wise

The King and the Robbers (Punjab)

In former days, it was the delight of kings and princes to disguise themselves and to…
The Bhill archer (Maharashtra)

The Bhill tribes were known for their bravery, exceptional hunting abilities, and strong connection to the…
Purukh Pant (Uttarakhand)

Purukh Pant dreamt of accomplishing brave feats, and accordingly nurtured in himself traits common amongst the…
Fortune and Intelligence (Karnataka)

A mother had two sons named Fortune and Intelligence. They met a poor man who brought…
Death or Freedom (Armenia)

There once lived a beautiful maiden and a very clever servant. The maiden and the servant…
The Devil Outwitted (Kashmir)

Once there lived a young man in a village. He had no land of his own…
The Tiger, the Brahman and the Jackal (Punjab)

Once upon a time, a tiger was caught in a trap. He tried in vain to…
The Three Brothers (Nagaland)

Long ago, there lived three brothers. They had a small firm and a little cottage, in…
Ganga in a Trough (Uttar Pradesh)

Once upon a time, there was a pundit who was a great devotee of the river…
Enquire Before you Entrust (Andhra Pradesh)

Dwijakirtti, King of Cholamaudala, had three sons. As he was old and no longer capable of…
The Legend of the Iei Tree (Meghalaya)

Some eight or ten miles to the west of the town of Shillong is seen a…
The Tale of the Cat’s Daughter (Assam)

Once upon a time, a farmer had a pet cat who was about to give birth.…
The Magical Bird

Long ago there was a small kingdom at the foot of the Nilgiri Hills. It was…
A State Funeral for Master Fox (Goa)

Master Fox was very fond of sweet potatoes and every evening he went down the hill…
The Patron of Lawyers (Goa)

There is a legend among the people of Goa that the patron of lawyers is the…
The King Who Learned From A Cock (Chhattisgarh)

Once upon a time there lived a king who had a very wise preceptor, one who…
The Brahmin Girl that Married A Tiger (Tamil Nadu)

In a certain village there lived an old Brâhmaṇ who had three sons and a daughter.…
Kalidasa and the Goddess (Kerala)

There was a boy in a village in Kalinga who never got the opportunity to get…
How to be a Wise Man (Kerala)

There was a village simpleton who dreamt of becoming a respected wise man as he was…
How the Gond Saved His Field of Gram (Chhattisgarh)

Long, long ago, there lived a Gond who had sown gram in his field. When the…
The Shadow and the Absent (Vietnam)

There once lived a ruler whose name was Jan-Thi-Hoang. Hoang was a tyrant and imposed heavy…
The Mosquito Story (Vietnam)

Did you know that only the female mosquitoes bite? Do you know why? A long time…
The Spoilt Ghee (Telangana)

Nawab Mir Usman Khan was a ruler who had ruled for a very long time over…
The Abandoned Twins (Gujarat)

Once upon a time, there lived a king with his two queens. The king treated his…
Kashi, The City of Gods (Uttar Pradesh)

Kashi is said to be the city of Gods. Kashi is specially known as the abode…
The Monkeys and the Crabs (Laos)

The monkeys that live in the forests skirting the great sea in the south, wait for…
Wheel of Fate (Goa)

There is a belief in the Indian subcontinent that on the the sixth day of a…
The Fear of Death (Maharashtra)

It was a fishermen’s village. Many fishermen’s families were living there, building bamboo huts in the…
Princess Aubergine (Punjab)

Once upon a time there lived a poor Brahman and his wife, so poor, that often…
The Two Thugs (Kashmir)

There was once a thug who plied his trade with reasonable efficiency and success. He was…
The Musical Instruments – A Damor Folktale (Gujarat)

The Damors, one of the largest clans of the Bhils, noted that one day the surface…
Devchar in a Bottle (Goa)

In Goa, the coastal state from western India, Devchars are the most cherished spirit-gods. Devchar literally means- “The one who…
The Parrot and His Grandson (Bihar)

There was once a bahelia who earned his livelihood by catching birds and selling them to…
The Sweat of the Brow (Uttar Pradesh)

There once lived a pundit in a certain village of Jhansi. He was simple in his…
The Witness (Rajasthan)

