As the name 'Betaal Pachisi' suggests the Betaal told King 25 stories. The king would go after the vampire and start all over again. But if he does speak out, he would break the vow of silence and Betaal would fly back to the treetop, leaving the king behind. According to the legend the King Vikramaditya, in order to fulfill a vow, was required to remove a corpse of Betaal from a treetop and carry it on his shoulder to another place in silence and the spirit of Betaal (in the corpse) used to narrate a story to the king and after completing the story Betaal would pose a query that if he (The king) knew the answer, was bound to respond otherwise he will break his head into thousand pieces. He would have to fetch it for the mendicant, as the mendicant was seeking certain occult powers which he would get only if a king brought this particular corpse to him. King Vikramaditya had to visit the northernmost corner of this ground where he would find a very ancient tree on which a corpse was hanging from one of its branches. The King asked the mendicant why he was doing this to which the mendicant tells that there is a task that only a King like Vikrmaditya can perform. However, the mendicant had set a condition that the King must meet him under a Banyan tree in the center of the cremation ground beyond the city limits and had to come alone at night, on the 14th day of the dark half of the month. He ordered to check all the fruits, and from all fruits came out a ruby each. One day while handling the fruit, it broke and from the pop came out a small ruby. King Vikramaditya used to hand over the fruit to the royal storekeeper. Among such visitors was a mendicant who presented the king with fruit on all his visits. The King used to accept all the gifts with the same courtesy. Every day many visitors used to visit the king and gift him something or the other. He was brave and fearless, a very determined person. He had immense love for learning as well as for adventurous activities. Vikramaditya was a great king who ruled over a prosperous kingdom and Ujjain was his capital. These are thrilling stories told to the wise King Vikramaditya by the witty ghost Betaal. Vikram Aur Betaal is based on 'Betaal Pachisi', written in the 11th century by the Kashmiri poet named Somdev Bhatt. It is about the legendary king Vikram ( Vikramaditya) and the ghost Betaal ( Vetala, a spirit living in the forest, in a tree hanging upside down most of the time). Vikram and Betal stories are heard by all of us.
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