2 THE TIGER KING

Kalki

I. INTRODUCTION
The Tiger King' is a satire on the whimsical nature of the ruling class. It
gives us a funny portrait of an Indian King who resolves to kill hundred
tigers in order to disprove the prophecy of an astrologer. In the story, the
Tiger King is a man of indomitable courage and faces challenges boldly.
However, he misuses his power and position and goes on killing tigers to
achieve his target of killing a hundred tigers. This type of whimsical use of
power is seen even in the modern times which has led many of the animal
species to be on the verge of extinction.

II. SUMMARY
Bahadur of Pratibandapuram,
This is the story of Maharaja Jilani Jung Jung
to the legend, when he
who became known as the Tiger King. According
one day, he would die. A miracle occurred
born the astrologers predicted that
by saying that everyone had to die
when the ten-day-old prince responded would die. After a stunned silence. the
one day, he wanted
to know how he
t h a t as the prince was born in the
chief astrologer responded by saying
the Tiger and the Bull were enemies, the King
would
hour of the Bull and
be killed by a tiger.
twenty, and
the reigns
of thekingdom w e r e hando
When he brought it to sho
was
and
him. the Maharaja killed his irst tiger
T h e astrologer told nm nat ne could kill ninety nine tigers but
astrologer. The * beware of the hundredth tiger. Determined to prove the
o n g , the King banned the killing of tigers in Pratibandapuram.
prophesy t h e next ten years, he himself killed seventy tigers.
T,
*
anking British officer sent a request to the King asking if he
a
Once, *tiger,
tiger, but the King refused. "Then he asked if
hunt a he could take aa
could hu standing over the carcass of a iger the King had
could
standi over car
photograph
shot. He was
refused permission again. The senior British officer was so furious that
4
King stood in danger of losing his kingdom. To pacify the officer, the Kinthe
ordered fifty diamond rings from Calcutta for the duraisani
thinking th at
she would keep one or two. He was surprised when he got a note of
thanks
for all the rings. He paid three lakh rupees for the rings but
managed t
save his kingdom for that
price.
After sometime, the King could not hunt tigers anymore in his own
as they had been
kingdom
depleted. "Thus, he married a girl from a royal family whose
father's realm housed a larger tiger population. n this way, he killed
nine tigers. Unfortunately, they could not find one more tiger.
ninety.
The Tiger King was depressed. But soon his gloom was dispelled by the
happy news about the existence of one more tiger. In his own state, a group
of villagers thought a tiger was hiding near their hillside village as their
sheep began to disappear. The King was joyous and ordered that the entire
village be exempted from paying their taxes for three years. However, when
the tiger did not appear and could not be found, he was so furious that he
doubled the land tax.
Finally, the dewan got an old tiger from the People's Park in Madras, hid
it in his home and then, on the day before the hunt, left the tiger in the
forest where the Maharaja would be hunting. The next day, the tiger ambled
not
into the King's presence. Taking careful aim, the King shot the animal
the
realising that he had missed it. The old tiger fainted in shock when
bullet whizzed past him. The King left, joyously thinking he had killed his
hundredth tiger. When one hunters saw the tiger roll his eyes
of the
did not want
confusion, he shot the beast but did not tell the King as he
lose his job.
Now, the King turned his attention to matters he had previously 1gnored
and he wanted to gift hin
His son's third birthday was being celebrated and decideu
He saw a badly carved wooden toy tiger
something special.
for his Although it cost only two annas an
that it was the perfect gift son.
rules o
knew he would be punished under the
a quarter, the shopkeeper the King
tne
Therefore, he told
the Emergency for quoting
such a low price.
wooden toy tiger cost three
hundred rupees.
unskilled carpenter and
had tiny sive
The toy had been made by an
son.
all it. While playing with his h
standing up like quills
over which

of wood infection wi
hand causing an
quivers pierced the King's right
luring
the
of be operated on, but
died a
developed into a suppurating sore. He had to
the surgery.
 Textbooks | C-229
Section C: Literature

died
true as the King had
prediction had
come

the astrologer's taken her revenge

Thus, Destiny had ultimately
the h u n d r e d t h
tiger.
herause of the King.
s e n s e l e s s killings by
forall the
TEXT
QUESTIONS
FROM THE
III.

