ahead and make the arrangements immediately. He asked him what was needed to be done. The barber explained that they would take Birbal in a procession to the burial grounds and light a pyre. The magician would then chant some 'mantras' as Birbal would ascend to the heavens through the smoke. The chantings would help protect Birbal from the fire.
The king happily informed Birbal of this plan. Birbal said that he thought it a brilliant idea and wanted to know the brain behind it. When learning that it was the barber's idea, he agreed to go to heaven on condition that he be given a large some of money for the long journey as well as one month's time to settle his family so that they had no trouble while he was gone. The king agreed to both conditions.
In the duration of this month, he got a few trustworthy men to build a tunnel from the funeral grounds to his house. And on the day of the ascension, after the pyre had been lit, Birbal escaped through the concealed door of the tunnel. He disappeared in to his house where he hid for a few months while his hair and beard grew long and unruly.
In the meantime his enemies were rejoicing as they thought that they had seen the last of Birbal.
Then one day after many, many months Birbal arrived at the palace with news of the king's father. The king was extremely pleased to see him and ready with a barrage of questions. Birbal told the king that his father was in the best of spirits and had been provided with all the comforts except one.
The king wanted to know what was lacking because now he thought he had found a way to send things and people to heaven. Birbal answered that there were no barbers in heaven, which is why even he was forced to grow his own beard. He said that his father had asked for a good barber.
So the king decided to send his own barber to serve his father in heaven. He called both the barber and the magician to prepare to send him to heaven. The barber could say absolutely nothing in his own defence as he was caught in his own trap. And once the pyre was lit he died on the spot.
Nobody dared to conspire against Birbal again.

19 ) The Foolish Brahmin

Once upon a time a foolish brahmin came to visit Birbal with a strange request. He wanted to be addressed as 'pandit'. Now, the term 'pandit' refers to a man of learning. But unfortunately this poor brahmin was uneducated. Birbal tried to explain the difference to him saying that it was not correct to call an uneducated man a pandit and because of this very reason it would be improper to call him so. But the silly brahmin had his heart set on this title.
So, as usual, Birbal had a brilliant idea. He said that as the brahmin was an uneducated man he should hurl abuses and stones at anyone who dared to address him by the very same title he wanted. Then Birbal called all his servants to himself and ordered them to call this lowly brahmin a pandit. The brahmin was very pleased. But the moment the servants started calling out to him as 'pandit' he pretended to be very angry and started to abuse them loudly. Then he picked up a few stones and hurled them in their direction. All as per clever Birbal's advice.
All this shouting and screaming drew a crowd. When people realised that this brahmin was erupting every time anyone called him 'pandit', they all started to tease him. Over the next couple of days, he would constantly hear the refrain 'pandit' wherever he went. Very soon the whole town started referring to him as 'pandit' much to his delight.
The foolish brahmin never realised why people were calling him in this manner. And was extremely pleased with the result. He thanked Birbal from the very bottom of his foolish heart.

