Chapter 11

                                                       AKBAR AND BIRBAL


1. Who was Akbar the Great?

Answer: Akbar the Great was a Mughal Emperor of India. His full name was Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar. Though he was illiterate, he was a wise ruler who respected knowledge and learning.


2. Why was Akbar called a lover of learning?

Answer: Akbar was called a lover of learning because he invited many learned people to his court and honoured wisdom, intelligence and talent.


3. What were the ‘Nav Ratna’ of Akbar’s court?

Answer: The ‘Nav Ratna’ were the nine most famous and learned people in Akbar’s court. They were known as the nine jewels of the Mughal court.


4. Who was Birbal?

Answer: Birbal was one of the Nav Ratna of Akbar’s court. He was Akbar’s minister and was famous for his wisdom, wit and humour.


5. Why did Akbar love Birbal?

Answer: Akbar loved Birbal because of his sharp intelligence, quick thinking, humour and wise solutions to difficult problems.


6. What other qualities did Birbal have?

Answer: Birbal was not only a wise minister but also a poet and an author. His stories are popular in Indian tradition.


7. Why are Akbar and Birbal stories popular?

Answer: The stories of Akbar and Birbal are popular because they are interesting, humorous and teach moral lessons through wisdom.


8. Who visited Akbar’s court one day?

Answer: One day, a Pandit visited Akbar’s court. He was very learned and skilled in many languages.


9. What special ability did the Pandit have?

Answer: The Pandit could speak many languages fluently and answer questions in the same language in which they were asked.


10. What challenge did the Pandit give to the courtiers?

Answer: The Pandit challenged the courtiers to find out his mother tongue by the next day.


11. What condition did the Pandit put before Akbar?

Answer: He said that if the courtiers failed to identify his mother tongue, Akbar should accept him as superior to all of them.


12. Did Akbar accept the challenge?

Answer: Yes, Emperor Akbar agreed to the Pandit’s challenge and asked his courtiers to try to find the answer.


13. Were the courtiers successful in finding the Pandit’s mother tongue?

Answer: No, none of the courtiers were able to guess the Pandit’s mother tongue.


14. Whom did Akbar turn to for help?

Answer: Akbar turned to Birbal and asked him to solve the difficult problem.


15. How did Birbal respond to the challenge?

Answer: Birbal accepted the challenge confidently, trusting his intelligence and observation skills.


16. What did Birbal do that night?

Answer: That night, Birbal went secretly to the Pandit’s bedroom when he was fast asleep.


17. How did Birbal disturb the Pandit’s sleep?

Answer: Birbal tickled the Pandit’s ear with a dry grass to disturb his sleep.


18. What happened when the Pandit was disturbed?

Answer: The Pandit woke up suddenly and shouted in his mother tongue without realizing it.


19. What words did the Pandit say in his sleep?

Answer: The Pandit said, “Yevvurura adi,” which means “Who is it?”


20. Why was this moment important for Birbal?

Answer: This moment was important because the Pandit unknowingly spoke in his mother tongue.


21. What did Birbal do after hearing the Pandit?

Answer: Birbal quietly hid himself and later returned without being noticed.


22. What happened the next morning in the court?

Answer: The court assembled, and the Pandit again asked whether anyone could tell his mother tongue.


23. What answer did Birbal give?

Answer: Birbal confidently replied that Telugu was the Pandit’s mother tongue.


24. How did the Pandit react to Birbal’s answer?

Answer: The Pandit was very surprised and accepted his defeat.


25. Why did the Pandit accept defeat?

Answer: He accepted defeat because Birbal correctly identified his mother tongue.


26. What question did Akbar ask Birbal?

Answer: Akbar asked Birbal how he was able to find out the Pandit’s mother tongue.


27. What explanation did Birbal give?

Answer: Birbal explained that a person in distress always speaks in his mother tongue, especially during sleep.


28. How did Birbal prove his reasoning?

Answer: He narrated the entire incident of disturbing the Pandit’s sleep and hearing him speak Telugu.


29. Why was Birbal’s method clever?

Answer: Birbal’s method was clever because he used human nature and observation rather than force or guessing.


30. What lesson does this story teach?

Answer: The story teaches that intelligence, observation and presence of mind are more powerful than mere knowledge.


31. What quality of Birbal is highlighted in the story?

Answer: The story highlights Birbal’s wisdom, quick thinking and understanding of human behaviour.


32. Why was Akbar impressed with Birbal?

Answer: Akbar was impressed by Birbal’s timely wisdom and intelligent solution.


33. How did Akbar react at the end?

Answer: Akbar praised Birbal for his intelligence and wise thinking.


34. What does the story say about language?

Answer: The story shows that a person’s mother tongue is deeply rooted and comes out naturally in moments of stress.


35. Why couldn’t the courtiers solve the problem?

Answe: They tried to guess through logic, but did not think creatively like Birbal.


36. What role did observation play in Birbal’s success?

Answer: Observation helped Birbal notice natural human behaviour and use it to solve the problem.


37. What kind of story is this?

Answer: This is a wisdom-based folk tale that teaches moral values through an interesting incident.


38. Why are such stories remembered even today?

Answer: They are remembered because they combine humour, intelligence and valuable life lessons.


39. How does this story show Birbal’s superiority?

Answer: Birbal’s solution proved that wisdom and clever thinking are superior to pride and challenge.


40. What is the overall message of the lesson?

Answer: The lesson teaches us that intelligence, presence of mind and understanding human nature can solve even the most difficult problems.

Answer by Mrinmoee