FIND OUT
READ AND
name?
Page 8) that
the Tiger King? Why does he get P r a t i b a n d a p u r a m , w a s known
Q.Who is of
Jung Bahadur, the King the astrologers
declared
Ans. Jilani Jung time of his birth, ten-day-
At the the
the Tiger King. To everyone's surprise,
his death. The
as
would die o n e day. the c a u s e of
that the prince tell him
astrologers to the Bull, and
old prince
asked the born in the hour of
he w a s would be killed by
a
astrologer said that a s he
chief enemies, too
and the Bull
were
brought his first tiger
since the Tiger and killed
and
could easily kill
the King twenty, him that he
tiger. When the astrologer
told
killed by the
hundredth

the chief astrologer, be ultimately b a n n e d in the

entire
but he would was
tigers hunting
them. Thus, the
the King, tiger
ninety-nine
for killed seventy of
except
tiger. Thus, years,
he had
kingdom.
Within ten "The Tiger King.
known as
came to be
Maharaja

be?
(Page 10) u p to 'Pratibandapuram. He
He w
wanted
anted
infant grow Pratibandapuram.

What did
t h e royal the King of the hundredth
Q.
infant grew
up to be h i m being
k i l l e d by
tigers
about
Ans. The royal prophecy he had
killed seventy

t h a t the t e n years, tiger

to prove
Thus,
within had
Tather a large
tiger was
wrong.
married
a princess wh0seh u n t . Hence, as a result of

After that,
he
kingdom
which
he could the Tiger King'
l a t i o n in his
called
he was
tigers,
with
obsession
his

do to ind the r e q u i r e d numberof tigers to kill2

(Page 13) Maharaja his
h e
the tigers in his
tigers own kingdom, the Maharaja
9. What
h wil h a d illed
killed
all t
all he
suitable He asked the dewan to
bride.
he find him a
to fin
Ans.
A ns.
After
AA his dewan
h i s dewan whose father had a state with a large
ordered hi f r o m a royal family
ordered

girl was found and every time the Maharaja

find a o p u l a t i o n . The right girl
find
he got a n opportunity to kill more tigers to
v i s i t ei
tiger s
d h is f father-in-law,
ath

t a r g e t of killing
a hundred tiger:
his
complete
(Page 14)
Q. How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger
was supposed to decide his fate? which
wh:.

Ans. The Maharaja had killed ninety-nine tigers and was

eager to kill tho
hundredth tiger. But no tigers could be found. The
Maharaja became
depressed. However, soon the news came about the existence
in a hillside village in his own state. The
of a tiger
ordered that the entire village be
Tiger King was ecstatic and
for three years. However, when the
exempted from paying their taxes
be found, he was so furious that he
tiger did not appear and couldn't
doubled the land tax.Ultimately
his Dewan got an old
tiger from the People's Park in Madras and hid
it in his house. On the
day before the hunt, he left the tiger in the
forest for the King to kill. When the
shot the beast which fell in a King saw the tiger, he carefully
crumpled heap. Finally, the King was
overjoyed to have completed his undertaking.
(Page 15)
Q. What will now
happen to the
was indisputably disproved? astrologer? Do you think the
prophecy
Ans. The astrologer
would not be harmed as his
true. The King did die because of prophecy was proved to be
the hundredth tiger, albeit a smal
wooden one. The King did not
careful aim, the bullet did not
realise that although he had taken
hit the tiger but had
whizzed past due to which it frightened it as t
fainted. Thinking it to be dead, the Kins
left the forest to
to get him a
rejoice. It was his son's third birthday and wanting
special present, the King bought a small
He did not realise that wooden ge
the toy tiger had been
carpenter and all the slivers stood carved by an unskileu
up like quills all over its body.
playing with his son, one of the slivers Wn
This caused an infection pierced the King's right han
which developed into a
was
operated on but the doctors could
not
suppurating sore. i
died at the hands of save him. Thus, the King
the hundredth
had been correct in tiger proving that the astrologe
his
predictions.
(Page 17)
READING WITH INSIGHT
Q.1. The story is a satire on the conceit of
author
employ those in the
Ans. The the
literary
device of dramatic power. Hlow a
author, Kalki, has irony in the
otic
irony through cleverly
various incidents toused the literary device O
c
tell the story of the A fter
Tiger hiluE
**
 Section C: Literature Textbooks
| C-231
killing the first tiger, the King flaunted its dead body before the chief
astrologer to show that he was more powerful than the tiger and he
could not be killed by a mere animal. The
astrologer warned him that
he would have to be 'careful with the hundredth
tiger'. Keen to prove
the astrologers prediction wrong, the King
put aside all state affairs
until he had killed a hundred tigers.
Once, a senior British officer wanted to hunt a tiger, but on being
refused permission, he asked if he could be photographed with the
carcass of a dead tiger. To appease the British officer's anger and to
make sure he did not lose his kingdom, the King sent the officer's wife
fifty diamond rings, thinking she would choose one or two, but she kept
all of them.
When news came from a village that the sheep had disappeared, the
villagers ascertained that it was a tiger. They ran to tell the King
who announced a three-year exemption from all taxes for that village.
the was never found, and in his rage, the King doubled
tiger
However,
After having shot the old
the land tax and many officers lost their jobs.
the Tiger King believed that he had killed
tiger placed by the dewan, had just fainted and was later shot
the hundredth tiger. But the tiger thev
hunters. However, they did not tell the King as
dead by one of the
lose their jobs. Nevertheless, the prediction proved
feared they would
met his end because of a mere splinter from
when the Tiger King
right infection.
hand and caused severe
which pierced his
the toy tiger
on subjecting innocent animals
author's indirect comment
Q.2. What is the of human beings?
willfulness
to the has depicted how human heinoo
this satirical story, the author
Ans. Through a n i m a l s so that they
could satisfy their own desires
killed
tortured and hundred
not care about the outcome of killing a
The Maharaja did Cniei astrologer wrong as well as
He iust wanted
to
prOve he
tigers. more poweriul than a prediction and a mere animal.
hat he was
nld you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja's minionas
D o you find them truly sincere towards him or are they
f e a r w h e n they obey
him? Do we find a similarity in
driven by today's
political order?

