Authored by Betal Bhatt, Betal Pachisi is a collection of 25storiesas told by Betal to king Vikramaditya. The legendarykingVikramaditya (Vikram) promises a vamachari (a tantricsorcerer)that he will capture a betal, a celestial spiritPishacha,celestial spirit who hangs from a tree and inhabits andanimatesdead bodies. King Vikram faces many difficulties inbringing theBetal to the tantric. Each time Vikram tries to capturethe Betal,it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If Vikramcannot answerthe question correctly, the vampire consents to remainincaptivity. If the king knows the answer but still keeps quiet,thenhis head shall burst into thousand pieces. And if KingVikramanswers the question correctly, the vampire would escape andreturnto his tree. He knows the answer to every question; thereforethecycle of catching and releasing the vampire continuestwenty-fourtimes. On the twenty-fifth attempt, the Betal tells thestory of afather and a son in the aftermath of a devastating war.They findthe queen and the princess alive in the chaos, and decideto takethem home. In due time, the son marries the queen and thefathermarries the princess. Eventually, the son and the queen havea son,and the father and the princess have a daughter. The Betalaskswhat the relation between the two newborn children is. Thequestionstumps Vikram. Satisfied, the Betal allows himself to betaken tothe tantric. On their way to the tantric, Betal tells hisstory.His parents did not have a son and a tantric blessed themwith twinsons on a condition that both be educated under him. Betalwastaught everything in the world but often ill-treated. Whereashisbrother was taught just what was needed but always welltreated.Betal came to know that the tantric planned to give hisbrotherback to his parents and Betal instead would be sacrificed ashe wasan 'all- knowing kumara' and by sacrificing him the tantriccouldbe immortal and rule the world using his tantric powers. Betalalsoreveals that now the tantric's plan is to sacrificeVikram,beheading him as he bowed in front of the goddess. Thentantriccould then gain control over the Betal and sacrifice hissoul, thusachieving his evil ambition. The Betal suggests that theking asksthe tantric how to perform his obeisance, then takeadvantage ofthat moment to behead the sorcerer himself.Vikramaditya doesexactly as told by Betal and he is blessed by LordIndra and DeviKali. The Betal offers the king a boon, whereuponVikram requeststhat the tantric's heart and mind be cleaned of allsins and hislife be restored as a good living being and that theBetal wouldcome to the king's aid when needed. बेताल पच्चीसी पच्चीसकथाओं सेयुक्त एक कथा ग्रन्थ है। इसके रचयिता बेतालभट्ट बताये जातेहैं जोन्याय के लिये प्रसिद्ध राजा विक्रम के नौ रत्नों में से एक थे।येकथायें राजा विक्रम की न्याय-शक्ति का बोध कराती हैं। बेतालप्रतिदिनएक कहानी सुनाता है और अन्त में राजा से ऐसा प्रश्न कर देताहै किराजा को उसका उत्तर देना ही पड़ता है। उसने शर्त लगा रखी है किअगरराजा बोलेगा तो वह उससे रूठकर फिर से पेड़ पर जा लटकेगा। लेकिनयहजानते हुए भी सवाल सामने आने पर राजा से चुप नहीं रहा जाता। AppIconcredit:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vikram_vetal.png