BAITAL PACHCHISI
or
The Twenty-five Tales of the Vampire:
a famous Fort William College story (1802)
presented in Hindi, Urdu, and English
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Prefatory material: *Hindi*;
*Urdu part 1*, *Urdu part 2*; *appendix*
*English*

Introduction: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The king of Dharanagar makes a bargain with the Baital)

Tale 1: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (How the minister's son managed to get a bride for the prince)

Tale 2: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Madhumavati is restored to life by three suitors)

Tale 3: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The virtues of king Rupsen of Burdwan)

Tale 4: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The parrot, the mynah, and the "wiles of women")

Tale 5: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (A kidnapped princess is rescued by three suitors)

Tale 6: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The transposed heads) [inspiration for the Thomas Mann version]

Tale 7: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Four suitors from four "castes")

Tale 8: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The virtuous king and the virtuous servant)

Tale 9: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The virtuous thief)

Tale 10: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Which queen was the most delicate?)

Tale 11: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The broken-hearted minister)

Tale 12: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Who was guilty of the murder?)

Tale 13: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (How the merchant's daughter saved the life of the thief)

Tale 14: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The pregnant bride)

Tale 15: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The noble prince, the noble serpent, and Garuda)

Tale 16: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The king, the commander-in-chief, and Unmadini)

Tale 17: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (How Gunakar failed to learn the art of magic)

Tale 18: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Who deserves the oblations?)

Tale 19: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Why did the boy laugh?)

Tale 20: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Whose love was the greatest?)

Tale 21: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The four foolish Brahmins and the tiger)

Tale 22: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Why did the Brahmin weep, and why did he laugh?)

Tale 23: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Who was the greatest connoisseur?)

Tale 24: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (Why did the ascetic laugh, and why did he weep?)

Tale 25: *Hindi*; *Urdu*; *English* (The Baital finally baffles the king, and then gives him good advice before departing)

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VIKRAM AND THE VAMPIRE, eleven of the tales translated by Richard Burton (1870): [site]; also [site]

TWENTY-TWO GOBLINS, translated from the Sanskrit by Arthur W. Ryder (1917): [site]

 Other South Asian folk narratives: [on this site]