politi raia's minions were not sincere as they feared him and that
ns. Thewh
Ans. hev obeyed him. They were afraid of losing their jobs or even
is
15
their ivyes. The first example is when the King tells the chief astrologer
lives. Th
tneeak without
to 'speak w itho fear when the astrologer is too scared to predict the
araja's death. Moreover, there was no one brave enough to tell
he King not to0 indulge in the senseless killing of the animals just
because he had to prove the astrologer's prediction wrong,. In hia
is manic
obsession to kill hundred tigers, the Maharaja unfairl
imposed anie
on his subjects and disnmissed many officials on the
slightest taxes
pretexts.
However, nobody said anything to him nor did they dare to
flout h
commands.
When the hundredth tiger could not be
found, the dewan ultimatelv
got one from the People's Park in Madras and hid it in
he had to take the
his home until
tiger to the forest for the King to shoot. On
that the tiger had just fainted and
was not dead, the
finding
hunters
to shoot the
tiger themselves as they did not want to tell the decided
the fear of
losing their jobs. Even the shopkeeper who sold the King for
carved wooden toy
tiger to the King badly
did not want to be quoted a much higher price as he
punished.
Similarly, those in power today are not much
advantage and order people about as different. They, too, take
manipulate a situation because of their they are aware that they can
and power. People are as submisSIve
ingratiating as
they were then
who are
dictating orders and holdbecause
all
they are still afraid of those
the important
country. in npositions
Q.4. Can you relate
instances of
powerful present times game-hunting
in the
beings towards wildlife? that illustrate among the rich
the callousness ofana
the
Ans. As several huma"
species of animals are on
has been banned the verge of
Act, 1972 enactedby law in India. According to extinction, nuno
the Wildlife Protecu
animals has been by the Parliament of
banned India, the killing of all
in
stringent punishments. and the
A large non-compliance
of this order wi
national parks have
also been number of wildlife resu
ofwildlife.
However, set up to
protect the
sanctuaries a
hunting in the present then, there have been someendangered spe
even
in
poaching cases that times. Many celebrities have instances or
towards wildlife. For illustrate the callousness of been invov
blackbuck poaching case.example, Salman Khan has human being
was detained for Similarly, been involvea a

killing female a
Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan
o5. We need a
new blackbuck (an antelope). Patau
embedded the system
in for the
care of age of ecolog8y
and al life upon it. all people and also in the
a
system which is
Ans. Man and Diseuss. care ofthe
animal-both are
a
on our planet. To not
a
of the ecological system
part
balance has to be only survive, but also to that
prevails
maintained. This can be prolong life, an
ecological
perfectly illustrated by the
 Section C: Literature Textbooks | C-233

animals eat plants to survive:

fooicvcle that occurs in nature. Many
animals are in turn eaten by the larger ones which
are
the smaller hunts animals
consumed by man. To add to this cycle, man also
then
for pleasure.
balance is being disturbed. Resources are being
However, this ecological environment as well
and misused, which is destroying the
overexploited of birds and animals.
extinction of a large number of species
as causing as
and factors such
been disappearing at an alarming rate
Trees have and global warming too
industrialisation, overpopulation
deforestation, of o u r
role in disturbing the ecological balance
have played a major instead of helping to
sustain it.
destroying life
world. Thus, m a n is the ecological
towards protecting
of his responsibility environmental
Man's abandonment the primary c a u s e of
is
that is respected by
environment
balance of the c o n s t r u c t a system
we need
to and
c a r e of all people
degradation. Thus, embedded in the
which is towards
it. The first step
everyone -
a system
all life upon
the c a r e of
the Earth and about the
importance of having
also in educate man
s e n s e of
would be to There should be a
this goal well-balanced ecology. environment.
sustaiinable and towards the
a
responsibility
in all people to live a good life.
universal has the right
with m a n , of life, that is, human
creature,
along and d e s t r o y e r s
Every to the preservers
on
Earth.
However, it is up for all life
preserve
care
and
to
beings PREVIOUS
AND CBSE
ADDITIONAL
YEARS QUESTIONS

IV.