18 ) Poet Raidas

In the town of Agra there lived a rich businessman. But he was also quite a miser. Various people used to flock outside his house everyday hoping for some kind of generosity, but they always had to return home disappointed. He used to ward them off with false promises and then never live up to his word.
Then one day, a poet named Raidas arrived at his house and said that he wanted to read out his poems to the rich man. As the rich man was very fond of poetry, he welcomed him in with open arms.
Raidas started to recite all his poems one by one. The rich man was very pleased and especially so when he heard the poem that Raidas had written on him, because he had been compared with 'Kubera', the god of wealth. In those days it was a custom for rich men and kings to show their appreciation through a reward or a gift, as that was the only means of earning that a poor poet possessed. So the rich man promised Raidas some gifts and asked him to come and collect them the next day. Raidas was pleased.
The next morning when he arrived at the house, the rich man pretended that he had never laid eyes on him before. When Raidas reminded him of his promise, he said that although Raidas was a good poet he understood very little of human nature. And that if rich businessman truly wanted to reward him, he would have done so the very same night. Raidas had been offered a reward not because he was really pleased or impressed, but to simply encourage him.
Raidas was extremely upset, but as there was nothing that he could do, he quietly left the house. On his way home he saw Birbal riding a horse. So he stopped him and asked for his help after narrating the whole incident. Birbal took him to his own house in order to come up with a plan. After giving it some thought he asked Raidas to go to a friend's house with five gold coins and request the friend to plan a dinner on the coming full moon night, where the rich man would also be invited. Birbal then asked Raidas to relax and leave the rest to him.
Raidas had one trustworthy friend whose name was Mayadas. So he went up to him and told him the plan.. The next day, Mayadas went to the rich man's house and invited him for dinner. The dinner has been planned for the coming full moon night. He said that he intended to serve his guests in vessels of gold, which the guests would get to take home after the meal. The rich man was thrilled to hear this and jumped at the offer.
After sunset on the full moon night, the rich man arrived at Mayadas' house and was surprised to see no other guests there but Raidas. Anyhow, they welcomed him in and started a polite conversation. The rich man had come on an empty stomach and so was getting hungrier by the minute. Raidas and Mayadas were quite full as they had eaten just before the rich man's arrival.
Finally at midnight the rich man could bear his hunger no longer and asked Mayadas to serve the food. Mayadas sounded extremely surprised when he asked him what food was he talking about. The rich man tried to remind him that he had been invited for dinner. At this point Raidas asked him for proof of the invitation. The rich man had no answer. Then Mayadas told him that he had just invited him to please him and had not really meant it. He then went on to say that even though they did not do anything good for other people they also would never try to hurt another human being. He asked the rich man not to feel bad.
At that point Birbal walked into the room and reminded the rich man of the same treatment that he had himself meted out to Raidas. The rich man realised his mistake and begged for forgiveness. He said that Raidas was a good poet and had not asked him for any reward. He himself had promised to give him some gifts and then cheated him out of them. To make up for his mistake he took out the necklace that he was wearing and gifted it to Raidas. Then they all sat down to eat a happy meal.
Raidas was all praise for Birbal and thanked him profusely. Emperor Akbar also invited him to his court and honoured him, all thanks to Birbal.
Birbal really was a wise man.

17 ) Birbal's Khichri

On a cold winter day Akbar and Birbal took a walk along the lake. A thought came to Birbal that a man would do anything for money. He expressed his feelings to Akbar. Akbar then put his finger into the lake and immediately removed it because he shivered with cold.
Akbar said "I don't think a man would spend an entire night in the cold water of this lake for money."
Birbal replied "I am sure I can find such a person."
Akbar then challenged Birbal into finding such a person and said that he would reward the person with a thousand gold coins.
Birbal searched far and wide until he found a poor man who was desperate enough to accept the challenge. The poor man entered the lake and Akbar had guards posted near him to make sure that he really did as promised.
The next morning the guards took the poor man to Akbar. Akbar asked the poor man if he had indeed spent the night in the lake. The poor man replied that he had. Akbar then asked the poor man how he managed to spend the night in the lake. The poor man replied that there was a street lamp near by and he kept his attention affixed on the lamp and away from the cold. Akbar then said that there would be no reward as the poor man had survived the night in the lake by the warmth of the street lamp. The poor man went to Birbal for help.
The next day, Birbal did not go to court. The king wondering where he was sent a messenger to his home. The messenger came back saying that Birbal would come once his Khichri was cooked. The king waited hours but Birbal did not come. Finally the king decided to go to Birbal's house and see what he was upto.
He found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning twigs and a bowl filled with Khichri hanging five feet above the fire. The king and his attendants couldn't help but laugh.
Akbar then said to Birbal "How can the Khichri be cooked if it so far away from the fire?"
Birbal answered "The same way the poor man received heat from a street lamp that was more than a furlong away."
The King understood his mistake and gave the poor man his reward.

16 ) 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 had previously given them.
Then it was Birbal's turn. He jumped into the pond and could find no eggs. He finally realized that the King was trying to play a trick on him. So he entered the court crowing like a cock.
The Emperor asked him to stop making that irritating noise and then asked him for the egg.
Birbal smiled and replied that only hens lay eggs, and as he was a cock, he could not produce an egg.
Everyone laughed loudly and the King realized that Birbal could never be easily fooled

15 ) Tit-Bits

Emperor Akbar's court was famous for its witty question and answer sessions.
On one of these occasions, the Emperor asked Birbal if there was anything that the sun and the moon could not see. Birbal's reply was 'darkness'. Akbar was pleased.
Next, he asked what was the difference between a truth and a lie. To which Birbal replied that it was the distance between the ears and the eyes because what you see with your eyes is true, but what you hear with your ears is generally false. Akbar was satisfied.
Lastly, Emperor Akbar drew a line on the floor and asked Birbal to shorten it without wiping out the ends.
Birbal drew a longer line below the line drawn by Akbar and remarked that though he had not rubbed off the original line he had definitely succeeded in making it shorter.