In the eyes of the world, the Thakur of Mandore was a rich man. He lived…
The Hand of Fate (Rajasthan)

After the first monsoon showers, there was great activity in Pipar. Fields had to be ploughed,…
The Secret of the Talking Bird (Karnataka)

Once upon a time a fowler named Timma used to catch birds and sell them for…
The Old Man and the Monkeys (Gujarat)

There once lived an old man. Once he sowed chibdas (cantaloupes) on his farm. The old…
U Ksuid Tynjang – A Khasi Tale (Meghalaya)

One of the most familiar names in ancient lore is that of U Ksuid Tynjang, a…
The Beloved Doll (Manipur)

Once upon a time, there was a rich widow who had a young daughter named Tampha…
The Cure for A Gossipmonger (Karnataka)

Once, in a jungle, an ageing lion king took ill. News of his illness spread across…
The Hoarder (Haryana)

There once lived a farmer who owned a magnificent pot of gold. However, being an imprudent…
Why the Snails’ Muscle Never Ache (Myanmar)

A rude horse once passed a snail on the road and shouted that the slow must…
Labour and Gold (Himachal Pradesh)

There are many temples devoted to Shiva and Parvati in Himachal Pradesh, and the people have…
The Ring that Speaks (Tripura)

There once lived an old couple in a village with two grandsons. The grandsons had lost…
How A Jackal Attained Pundithood (Bihar)

Once upon a time, a priest was passing through a forest just as dusk was setting…
The Cat Who Became A Queen (Kashmir)

There once lived a king with an enormous harem, the reason for this being none bore…
The Frog and the Lizard (Chhattisgarh)

The frog and the lizard were great friends. One day the frog jumped into a river…
The Case of the Missing Ears (Maharashtra)

There once lived a king by the name Vijay Chandra in the Kingdom of Dolakpur. He…
How the Wicked Sons were Duped (Kashmir)

A very wealthy old man, imagining that he was on the point of death, sent for…
The Jackal King (Kashmir)

Once upon a time the jackals assembled together to elect a king for themselves. All the…
The Farmer’s Present (Haryana)

Once, in a village in Haryana, there lived a hardworking farmer. Alongside working in his farm,…
The Bakali Flower (Goa)

There was a king who had two sons. The queen expected another son, and a fortune-teller…
Life is Tough, Even When We’re Dead (Tamil Nadu)

Once, there lived a great pundit, learned in all the tongues of the land. Malayalam, English,…
A Farmer’s Daughter’s Riddle (Tamil Nadu)

A farmer got married, but for ten whole years, he had no children. He was very…
Baijnath temple (Himachal Pradesh)

There is a story related to the merchant brothers, Manyuka and Ahuka. It is said that…
An Overzealous Servant (Tamil Nadu)

In a certain town, there lived a raja who was known far and wide as a…
Strange Beings of Indian Folklore: Some Creatures Beyond the Known

By Archie Joshi ‘Unlike myths, folklore deals with common human experiences and social values, often embedding…
The Wicked Guru

A certain king of the South had a beautiful daughter. When she had reached a marriageable…
The Plague (West Bengal)

Once, a terrible bubonic plague broke out in Asia and wiped out millions of people. The…
The Boy with the Moon on His Forehead (West Bengal)

Once there was a king who had six queens, none of whom bore him children. The…
Belkumari (Madhya Pradesh)

Chuk Raja has seven sons, the youngest of whom, Ku War, is still unmarried. His sisters-in-law…
The Best Thing in the World (Uttar Pradesh)

There was once a King who used to walk about the city at night, and listen…
The Village Crow Versus the City Crow (Bihar)

A crow happily lived in a certain village. The village fields were full of wheat, paddy,…
The Scholar and His Heavenly Beard (Bihar)

There was a priest named Scholar in a certain village. The king had immense respect for…
The Elephant and the Worms (Bihar)

There lived a fisherman on the banks of River Saryu. Every morning, he would take his…
Gandharva Sen Is Dead! (West Bengal)

A king was holding court one day when his minister rushed in, lamenting and crying. The…
If God Is Everywhere (West Bengal)