S H O R T A N S W E R Q U E S T I O N S

to be
resourceful?
prove
p rove
King's
De
ewwa
ann
(Sample Paper 2016)
Tiger
the
he was desperate
led ninety-nine tigers,
did
How
killed
Q.1.
.1. had
tigers could be found. The
M a h a r a j a

However, no
After
After
the
t he dredth
hundredth
one.
i n c r e a s e d alarmingly as the days passed.
ns. t he
the and obstinacy
obs
kill
kill also in
and like them, the
and Dewan was
to fury dismissed
dis
Dewan brought an old tiger from the
Maharaja's
were
w e r e

job. So, the it in his house. On the

o f f i c e r s

S e
al oficea h
v e r
i s job.
his
a l

hid
losing day before
of M a d r a s and
in M.
ger
h e Dewan and his wife dragged the tiger
Park out to the forest
Dewan
could find and shoot him. In this way, the
P e o p l e ' s

the hunt, the

the
KingKing
that
e very resourceful.

so oved t o be
prove
 Q.2. How did the Tiger King acquire his name?
Ans. The Tiger King got his name because he was (Delhi 2009 Set 1)
obsessed with killi
hundred tigers, although eventually, he was killed
by a tiny wood
toy tiger. The King was born in the hour of the Bull and len
as the tiger
is its enemy, the chief ger
astrologer had predicted that the King would
be killed by the hundredth
tiger. Therefore, the King devoted all his
time in his attempts
to the
prove astrologer wrong.
Q.3. What great miracle did the ten-day-old Jilani
perform? How did it
Jung Jung Bahadur
affect the people
who listened to him?
Ans. When the Tiger King was (Delhi Set I) 2009
merely ten days old, miracle took place.
a
He spoke clearly and
firmly and asked the chief astrologer to tell him
the cause of his death. He
spoke that all those who are born will have
to die one day.
Q.4 What happened to the tiger provided by the Dewan Saheb?
(Delhi 2009 Set )
Ans. The tiger provided by
the Dewan was old. When the bullet fired
the
by
King whizzed past the tiger, it fainted as it was frightened by the
sound of the gun. The King thinking he had killed the
hundredth tiger,
rejoiced and left the forest. However, one of the hunters saw that the
tiger had just fainted and was regaining consciousness. Afraid of losing
his job, the hunter shot the animal himself and decided not to tell the
truth to the King.
Q.5. Narrate the ultimate end of the Tiger King in the story The Tiger
King. (OD 2009 Set 1D
Ans. After the Maharaja thought that he had killed hundred tigers, he
turned his attention to everyday affairs. He wanted to get his son a
special birthday present. Ultimately, he bought what he
thought to.
an expensive present a badly carved wooden toy tiger. However, one
of the tiny slivers pierced his right hand, causing an infection which
developed into a suppurating sore. The King was operated on but he diea.
Thus, as predicted, the King died at the hands of the hundredth tiger
Q6. When did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom? Ho
was he able to avert the (Delhi 2010 Set I; Delhi 2012 SetD
danger?
Or
How did the Maharaja deal with a high-ranking British officer w
wanted to shoot a tiger? (Delhi 2017 Set
ers
Ans. The Tiger King did not permit anyone else, except himself, to hunt tige
to
in his kingdom. Once, a senior British officer asked for permissio
 hunt a tiger but the request was refused. He then asked if he could
take a photograph with the carcass of a tiger, but again the King
refused, making the officer very angry. To save his kingdom and to
appease the officers anger, the diamond rings to the King sent fifty
officer's wife thinking she would keep one or two. However, she kept
he
all of them and sent a note of thanks to the King. Thus, although
save his kingdom.
lost three lakh rupees, the King managed to
did the
What did the British officer's secretary tell the Maharaja? Why
Q.7. (OD 2010 Set I)
Maharaja refuse permission?
sent a message to the Maharaja through
Ans. The British's officer secretary
that the officer wanted to hunt a tiger in the Maharaja's
his dewan
refused permission, the officer asked the
kingdom. After he w a s
but just allow him to
stand over
the tiger himself
Maharaja to kill This request too
take a photograph.
the carcass carrying a gun and
one else
permission to the officer as no
refused
was refused. The King himself. The King w a s
also
his state except he,
could hunt tigers in similar requests
would follow.
once,
other
afraid that if he agreed of losing his
throne?
w a s in danger
think the
Maharaja (OD 2010 Set 1I1)
Q.8. Why do you
Or throne?
his
in danger of losing (OD 2015 Set I1)
the Tiger
King
When was
The
the British
were in power.
story i s set, officer to hunt a
when this senior British
time to a
Ans. At the refused permission c a r c a s s of
over the c a r c a s s
tiger
of a tigeer
had anding
by standing over
officer was furion
Maharaia
photograph
British ous
take a
or to have nunted. The thror
tiger
Maharaja
would
him in the danger of losing his one.
that the thereby
putting
King, hunt?
hunt? (OD 2010 Set II)
Set 11)
with the out
start o ut on a tiger
tiger O10
to astrola
Maharaja
the chief astrologer had
old, the chief predicted
l e d the was ten days old,
days
Q.9.
What
Maharaja araja
was

