Birbal’s Khichdi Lesson Summary Notes and Explanation in English Class 7th

Characters

  1. Akbar: The King.
  2. Birbal: The wisest man in king’s court.
  3. The brahmin: A poor man.

Introduction

The story ‘Birbal’s Khichdi’ is a story about a challenge given by the king to a poor brahmin. The king wants to see if a person can do anything for money to which Birbal tries to prove his point. The stories of Akbar and Birbal are very famous which not only amuses the readers but also teaches about the important virtues of life.

Summary

A man can do anything for money

It was a cold season and all the lakes near Akbar’s palace were frozen. Akbar was having a conversation with Birbal and asked him if a man can do anything for money. Birbal affirmed that a man can do anything for money and thus Akbar asked him to prove it. The next day Birbal brought a poor brahmin to the court who was in extreme need of money as his family was starving and he needed money to feed them.

Akbar asked the brahmin to stand inside the frozen pond all through the night without any clothes and if he is successful, he will be rewarded two thousand gold coins. The poor brahmin needed the money and so he stood through the night shivering.

A ray of hope became the reason for failure

In the morning he returned to the court for his reward but he had to tell the king how he survived in such extreme temperature. The innocent brahmin replied that the faintly glowing lights of the palace a mile away gave him hope and he kept looking at the lights thinking about the family and that they will get food if he completes the challenge.

On hearing this, Akbar became harsh and rejected to give him a reward as according to him the brahmin had cheated and the lights gave him warmth and thus he doesn’t deserve the reward. Birbal tried to correct the king but he was rigid in his decision. The brahmin returned disappointed and bare-handed from Akbar’s court.

The king realizes his mistake

After this incident, the next day Birbal didn’t go to the court, he sent a messenger instead who informed the king that he would only go to the court after his khichdi is cooked. It had been five days and Birbal still didn’t go to the court so the King went to his place to look into the matter. He saw that Birbal had lit the fire a yard away and his khichdi was still uncooked.

The king thought Birbal to be the wisest man in the court but now he was acting foolishly as khichdi will never cook if the fire is a yard away. Birbal had done this to prove the point that if fire can’t give warmth from a yard away then it cannot give warmth to a person from a mile away. The king had realized his mistake and rewarded the poor brahmin the two thousand gold coins that he deserved.

Conclusion

Birbal’s Khichdi is a moral lesson about Akbar’s stubbornness of losing a bet and not rewarding the one deserving. Through the character of Birbal, the writer wants to highlight that one must not take away the deserving person’s reward to satisfy their ego. The king took the light a mile away as an excuse to win but however, but he later realizes his mistake and does what is right. Thus, no matter how big the mistake is it is one must own up to their doings and fix it.