“King Vikram in Disguise” is a literary work covered in the MP Board Class 9th General English curriculum. Unfortunately, the provided search results do not offer a detailed summary of this specific text. To access a comprehensive summary or analysis of “King Vikram in Disguise,” you may refer to your course materials, textbooks, or consult with your teacher. Read More English Summaries.
King Vikram in Disguise Summary
King Vikram in Disguise Difficult Word Meanings
fair (फेअर)-acceptable and appropriate in a particular situation उचित; subject (सब्जेक्ट)-a person who has the right to a particular country esp. one with a king or a queen ऋण; set out (सैट आउट)-leave a place and begin a journey यात्रा पर रवाना होना; pretend (प्रिटेन्ड)-to behave in a particular way, in order to hide truth सब छुपाने के लिए एक खास ढंग से व्यवहार करना, ढोंग करना; mourning (मोनिंग)- sadness that you show and feel because somebody has died family करना; persuasion (परस्युएशन)-the act of persuading somebody to do something or to believe something आग्रह करना; scribe (स्क्राइब)-a.person who made copies of written documents before printing was invented नकलनवीस; royalty (रॉयल्टी)-one or more members of a royal family शाही परिवार के सदस्य; bowl (बोल)-a deep round dish with a wide open top प्याला, कटोरा; plight (प्लाइट)-a difficult and sad situation एक कठिन स्थिति; merry (मेरी)-happy and cheerful प्रसन्न; consequently (कॉन्सिक्वेंटली)-as a result परिणामस्वरूप; tresses (ट्रैसिस)-woman’s long hair बालों की लट; unresolved (अनरिजॉल्वड)-notresolved जिसका समाधान नहीं हुआ।
King Vikram in Disguise Summary, Pronunciation & Translation
[1] King Vikramaditya was a just and fair ruler of the kingdom of Ujjain. Besides his administrative duties he would also go in disguise to check on his citizens.
One day he said to his servant, “Be ready tonight. I would like to see for myself whether my subjects are safe or not. I wish to inspect areas outside the walls of the city.” It was decided by the king that he himself would play the role of a servant. Only one servant was, allowed to accompany the king. This servant would play the role of the king.
[2] At midnight they set out for Baragaza via the west gate. They pretended to be travellers from Java. There was silence everywhere except the occasional dog’s bark or an owl’s hoot. All of a sudden strange music was listened by the king. It was coming out from a hut in a poor locality. He thought why anyone so poor would be entertaining himself at that hour in the night.
[3] When the king reached near the hut he was surprised to see a broken hut where someone was singing merrily. Out of curiosity the king peeped into the hut through a crack. He saw a weeping old man in a corner. There was a woman who seemed to be a widow as her head was shaven, was dancing and a young man who appeared to be in a mourning was singing. The servant was, then, asked by the king to peep inside. The servant was of the opinion that it was these people’s idea of fun, and they should not intrude there. But the king was bent upon an explanation so he called out to the owner of the house.
[4] The young man came out and asked them what they wanted. The servant said, “We are travellers from Java. We are looking for an inn to rest.” The young man replied that there was no inn because it was a poor locality and they couldn’t stay in his home because his house was in mourning. The king asked him, “Why are you mourning ?” After long persuasion the reason was disclosed by the young man. He said that his father had spent all his money on educating him so that he could get the job of a scribe in the court.
[5] No examination had been held for a long time, since no post was available. Now they were hand to mouth. On that day his father had a dream that the royalty was going to visit them at night. So his father asked his daughter-in-law to get a silver bowl from the market. But the night was almost over and none had come to visit them. His father was crying because his foolish dream had made the young man’s wife look like a widow. Now she was dancing and he himself was singing to make the old man feel better but he still wept.
[6] King Vikram was deeply moved by the young man’s plight. The family was admired by the king. Then the king informed them that there was going to be a court examination next morning. The young man was surprised to know this and was equally happy to have an opportunity to prove his worth. He bade his unusual visitors farewell after thanking them sincerely for their useful information.
[7] The king returned to the palace. The first order that was issued by the king was to the towncriers. They were to announce the time of the court examination for a royal scribe to be held that very day. The town crier’s call was heard by the young man. He immediately made his way to the great hall of the Ujjain University where the examination was to be held. The competitors had to write an essay on a given topic. The strange topic was chosen by the king himself. The topic was a young widow dancing to the tune merry songs sung by a young man in mourning while an old man wept.
[8] Everyone was confused about the odd topic but the young man made a perfect presentation. Consequently, he was awarded the first place by the examiners. He was duly appointed as the royal scribe. Then he was taken to the king. The king smiled graciously. He was totally unrecognizable from the way he had looked the previous night in the faded clothes of a humble servant. He congratulated the young man on being awarded the high office and told him he could now afford to buy his wife’s tresses back. Later recounting the dazzle of the court of Ujjain to his happy wife, the young man wondered aloud, “How did king Vikram know about your shaven head?”
To him the mystery remained unresolved. He did not know that his father’s dream of having royal visitors the previous night had actually come true.