tiger. After he became the the

King at
the
be killed
by
killed
a
Ans.
When
would
his first tiger
which he proudly showed to the
that
that
he
Wo hhee killed the ast killed

astrologer warned him to be careful of

ag gee
of tweny
o f
a s
However,
twenty,

t r o l o g e r .
However,

hich would lead to his death. After this, the King

whi
chief tiger
else and was obsessed
with tiger hunting.
the
t h e
hundredth

hunaruthing
i g n o r e d e v e r y t h i n
ing
Maharaja so.
so Maharaja
anxious to kill the hundredth tiger?
the
w a s
(OD 2012 Set I and Set l)
Why
kill hundredth tiger because he
to aia was anxious
the
Q.10. Maharaja was

s. The
he Mahar
n warned by he chief astrologer that the animal would be
Ma

Ans ad bee
responsible for
for his death. He had already killed ninety-nine tigers, bu
ty-nine tigers, but
h
 could not find one more tiger to kill.As he had been pre-warned
wanted to kill a hundred tigers before he attended to the matters
of
his state and his family
.11. What sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the hieh.
ranking British officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal?
(Delhi 2013 Set 1)
Ans. Since tiger hunting banned in Pratibandapuram, the
was
Maharaia
offered to organise
boar hunt, a m0squito hunt or even a mouse
a
hunt
for the British officer. It reveals the shallowness of the British
officer
and that he enjoyed hunting and other frivolities. It also showed that
the British officer was confident of his power and
that he could easily
strength and felt
manipulate an Indian King.
Q.12. Why did the Maharaja order the dewan to double the land tax?
(OD 2014 Set D
Ans. The Maharaja was furious when he ordered the dewan
to double the
land tax. This was because the King could not find the
the villagers thought had killed the
tiger that
in their sheep village. Many days
passed and the King did not leave the forest. Several officers lost their
jobs the King's anger rose to even
as
greater heights. That was when
he told the dewan to the double land tax
immediately.
Q.13. How did the Maharaja please a
high-ranking British official?
(Delhi Compt. 2014 Set D
Ans. The Maharaja tried to
appease the British official's anger by sending
his wife fifty diamond
rings out of which he thought she would choose
one or two.
She, however, decided to keep all the rings which cost the
King three lakh rupees.
Q.14. What gave the astrologers the
were studying the
greatest surprise of their life while they
horoscope the ten-day-old prince?
of
(OD Comptt. 2014 Set D
Ans. As the
astrologers were studying the prince's horoscope, they state
that as he was born under a
particular star, he would die one day
They got the greatest surprise of their life when the ten-day-old
remarked "O wise prince
prophets!' They were further surprised when tne
prince went on to say that everyone who is born has to die, but ne
wanted to know the cause of his death.
.15. The manner of his (the
Tiger King's) death is a matter of extraordina
interest. Comment.
(OD 2015 Set D
Or
Did the
prophecy of the
astrologer come true at the end of the sto
How? (CBSE Sample Paper 2018)
 Section C: Literature Textbooks | C-237