14 ) Akbar's Dream

One night, Emperor Akbar dreamt that he had lost all his teeth, except one. The next morning he invited all the astrologers of his kingdom to interpret this dream.
After a long discussion, the astrologers prophesized that all his relatives would die before him.
Akbar was very upset by this interpretation and so sent away all the astrologers without any reward.
Later that day, Birbal entered the court. Akbar related his dream and asked him to interpret it. After thinking for a while Birbal replied that the Emperor would live a longer & more fulfilled life than any of his relatives.
Akbar was pleased with Birbal's explanation and rewarded him handsomely.

13 ) Honest Birbal

One fine day, Emperor Akbar was discussing the brinjal with Birbal. He told him what a delicious and nutritious vegetable it was. Much to Akbar's surprise, Birbal thoroughly agreed with him and even sang two songs in praise of the humble brinjal.
After a couple of days, the royal chef cooked brinjal curry for lunch. Birbal was also eating at the palace that day. When the brinjal curry was served to Akbar, he refused it saying that it was a tasteless, stale vegetable, full of seeds and lacking proper nutrition. He then asked that it be served to Birbal who loved brinjals.
But Birbal, too, refused it saying that it was not good for health. So Akbar impatiently asked him why he was saying such things when he sang the brinjals praise, not a few days ago.
Birbal replied that he had praised the brinjal only because his emperor had praised it and criticized it when his majesty had criticized it, as he was loyal to his emperor and to not the brinjal. He said that the brinjal could not make him a minister no matter how much he praised it. He went on to say that he was his majesty's obedient servant, and not that of the brinjal.
The emperor was pleased by his honest, bold, and witty response.

12 ) Why is the Camel's Neck Crooked?

As you all know, Emperor Akbar was very impressed with Birbal�s wisdom and greatly enjoyed his quick wit. One fine morning when Akbar was especially pleased with Birbal, as a gesture of appreciation, he promised to reward him with many valuable and beautiful gifts.
However, many days passed, and still there was no sign of even one gift. Birbal was quite disappointed with the king. Then one day, when Akbar was strolling down the banks of River Yamuna with his ever faithful Birbal at his side, he happened to notice a camel passing by. He asked Birbal why the neck of the camel was crooked. Birbal thought for a second and promptly replied that it might be because the camel may have forgotten to honour a promise. The holy books mention that those who break their word get punished with a crooked neck; perhaps that was the reason for the camel�s crooked neck.
Akbar soon realised his folly of making a promise to Birbal for gifts and not honouring it. He was ashamed of himself. As soon as they returned to the palace he immediately gave Birbal his justly deserved reward. As you can see, Birbal always managed to get what he wanted without directly asking for it.

11 ) Who Are Donkeys?

One fine day, Akbar, accompanied by his two sons and his clever Minister Birbal, went to the river to take a bath.
They asked Birbal to hold their clothes while they were bathing and took off their clothes and stepped into the river.
Birbal stood at the bank of the river, waiting for them, with their clothes on his shoulder. Looking at Birbal standing like this, Akbar felt like teasing him and remarked that Birbal looked like a washerman's donkey with a load of clothes.
Birbal quickly retorted that he was carrying the load of not just one donkey, but actually three.
The emperor was speechless.

10 ) The Three Questions

King Akbar was very fond of Birbal. This made a certain courtier very jealous. Now this courtier always wanted to be chief minister, but this was not possible as Birbal filled that position.
One day Akbar praised Birbal in front of the courtier. This made the courtier very angry and he said that the king praised Birbal unjustly and if Birbal could answer three of his questions, he would accept the fact that Birbal was intelligent. Akbar always wanting to test Birbals wit readily agreed.
The three questions were
1. How many stars are there in the sky
2. Where is the centre of the Earth and
3. How many men and how many women are there in the world.
Immediately Akbar asked Birbal the three questions and informed him that if he could not answer them, he would have to resign as chief minister.
To answer the first question, Birbal brought a hairy sheep and said �There are as many stars in the sky as there is hair on the sheep�s body. My friend the courtier is welcome to count them if he likes.�
To answer the second question, Birbal drew a couple of lines on the floor and bore an iron rod in it and said �this is the centre of the Earth, the courtier may measure it himself if he has any doubts.�
In answer to the third question, Birbal said �Counting the exact number of men and women in the world would be a problem as there are some specimens like our courtier friend here who cannot easily be classified as either. Therefore if all people like him are killed, then and only then can one count the exact number.�

