Baital Pachisi

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A picture of Vetal hanging by a tree and Vikram in the background.

Baital Pachisi or Vetala Panchvimshati ("Twenty five tales of Baital") or Vikram and The Vampire is a collection of tales and legends from India. It was originally written in Sanskrit. Like Arabian Nights, it is a set of tales, within a frame story.

According to Isabel Burton, the Baital Pachisi "is the germ which culminated in the Arabian Nights, and which inspired the "Golden Ass" of Apuleius, Boccacio's "Decamerone," the "Pentamerone," and all that class of facetious fictitious literature."^[1].

[edit] Plot

The story revolves around the legendary King Vikram, identified as Vikramāditya (c. 1st century BC). Vikram promises a tantric sorcerer (Vamachara) to bring him the Baital (or Vetala in Sanskrit), a huge vampire. Baital hangs on a tree and inhabits and animates dead bodies. Vikram faces many difficulties in bringing the Baital to the tantric. A series of Hindu fairy tales are strung on this frame story, which typically include the following sequence:

The Baital agrees to accompany the Vikram, provided the latter does not speak.
The Baital tells Vikram a tale in which one or more characters' behaviour seems to be awkward or unjust.
The Baital concludes the tale with a question about the character's behaviour, which is actually a cleverly-disguised riddle about righteousness and/or politics.
Vikram answers and succeeds in justifying the character's behaviour.
As Vikram speaks, violating their agreement, the Baital flies back to the tree.
Again, Vikram goes back to tree and catches the vampire and cycle repeats for 25 times.

After telling 25 stories the vetal is happy and allows himself to be carried to the tantric. The vetal tells the actual plan of tantric, which is to sacrifice a person with 32 virtues--that possessed by Vikramāditya--in front of the goddess, which would allow him to gain control over the vetal and his ilk. The vetal tells him that tantric plans to ask the king to pay his respects to the goddess, and at that moment sacrifice him. The vetal tells the king to instead ask the tantric how he should perform his obeisance, and take advantage of that moment to behead him. Vikramāditya does exactly as told by vetal, and is blessed by Lord Indra. The vetal grants a king a boon, the king requests that the tantric's life be restored and that the vetal would come to his aid when in need.