predicted that the Maharaja would meet his

had
T h e chief astrologer
the hands of the hundredth tiger. Thus, the Tiger King began the
end at
merciless killing of all tigers in the kingdom. However,
en
senseless and the forecast came true
could not escape his fate and surprisingly,
he hundredth tiger which was a small
was killed by the
when the King
carved wooden toy.
and badly
in his state?
did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting 2015 Set I)
0.16. Why (Delhi Comptt.
banned tiger hunting
in
tigers, he
Maharaja began hunting his act by
Ans. After the for himself. He justified
except
his kingdom for everyone self-defense. In his obsession
'a cow could be killed for killed the
stating that e v e n prediction, the Maharaja
astrologer's
to disprove the chief mercilessly.
his kingdom senselessly and
tigers in (OD Comptt. 2015
Set I1)
hundredth tiger? Why?
Q.17. Who killed the Or
hundredth tiger?
kill' the
manage to (CBSE 2019 Set
II)
How did the Tiger King
dewan who
in the forest by the
old o n e left
was an appease the
King's
h u n d r e d t h tiger in Madras to
Ans. The Park He
hundredth tiger.
it from the People's shoot the
had brought did not
Tiger King of his bullet.
u n d e r the impact
However, the heap the bullet.
fury. fall in a crumpled fainted from the shock of
s a w the
tiger had
o n e of the
hunters
old and weak, left,
The tiger, being him. After the King The hunter
decided
whizzed past s h o t the beast.
which had and s o he
his job.
his eyes
a f r a i d of losing
thetiger roll was
saw a s he he ffuture
the uture
the King ass made about
about
not to
tell on
predictio n wa

t e n days
old, a
it? (Delhi 2016 Set D
about
w a s only
ironie
he was that
the astrologer prophesied
When What
Q.18. King.
days old,
.
his first
of t h e
Tiger
only ten was
After the King had killed
the King
e d by
a tiger.
ger. Alter
k i l lled
Dy ahim the hundredth tiger.
to be careful of
When be
Ans. would
warned hier
King
the King
the wo mercilessly kill ninety-nine tigers
warned

to
astrologer

on
the
Thereafter,
tiger, Maharaja went rediction wrong. However, it was
the Maharaja

the
th astrologer's
Therea to
to prove when the King was killed by the
prove

quest took her revenge

qudestiny took
his
in his
in
how
destiny
small badly made wooden toy which he had bought
ironic -
a
h u n d r e d t h
tiger
birthday present.
present.
birthday

a
(the future Tiger King) react to the
as

ten-day-old baby
son

his
the astrologers? (Delhi 2016 Set 1)
he
19. How did
his future made by
How
predie
ion
about

Or
place his finger his nose?
the chief astrologer
on
ade
What made
(CBSE 2019 Set D
Ans. When the baby born, the astrologers predicted that the f.
was
future
King would die one day. The ten-day-old prince reacted by savin
wise prophets!" He further went on to say that everyone who is
has to die, and wanted to know the cause of his death
warned the tigers to beware. This made the chief ead. He also
instead,
finger on his nose in astonishment.
astrologer place hi
Q.20. What kind of life was enjoyed by the
he reached the age of prince Jung Bahadur till
crown
twenty? (Delhi 2016 Set
Ans. Crown Prince Jung Bahadur was
He drank the milk of an
brought up in an English environment.
English cow, was brought up by an English
nanny, was tutored in English by an
English films just like all the otherEnglishman
-
and only watched
crown princes of the
states. When he reached the Indian
age of twenty, the of the reigns
were handed over to him. kingdom
Q.21. Why was the Maharaja in
once
danger of losing his kingdom?
Ans. The (Delhi 2017 Set I)
Tiger King did not permit anyone
else, except himself, to hunt
tigers. Once, a senior British officer asked
tiger in his kingdom but the for permission to hunt a
British officer asked if he Maharaja refused the request. Then the
could take a
the carcass of a photograph by standing over
tiger that the Maharaja would
the king denied have hunted, but agan
the British were in
permission.
This
made the officer very
angry and sinee
power at that time, the
of losing his
kingdom. Maharaja stood in dange
Q.22. Why did the
Maharaja have to pay bill of three lakh
British jewellers? rupees to the
a

Ans. Once, (Delhi 2017Set ID

a
high-ranking British officer sent
a request to the
asking if
he could hunt a Tiger n
The British officer tiger in his kingdom, but the
King rerusr
could just take a
was
refused permission again
when he asked
King had shot. This made photograph
standing over the carcass of a he
the King stood the senior British officer so tiget
the king
in danger of
losing his
furious
ordered fifty kingdom. To pacify the orn
ofJewellers in Calcuttadiamond rings from a famous
and sent them British cohat
w u Keep one or two and send to the duraisani, thinku
that