9 ) Pandit Sevaram

One day a Brahmin by the name of Sevaram asked Birbal for help. He said that his forefathers were great Sanskrit scholars and that people used to respectfully refer to them as Panditji. He said that he had no money nor need for wealth, he was content living a simple life. But he had just one wish. He wished people would refer to him as Panditji too. He asked Birbal how he could achieve this.
Birbal said that the task was fairly simple. If the Brahmin followed his advice word for word, this task could be achieved. Birbal advised the Brahmin to shout at anyone who would call him Panditji from now on.
Now the children who lived on the same street as the Brahmin did not like him since he scolded them often. They were just waiting for an opportunity to get back at him. Birbal told the children that the Brahmin would get really irritated if they would start calling him Panditji. The children started calling him Panditji and the Brahmin as advised by Birbal started shouting at them. The children spread the word to all the other children in the neighborhood that Sevaram hated being called Panditji, so they in turn all started calling him Panditji. After a while, Sevaram got tired of scolding them but everyone already was used to calling him Panditji. Hence the game was over but the name stuck.

8 How many Crows in the Kingdom

One day Emperor Akbar and Birbal were taking a walk in the palace gardens. It was a nice summer morning and there were plenty of crows happily playing around the pond. While watching the crows, a question came into Akbar's head. He wondered how many crows were there in his kingdom.
Since Birbal was accompanying him, he asked Birbal this question. After a moment's thought, Birbal replied, "There are ninety-five thousand four hundred and sixty-three crows in the Kingdom".
Amazed by his quick response, Akbar tried to test him again, "What if there are more crows than you answered?" Without hesitating Birbal replied, "If there are more crows than my answer, then some crows are visiting from other neighboring kingdoms". "And what if there are less crows", Akbar asked. "Then some crows from our kingdom have gone on holidays to other places".

7 ) Akbar Prays for a Son

Akbar Prays for a Son

Akbar was so sad that he had not been blessed with a son and heir. He began to despair of the future of the Moghul Empire. He knew that a Sufi saint named Sheikh Salim Chishti lived in some rocks near the village of Sikri, a distance of some twenty miles from Agra. Akbar decided to go to this saint and ask him for a boon.
On the chosen day, Akbar dressed very simply and walked with bare feet all the way to Sikri. He approached the saint and said, "O saint, please grant me a boon. I have brought peace to this vast empire, but I lack one thing: I am childless. Allah has not blessed me with a son. I have made many pilgrimages to holy shrines, I have prayed most sincerely but, alas, my prayers have been denied. You are an ascetic, a saint. I am sure that if you pray to Allah on my behalf, He will definitely listen to you."
The saint replied, "O Emperor, be patient. Allah will definitely grant you your heart's desire. Not one, but three sons will soon be born to you."
Akbar returned to the palace with great joy and in a short time he came to learn that his Hindu wife, the daughter of the Rajah of Amber, was with child. Akbar sent her to stay with the saint until the child was born. In August 1569 a boy was born and Akbar gave him the name Salim after the saint. The following year, his son Murad was born and later his son Daniyal.
In gratitude to the saint who made the happy prophecy, Akbar decided to leave Agra and move his court to Fatehpur Sikri, meaning ‘the City of Victory'. In 1571 he undertook the construction of a new capital which was a synthesis of Muslim and Hindu styles of architecture. Akbar personally supervised the throngs of builders, stone-carvers and other workmen. At times he even quarried the red sandstone himself. The barren land was transformed by palaces, pavilions, gardens and ornamental pools of water.
Upon the great portal of the mosque, Akbar had an immortal utterance of the Christ inscribed:
"So said Jesus upon whom be peace: The world is a bridge; pass over it, but build no house upon it."
Akbar lived at Fatehpur Sikri until 1585 when lack of water forced him to abandon it for the more strategic location of Lahore.

