This tale brings together two famous kings from India’s distant past, each a model of generosity. Of course, they lived in two different times—but why let historical accuracy stand in the way of a good story? By setting them face to face, the legend can at last answer the age-old question: Which of these two kings was the most generous?
Vikram—short for Vikramaditya (“VIK-rum-OD-it-ya”)—is a legendary king of Ujjain in central India in the first century B.C. He appears in countless folktales, as well as in classical literature. Like King Arthur of Britain, Vikram embodies the princely virtues most honored in his culture: bravery, wisdom, and above all, generosity.
Karna lived perhaps a millenium earlier and figures prominently in one of India’s great epics, the Mahabharata (“MAH-hah-BAR-a-ta”). Many legends are told of his generosity, which extended even to giving up his life. When he became king, he vowed never to refuse a request made of him while at midday prayers. The god Indra took advantage of this by requesting Karna’s magical golden armor and earrings. Karna gave them up willingly, knowing this would lead to his death—which it did, during the great battle at the climax of the epic.
The geese in the story are wild geese of the type called hamsa (“HOM-sa”)—known in English as the bar-headed goose—which breeds in Tibet and winters in India. Because of its beauty and its grace in flight, it has long held a revered place in the Indian imagination.
My retelling is based on “The King Who Was Fried” in Tales of the Punjab, by Flora Annie Steel, Macmillan, London, 1894. That version is said to have been recorded by R. C. Temple in the late 1800s in northwest India—now Pakistan—at Murree, close to modern-day Islamabad. It was told by a Brahmin priest at a temple shrine where the hermit’s hut was said to have stood.
The roots of the story, though, are much older. Two of its major motifs are found in tales #15 and #17 of the Vikramacarita (Adventures of King Vikram), a popular 11th-century text in Sanskrit.
How to Say the Names
Karna ~ KAR-na
Vikram ~ VIK-rum
Vikram ~ VIK-rum
