The Brahmin and the Four Suitors: A Tale from the Betal Panchisi

“The Brahmin and the Four Suitors” is a captivating tale from the Betal Panchisi (also known as Vikram and Betal), a collection of ancient Indian stories with profound moral and philosophical lessons. This particular story, like others in the collection, centers on the wise King Vikramaditya and a ghostly being named Betal. These stories are framed as riddles, challenging the king to solve complex ethical dilemmas, often revealing deep truths about human nature, relationships, and justice.

In “The Brahmin and the Four Suitors,” we find a narrative that blends love, devotion, and duty with an intricate riddle that has perplexed readers for centuries. The story delves into the intricacies of relationships, especially the commitments individuals make in matters of love and marriage. It explores the essence of sacrifice, selflessness, and justice, themes that are recurrent in Indian storytelling tradition.

The Story Begins: A Brahmin’s Beautiful Daughter

The story opens with a Brahmin living in a town in ancient India. The Brahmin was learned, virtuous, and respected, but his most remarkable treasure was his daughter, a young woman of incomparable beauty and grace. Her appearance, intellect, and demeanor were admired by all who saw her, and soon enough, suitors began to flock to the Brahmin’s house, each hoping to win her hand in marriage.

Among the many suitors, four stood out, all equally devoted and determined to marry the Brahmin’s daughter. Each of these four men was extraordinary in his own right, possessing unique qualities that made him a worthy contender for the girl’s affection. However, the Brahmin found himself in a dilemma, unable to decide which of the four suitors should marry his daughter. Rather than make an immediate decision, the Brahmin decided to wait for the right moment, allowing fate to guide his choice.

The Tragic Death of the Brahmin’s Daughter

Before the Brahmin could come to a decision, tragedy struck. His beautiful daughter suddenly fell gravely ill and, despite the best efforts of physicians and healers, she passed away. The entire town mourned her untimely death, and the four suitors were devastated by their loss.

The suitors’ grief was profound, for each had loved the Brahmin’s daughter deeply and truly. They mourned her not only as a woman of great beauty but as someone with whom they had envisioned a future filled with happiness. Their sorrow, however, manifested in different ways, reflecting their unique personalities and the depth of their love.

The Four Suitors: Their Love and Devotion

After the funeral, the four suitors could not bear to part from the woman they had hoped to marry. Each of them was determined to show his devotion in a way that would keep her memory alive.

1. The Scholar: The first suitor was a man of great intellect and learning. He had studied ancient texts and was well-versed in the sacred scriptures. His love for the Brahmin’s daughter had been deeply spiritual, and he turned to his knowledge of the scriptures to find solace in his grief. Through his studies, he discovered an ancient mantra that had the power to bring the dead back to life. He resolved that he would use this mantra to revive the Brahmin’s daughter.
2. The Ascetic: The second suitor was an ascetic, devoted to a life of spiritual discipline and self-denial. He believed that his love for the Brahmin’s daughter could only be honored by renouncing worldly pleasures. In his sorrow, he built a small hermitage next to her grave and lived there in meditation, forsaking all material comforts to be close to her in spirit.
3. The Artisan: The third suitor was a skilled craftsman. His love for the Brahmin’s daughter had inspired him to create beautiful things, and in his grief, he decided to craft a statue of her, perfect in every detail. The artisan worked day and night, sculpting a life-sized image of the Brahmin’s daughter from the finest materials. When the statue was complete, it was so lifelike that those who saw it were moved to tears, believing for a moment that the girl had returned to life.
4. The Traveler: The fourth suitor was a man who had traveled far and wide, seeking adventure and knowledge in distant lands. He had loved the Brahmin’s daughter deeply, and after her death, he could not bear to stay in the town where every corner reminded him of her absence. He left the town and wandered the world, hoping that the journey would ease his sorrow. During his travels, he came across a powerful elixir that was said to cure any illness, including death itself.

The Resurrection of the Brahmin’s Daughter

As fate would have it, the four suitors eventually returned to the town, each carrying something that he believed could restore the Brahmin’s daughter. The scholar, with his mantra, the traveler, with his elixir, and the artisan, with his statue, gathered at her grave. Together, they combined their powers—the mantra was chanted, the elixir was administered, and the spirit of the Brahmin’s daughter entered the lifelike statue.

To their astonishment, the Brahmin’s daughter came back to life, as beautiful and radiant as ever. The suitors were overjoyed, but a new dilemma quickly arose: now that she was alive again, which of the four suitors should marry her?

Betal’s Riddle: Who Deserves to Marry the Brahmin’s Daughter?

As was the custom in the Betal Panchisi tales, Betal presented the riddle to King Vikramaditya. The king, known for his wisdom, was asked to determine which of the four suitors deserved to marry the Brahmin’s daughter. Each suitor had contributed to her resurrection in some way, but only one could rightfully claim her hand in marriage.

1. The Scholar argued that he deserved to marry her because his knowledge of the mantra had brought her spirit back to life.
2. The Artisan believed that his craftsmanship had created the perfect vessel for her return, giving her a physical form in which to live again.
3. The Traveler claimed that the elixir he had discovered was the key to reviving her body, without which the mantra would have been useless.
4. The Ascetic, however, had remained loyal to her even in death, forsaking all worldly desires to live beside her grave. His love, he argued, was the purest of all.

King Vikramaditya’s Judgment

King Vikramaditya, after listening to the arguments, made his decision. He declared that the Artisan should marry the Brahmin’s daughter. His reasoning was that the Artisan had created the form through which the Brahmin’s daughter could live again. Without the statue, neither the scholar’s mantra nor the traveler’s elixir would have worked. While the other suitors had shown their devotion in their own ways, it was the Artisan’s creation that had given her life a second time.

Betal, satisfied with the king’s wisdom, left his body as he always did at the end of each riddle, flying back to his tree. And so, the tale of “The Brahmin and the Four Suitors” concluded, leaving behind a moral lesson about the importance of creation, devotion, and the different forms that love can take.

Conclusion: The Lessons of the Tale

“The Brahmin and the Four Suitors” is more than just a story of love and loss. It is a reflection on the nature of human relationships and the many ways in which individuals express their love and devotion. Each suitor represents a different aspect of love—intellect, asceticism, craftsmanship, and adventure—but the story suggests that creation, the ability to give form and meaning to life, is the most powerful and enduring of all.

In true Betal Panchisi fashion, the tale ends not with a simple answer, but with a moral dilemma that continues to provoke thought and discussion centuries after it was first told.