6 ) Akbar's Secret Visit to Mirabai

Akbar's Secret Visit to Mirabai

Although Akbar was a Muslim, he liked the Hindu spirituality and culture immensely. At his court, he retained all kinds of talented and extraordinary people from various religions. Akbar always appreciated others' good qualities. In the course of time, he came to hear about Mirabai, the great devotee of Lord Krishna. The bhajans that she sang became known throughout the length and breadth of India. Akbar decided to go and see her for himself.
At first, it seemed impossible for the Emperor to fulfil his wish. Mirabai was married to Prince Bhoja Raj of Chittor. This family and the Moghul Emperors had always been the worst of enemies! If Akbar went to see Mirabai, he would be risking his life and he would also be placing Mirabai herself in great danger. But Akbar was determined to go. He said, "I will not go as the Emperor with my army. I will go in disguise."
So he and his court musician, Tansen, dressed themselves in ochre robes like wandering sannyasins. In this disguise, they approached the temple where Mirabai was worshipping. In the temple, devotees were singing and dancing. Right in the centre was Mirabai, singing most soulfully.
Akbar and Tansen were deeply moved by Mirabai's beautiful voice and her soulful prayers to God. To show his gratitude, Akbar placed a diamond necklace at the feet of Mirabai's little statue of Lord Krishna. Those who were present were amazed at the mendicant's gesture. They wondered if perhaps somebody quite rich had come in the form of a mendicant. After Akbar had made his offering, he and Tansen quietly slipped away.
In a few days' time, it became known that it was the Emperor himself who had come. Mirabai's husband became enraged and said to his wife, "You have incurred the worst possible sin. You are a Hindu princess, but you have allowed a Muslim to look at your face. I can look at you no more. You have to go to the river and drown yourself!"
Poor Mirabai! She was so miserable at this turn of events. She was not responsible for what had happened. But even so, she was ready to enter into the river and commit suicide. She walked towards the river, accompanied by some of her followers and devotees. She was about to enter into the river when Lord Krishna appeared and grabbed her. He said to his dearest devotee, "No, I do not want you to commit suicide. You have done nothing wrong. Please leave this place and come to Brindaban. There you will see Me."
So Mirabai left her husband and, with a few followers, went to Brindaban.

5 ) The Old Lady and the Dagger

The Old Lady and the Dagger

Like his grandfather Babar, Akbar liked to wander incognito in the streets. He did this in order to be alone. At his court, people were always around him and he never had his freedom. But when he wandered outside among his subjects, he was all alone.
One day, while he was walking, he saw an old lady holding a dagger. He approached her and asked, "What are you doing with a dagger? Let me see what it looks like and how sharp it is."
The old lady handed Akbar the dagger and he held it for a few seconds. "What a shame!" the old lady said. "Had you been the Emperor, then this metal dagger would have been transformed into a golden dagger. Now it is ordinary metal, but I had a dream that if ever the Emperor himself touches it, then definitely it will be transformed into gold. I have been waiting and waiting for the Emperor to appear. I know that from time to time he likes to walk outside the palace. I am praying to Allah that he will come this way. For years I have been here, waiting in the street for Akbar. I am so sad that still I have not been blessed with his presence."
The following day, Akbar summoned the old lady to the court. Now he was wearing his robes and his crown. He said, "Here is Akbar. He does not have the capacity to transform a metal dagger into a golden one, but he does have the capacity to change your life for good. How much money do you want?"
The old lady was overwhelmed. She could not believe her eyes; she could not believe her ears. She mustered her courage and told the Emperor that she wanted a particular amount of money. But Akbar gave her much, much more, saying, "I do not have the capacity to turn metal into gold, but I do have another capacity."
So the old lady became extremely rich because of Akbar the Great.

