ACK-022 & 023:The Inimitable Birbal; Ranadhira

Birbal (1528-1583) is surely one of the most popular figures in Indian history equally regarded by adults and children. Birbal's duties in Akbar's court were mostly administrative and military but he was a very close friend of Akbar too, because Akbar loved his wisdom, wit, and subtle humor. He was a minister in the administration (Grand Vizier or Wazīr-e Azam) of Mogul Emperor Akbar and one of the members of inner council of nine advisors, known as the navaratna, a Sanskrit word meaning nine jewels. Among these nine jewels, five people were more famous - Tansen, Todarmal, Abul Fazal, Maan Singh and Birbal.

1. Tansen for his singing art,

2. Dasvant - a great painter

3. King Todarmal was a financial wizard,

4. Abdu us-Samad - a brilliant calligrapher and designer of Imperil coins

5. Abul Fazal was a great historian whose brother

6. Faizi was a great poet,

7. Mir Fareh-ullah Shirazi - financier, philosopher, physician and astronomer,

8. King Maan Singh for his chivalry, and

9. Birbal for his valuable advice.

It is believed that he was a son of poor Brahmin of Trivikrampur (now known as Tikavanpur) on the banks of River Yamuna. Another version is born in the village Ghoghara of Sihawal tehsil in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh. Raja Birbal died in the battle of Malandari Pass, attempting to quell unrest amongst Afghan or Pashtun tribes in Northwest India. Akbar was said to have mourned for a long time on hearing the news. The death was said to be caused by treachery, not military defeat.

The exchanges between Akbar and Birbal have been recorded in many volumes. Many of these have become folk stories in Indian tradition. He was a poet and an author too. Birbal's collection of poetry published under the pen name "Brahm" are preserved in Bharatpur Museum, Rajsthan, India.

Many courtiers were jealous with Birbal and often plotted for his downfall. There are many stories found on this issue too. There are a couple of other stories too which are of the same time and type and are as interesting as Birbal's ones.

Books on Akbar and Birbal

There are many books published about them, some of them are listed here.

1. Sawhney, Clifford. 50 Wittiest Tales of Birbal. Delhi: Pustak Mahal. [ISBN: 81-7806-050-7].

2. Moseley, James. The Ninth Jewel of the Mughal Crown. Pasadena, CA, Summerwind Marketing. 2001. (Children Books) [ISBN: 0970444710]

3. Sarin, Amita. Akbar and Birbal. Delhi: Penguin. 2005. [ISBN: 0-14-333494-8]

4. Matba Jauhar-e-hind. Lata'if-e-Akbar - Hissah Pahli: Birbal Namah. Delhi: Mahanarayan. 1888. (In Urdu language).

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