Burprised when he the rest back. However,

he"
received
the Tiger King paid three a note of thanks for al the rings
to save his lakh rupees for the ged
kingdom for that rings but ne
price.
 Section C: Literature Textbooks | C-239
Why did the Maharaja decide to get married?
Q.23
(OD 2015 Set ll: OD 2017 Set 1)
Or
What considerations influenced the Tiger King to get married?
CBSE 2018)
Ans. In order to disprove the chief astrologer's prophecy, the Maharaja
killed tigers indiscriminately. However, soon the tiger population in
his kingdom became extinct. The Maharaja had to kill thirty more
tigers. Hence, he decided to get married to a girl of a royal family
whose father had a kingdom with a large tiger population that would
enable him to continue tiger hunting.
face when he had killed seventy tigers.
Q.24. Which problem did the Maharaja (OD 2017 Set I)
How did he solve it?
in a period of ten years, the tiger
Ans. After he had killed seventy tigers
kingdom became extinct.The Maharaja
population in the Maharaja's he
o c c u r r e n c e . To
overcome this problem,
was extremely upset at this which
to a princess
whose father had a kingdom
wished to get married
continue his
number of tigers that would enable him to
housed a large
tiger hunting.
the land tax for a village?
decide to double (OD 2017 Set I1)
Q.25. When did the Maharaja
could not
but unfortunately, he
tigers,
had killed ninety-nine sunk in gloom. However
Ans. The King Thus, the Maharaja w a s
that a tiger
r
find o n e m o r e tiger. that a groupP
ot villagers thought
reached him to disappear.
soon news sheep had begun
their village as
their entire village be exempt
exempted
hiding n e a r h a t the
that
was
joyous
and
o r d e red
ed t
the when the tiger did
was
three
three y e a r s . However,
years.
The king for
the Maharaja was so furious that
taxes
their
from paying
from couldn't kill it,
a n d he
l a n d tax.
appear
not
the
he
doubled
first reward the hillside villagers and then later
Maharaja

the
did villagers?

Q.26. Why hillside villagers

began to disappear, the
s a m e

the
punish
punish
f heir sheep
and r a n to the King to tell him the
he good
to a tiger
a s he thought he would finally be able to
themn
Ans. attributed

was overjoyed
The King the dewan to exempt the villagers
hundredth tiger
and ordered

kill the for t h r e e y e a r s . ater, when no tiger was found, the King
taxes
from arioUs
all that he doubled the taxes of the same village.
tha
furious

so
was
Q.27. What did the chief astrologer promise to do if his
prophecy did not come
co-
true?
Ans. The chief astrologer was absolutely sure that his prediction
would come
me
true and told the King that he would tear up all his books on
and set them on fire as well as cut off his tuft, crop his hair astrolog
short and
nd
become an insurance agent if he was proved wrong.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q.1. How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his fate?
(OD 2009 Set
I
Ans. The Tiger King had managed to kill ninety-nine
tigers and mistakenly
thought he had killed the hundredth one as well. However, the old
tiger had just fainted from the shock of the bullet whizzing past and
had not died. Hence, the King quickly left the forest rejoicing as he
thought he had completed his target.
Later, for his son's third birthday, the King was looking for a special
gift. On seeing a wooden tiger and not realising how badly it was
carved, he bought the toy for his son. One of the slivers which was
standing up, pierced his right hand and resulted in an infection, which
developed into a suppurating sore. The King was operated on, but he
died on the operating table. Thus, it is ironical that a man who had
hunted s0 many tigers was ultimately killed by a toy a wooden tiger
that was the hundredth tiger.
Q.2. Describe the efforts made by the Tiger King to achieve his target o
killing a hundred tigers. (OD 2009 Set
Ans. The Tiger King made numerous efforts to achieve his aim of kilhng a
hundred tigers. He first banned tiger hunting in his kingdom and n
one was allowed to hunt tigers except he, himself. He also announced
that he would only attend to state matters after he had succeeded
his goal of killing a hundred tigers. When there were no tigers let
kill in his own state, the Maharaja married a princess whose state nau
a large tiger population. Thus, every time he went to visit his fatne
too.
in-law, he went tiger hunting until they became extinct there
Once a high ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He w
fond of hunting tigers and getting himself photographed with the tig
he had shot. But the Maharaja was firm in his resolve and refuse
her
permission. He thought it could become a dangerous example for ot
officers. Since he refused a British officer's demand, the Mahar
stood in danger of losing his kingdom.
 Section C: Literature Textbooks
| C-241
To aVoid this tricky situation, the Maharaja consulted his Dewan and
decided to give a diamond ring to the British officer's wife. For this, he
sent her fifty diamond rings as samples. However, she kept all those
rings and sent him a thank you note. Though he lost three lakh rupees,
he was able to please the British officer and managed to retain his
kingdom.
anxious to kill
After the Maharaja had killed ninety-nine tigers, he was
was news about the existence
the hundredth one. Hence, when there
he even stayed in the forest
of a tiger in a hillside village in his state,
his target. Thus, the Tiger King
for several days, desperate to complete
one hundred tigers.
made all efforts to achieve his goal of killing
bribe the
is a n evil practice.
How did the Tiger King
Giving bribe act of his?
Q.3. a
How do you view this
British officer to s a v e his kingdom? (Delhi 2015 Set D
officer to
refused permission to the senior British
Ans. The Tiger King had over the c a r c a s s of a
by standing
hunt a tiger o r e v e n
take a photograph stand in danger
the officer making the King
dead tiger. This
infuriated ordered fifty
his kingdom, the Maharaja
To s a v e to the
of losing his kingdom. Calcutta which
w e r e all sent