A sage had a number of disciples. He taught them his deepest belief: “God is everywhere…
A Friend in Need (Kerala)

A tortoise in a pond and a fox in a nearby den were good friends. Once…
The Magic of the Soil (Jammu)

Verily, destiny is a mighty force! It can turn the wise into simpering fools and mighty…
People’s Destiny (Jammu)

Long ago, a certain country fell in the grip of drought of a particularly severe kind…
Parmandal (Jammu)

Nearly 1400 years ago, the Dogra region used to be one huge wilderness. To travel from…
Living Like a Pig (Andhra Pradesh)

One day, a guru foresaw in a flash of vision what he would be in his…
Other Lives (Jammu)

For many years, a Brahman practiced austerities and offered worship to the gods in order to…
The Best of Flowers (Delhi)

One day Akbar asked the assembled courtiers, “Which flower is the best flower of all?” No…
Why Audiences Laugh or Cry (Punjab)

A Muslim preacher was once holding forth in his mosque on sinners and the torments that…
The Persian Merchant and his Clever Parrot

(Illustration by Manan A.) Once, there was a certain Persian merchant who kept a parrot that…
The Kind Girl and the Unkind Girl (Pondicherry)

Once upon a time, there was a couple with seven daughters. One day, the mother prepared…
The Kokonor Story (Ladakh)

A long time ago in the city of Lhasa, a king wanted to build a temple…
A Boy Named Ono (Andaman & Nicobar)

A long time ago, on a bright sunny day, the children in a village near a…
How Raja Rasâlu Was Born (Punjab)

Once there lived a great Raja, whose name was Sâlbâhan, and he had two Queens. Now…
Raṇavîrasiṅg (Tamil Nadu)

King Śivâchâr of Vañjaimânagar, worried about his lack of an heir, eventually had a son, Sundara,…
The Beetle and the Silken Thread (Uttar Pradesh)

The strange adventures related in the story of the Beetle and the Silken Thread took place…
A Lac of Rupees for a Piece of Advice (Uttar Pradesh)

Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, the future Buddha returned to life…
Sun, Moon and Wind Go out to Dinner

One day Sun, Moon, and Wind went out to dine with their uncle and aunts Thunder…
The Talkative Tortoise (Uttar Pradesh)

The future Buddha was once born in a minister’s family, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares;…
How Raja Rasâlu Became a Jôgi (Punjab)

When, after a time, Rasâlu went to Hodinagari, he reached the house of the beautiful far-famed…
Dhruv, Who Became the Pole Star (Daman & Diu)

Once there lived a king called Uttanapada. King Uttanapada had two queens, Suniti and Suruchi. Queen Suniti…
River is a Cow (Maharashtra)

In India rivers are venerated as mothers. And are given the status of ‘Jagat Mata’ or…
Kalidas and Vidyotma (Chhattisgarh)

There was a king who had a very learned daughter Vidyotma, in her knowledge she surpassed…
BOPOLÛCHÎ (Punjab)

Once, in a small village, a group of young girls gathered by the well to fill…
A Rani’s Revenge (Odisha)

In olden times, there were several independent states in Orissa. Banki and Khurda were two such…
The Braying Lion (Punjab)

The leaders of Punjab called Singhs (‘Lion’ in Punjabi) would often go out on a hunt…
The Ruby (West Bengal)

Long ago, in a village by the forest, lived a widow named Rupali and her son…
Ita-Thaomei (Manipur)

Deep in the interior villages of Manipur, once upon a time, there lived an old abok…
The Foolish King (Kashmir)

This story is from a long, long time ago, before Sher Garhi became the capital of…
The Biggest Fool In The Kingdom (Andhra Pradesh)

King Krishnadevaraya loved horses and had the best collection of horse breeds in the Kingdom. Well, one…
Man’s Destiny is Not In His Hands (Odisha)

Once there was a Raja whose name was Jayadeva. He had many Pundits who attended his…
The Thousand-Killer (Maharashtra)

A man called ‘Hazar-Marya’ (Hazar: Thousand, Marya: Killer) lived in Rajpur town. His only pursuit was…
Raja Bhoj and the Clever Barber (Uttar Pradesh)

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Dhar, ruled a wise and just king named…