4 ) The Emperor's Hidden Gift

The Emperor's Hidden Gift

3 ) Boiram Khan Retires

Boiram Khan Retires
The Emperor Humayun died in 1556 when Akbar was only thirteen years old. Although Akbar was proclaimed ‘Padishah' or Emperor, he was too young to hold the reins of power by himself, and so for some time a very wise man named Boiram Khan ruled the kingdom in Akbar's name. Boiram Khan had been one of Humayun's faithful companions.
When Akbar finally took charge of his empire, Boiram Khan remained as one of the commanders of Akbar's army. Unfortunately, Boiram Khan became jealous of Akbar, haughty and undivine. He began doing many wrong things.
Akbar was very grateful to Boiram Khan because he had helped him so much during his youth. But complaint after complaint kept coming against this commander because he was killing people for no reason and instigating certain groups to rebel against the Emperor. Finally, Akbar said, "The best thing is for Boiram Khan to retire and go on a pilgrimage to Mecca."
In 1561 Boiram Khan unwillingly set out for Mecca. Even on the way, he was fighting and killing people. People attacked him because he had been very unkind, so Boiram Khan and his followers fought against the attackers. At one point, one of Akbar's great admirers, a brave lieutenant, came and attacked Boiram Khan. The commander and his group counter-attacked and killed the lieutenant. Suddenly, Boiram Khan's eyes became filled with tears.
His soldiers said to him, "You were such a great general. Once upon a time, you were Akbar's tutor. Then you became his only adviser. You fortified and protected his empire. We have never seen you in tears before. Why are you crying today?"
Boiram Khan replied, "My friends, what have I done with my strength? I curse my life more than anybody else on earth. Because of my strength and power, I have caused the death of hundreds of beautiful and powerful human beings and lost the affection of the Emperor. If I did not have such strength, such capacity, then I would not have been able to kill so many people and the Emperor would not have had to send me away. Those whom I have killed had so many good qualities. They were very brave and faithful to Akbar; that is why they fought. Only because I happened to be stronger was I able to kill them. This strength of mine—is it a blessing or a curse?"
Sad to say, Boiram Khan was assassinated before he reached Mecca.

2 ) The Birth of Akbar

The Birth of Akbar
When Humayun was forced to abdicate by Sher Shah, he fled into the deserts of Rajputana with a small group of followers. On the way, he married Hamida Begum. One morning he was engaged in fighting a terrible battle against his enemy. The battle was raging and Humayun was leading the attack. Suddenly Humayun saw his faithful palace messenger trying to make his way towards him, but the soldiers were not allowing the messenger to come to the front of the army. Humayun issued an order that the messenger be allowed through.
Humayun took shelter for a moment in a secluded place to receive the messenger. The messenger bowed to the Emperor and said, "O great Emperor Humayun, I have just come from Umarkot. The Empress Hamida Begum has delivered a son."
Humayun was so delighted and excited. Across the battlefield, he called out, "Allah be praised! My son and heir has been born. We shall name him Akbar."
Then he said to the messenger, "Alas, this is my fate! My son has been born, yet I am still fighting my enemies and no victory is in sight. I have nothing of value with me to give you, O messenger, for bringing me the happiest news. All I have is a small quantity of musk in this tiny box. This is the only thing I have to offer you. But I tell you, one day my son's fame will cover the length and breadth of the world as the fragrance of the musk fills the air here. Like perfume, my son's fame will one day spread throughout the world."
It was the twenty-third day of November 1542. Humayun and his soldiers continued on and seized the town of Jun. A few weeks later, Hamida arrived with Akbar and Humayun saw his son for the first time. He said, "My father gave me the name ‘Humayun', which means ‘Fortunate'. He was right. I am truly fortunate, for I see in you, my child, all the world's fortune. I clearly see that you will be the greatest of all Moghul Emperors. I see it and I feel it."
Then he said to his wife, Hamida Begum, "I am once more leaving for the battlefield. I am a warrior. I fight with the outer enemy, while religious mendicants, spiritual people, fight with the inner enemies: anger, pride and so forth. I do not have time to fight against the inner enemies. Outer enemies are more than enough for me to cope with. But our son, Akbar, will also fight against the inner enemies. He will inwardly and outwardly be divinely great and supremely good."

1 ) AKBAR THE GREAT

Akbar (1556 – 1605)
The Greatest Moghul Emperor
The greatest Moghul Emperor was Akbar. It was he who wanted both the Hindus and the Muslims to be united. He was generous to the extreme and just to the extreme. Among the Moghul Emperors, he was the true ideal.
In the beginning of his reign, Akbar had to fight to maintain control of the Moghul Empire, but after a few years, when he became very powerful, people loved and admired him so much that he did not have to fight any more.