famous jeweler
in
rings from a
entire
British officer's wife.
the duraisani kept the
or two, as that
to the jewelers
one
Instead of choosing lakh rupees
Consignment. The King
paid three displays the bribery
his throne. This act the
cost him to s a v e realise how selfish
was what it that time. We also
which
prevalent at personal interests
and corruption mainly his
safeguarding
he was
kingdom.
King was as
than his
important astrologer
as more An
he viewed b e l i e v e in
superstitions.

among
us
be killed by a tiger. He
many that he w o u l d
tiger. How did
so
A . Even today, Tiger King "killed' by a
a b o u t 'the was
himself
(OD 2015 Set )
tigers yet
predicted
hundred
killed' one
'prevail?
belief the a s t r o l o g e r s
the
superstitious
Prince Jung Bahadur, Thus.
the hands of a tiger.
Crown
of the at
Ans. At the birth
King would die merciless
that the future hands, the King began his
predicted into his astrologer's
came
kingdom o d1sprove
the chief
after the was
desperate
He
killing of tigers. uir
stale, the King
married a
oWn
hI8
prediction. tigers in When
all the iger population.
After depleting housing a large brought in
had a kingdom K i n g d o m , the dewan
whose father nat
could be lound n that when the King's
n more tigers
However,
the wilS 8O old
uger t h e shock. One of the hunters
onfrom Madras. rom
it fane
bullet whizzed past it,
 shot that tiger. From
the
that the King had not fear of losing his job, he did not tell
killed the hundredth the Kinc
Later, on the tiger. ng
Maharaja's
wooden toy tiger that he son's third
birthday, one of the slivers
an infection
had given his son from the
which developed into pierced his hand,
the
operating table. Thus, the
a
suppurating sore. The King causin
died because of the superstition prevailed as the died on
hundredth' tiger
Q.5. The story is full Maharaja
of
humour and irony.
Ans. The Explain.
author, Kalki, narrates the
ironical situations story humourously and
satirically. When the Maharaja
spree of tigers, the author
highlights the
began his killing
time for the tigers as he mocks him by
saying that it was
'celebration
himself. Then the author banned tiger hunting by
extinct first in the humourously depicts howeveryonetigers
except
in-law's state as the Maharaja's kingdom, and then later in his became
King was father
All
ninety-nine tigers that the so determined to hunt them down.
aggressive animals. Thus, it is Maharaja
ironic
hunted were ferocious
and
an old
one, which had been that the hundredth
just fainted from the shock ofleft in the forest for the King and tiger was
the bullet that it
ironic that the speeding past. It
King is
toy tiger caused an finally died because one of the slivers of a more
even
infection which killed him. wooden
Q.6. Justify the title The
Ans. The title of the Tiger King'.
with the story "The Tiger King' is a
protagonist's (the suitable one as it deals
with tiger
hunting. Maharaja of
The King was Pratibandapuram) obsession
because it had been determined to kill hundred
hundredth tiger. When predicted that he would die at the tigers
he had hands of the
he even married
a depleted the
girl whose father had a tigers in his own realm,
population. The king wiped them kingdom
out too. He
with a large tiger
his kingdom aswell as family until
he had
ignored all matters or
killing a hundred tigers. The completed
author tells us that his mission or
as the the
tigers he killed. He mentions King was as
his target, the that whenever his bullet fierce
win too.
King would fight the beast missea
However, he with his bare hands and
Thus, the Maharaja's finally died because of a
life and death were small wooden toy
tiger
The Tiger governed by
King' an
apt title. tigers, maklng
 Section C: Literature Textbooks | C-243

In this manner the hundredth tiger took its find revenge upon "The
Tiger King" Comment with reference to the story "The Tiger King'.
The Tiger King tried to kill a hundred tigers just to disapprove the
prophecy made by the astrologers. At the time of his birth, they had
predicted that he would die because of a tiger. This made the king go
on a tiger killing spree. He was elated at killing the hundredth tiger.
He never realised that in reality he had not killed it; it had merely
fainted. The king had missed his shot and the king's hunter later on
killed the tiger.
towards
After killing the hundredth' tiger, the king turned his attention
wooden tiger on his third
his three years old son. He gifted his son a
crafted toy tiger,
birthday. While playing with his son and the crudely
of wood pierced his right hand. The infection spread in his
a tiny sliver
died due to the infection. Thus, the hundredth tiger's
whole arm. He
death proved the prediction right.