Betaal Pachisi - Story 12 - Who is the father?

Vikrama tries again to catch vetala. After several attempts he succeeds and starts taking him to the ascetic. Vetala starts narrating him a story so that they can easily complete the long journey once again but warns him not to speak anything else he will go back to his place again. He begins narrating story about the widow Bhagwati and her daughter Dhanwati. They were moving from one town to another and stopped on the way for rest. A thief was also resting there who was to be hanged the next day. Thief gets to know about the situation of the mother and daughter and asks for the hand of daughter to get married. Mother at first declines but thief tells her that he will tell the address of his hidden treasure and then they can live happily after his death. Also, he wants salvation and doesnt want to be a ghost after death. Mother takes pity on the guy and agrees for the same. Thief requests the soldier to take out 2 gold coins from his pocket and give it to the priest so that he can get married today. Both of them get married and the next day thief is hanged.

Both mother and daughter go to old caves as told by thief and recover the hidden treasure. Daughter is not happy about it as she wanted her husband but mother tells her that with money everything can be done. Both of them get rich and friends of Bhagwati start asking er to marry her daughter Dhanwati now whom they think is a bachelor. Bhagwati tells that she wants a son-in-law who will stay will them. One day a priest visits them and she offers Dhanwati’s marriage with him. He agrees for the same. Both of them get married. One day, priest steals the complete jewelry and runs away from there. Mother is unable to bear the same and dies due to shock. After sometime, Dhanwati gives birth to a baby boy and she starts begging for their survival.

One day when they are roaming in the city, they see a man fighting for his life with snake. Boy offers to save him but he is unable to save his life. Dhanwati realizes that he was his husband. The man was the son of King. King brings them to their palace and adopts the boy. King falls ill and makes appoints him as the king of the town. King dies after appointing him his successor. Her mother tells him to go for sacred journey and donate the stuff for his dead father. Boy is about to donate the stuff. At this point Betaal stops and asks him to which father it will go - to the king, to the thief who married her at first or to the prince. Vikram at once replies the thief will be the beneficiary who married Dhanwati through proper ceremony. Prince was behind money and king fulfilled his responsibilities. So, thief is the father of the son who died without any benefits.

Vetala gets happy with Vikrama’s answer but he again flies back to his abode telling that he could not keep quite. Vikrama runs behind him again to catch him.