Chapter 2 The Tiger King
Short Questions (30 – 40 words)
1. Why was the Maharaja so anxious to kill the hundredth tiger? (CBSE 2012 All India)
According to an astrologer’s prediction, Maharaja would be killed by the hundredth tiger, so when he had killed 99 tigers and only one tiger was left, he felt relieved as he would be free from all types of fear.
2. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state? (CBSE 2014 Delhi)
The Maharaja wanted to prove that the prediction of the State astrologer was wrong. For that purpose, he restricted the hunting of tigers in all the tiger-rich forests of Pratibandapuram, so that he could hunt them down.
3. Why did the Maharaja order the Diwan to double the land tax? (2014 All India)
Having heard about the vanishing of sheep, the Maharaja set out to find the hundredth tiger, which was the cause behind all the happenings. However, the tiger could not be found. In his rage, the Maharaja ordered the Diwan to double the land tax.
4. The manner of his (the Tiger King’s) death is a matter of extraordinary interest. Comment. (2015 All India)
The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was told that a tiger would be the cause of his death and warned him to be careful of the hundredth tiger. When the Maharaja tried to shoot the hundredth tiger it only fainted.
The king purchased a wooden tiger to offer to his son as a birthday present. Its silver pierced Maharaja’s right hand. It is ironic that the infection spread and the king died. The manner of death made the prediction come true in the most extraordinary manner,
5. When was the Tiger King in danger of losing his throne? (2015 All India)
It happened when a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He was very fond of hunting tigers and being photographed with the ones he had shot. However, he was refused by the Maharaja for hunting as well as being clicked with the killed tigers. This infuriated him and the Tiger King stood a chance of losing his throne for this.
6. Why did Tiger King decide to get married? (2015 All India)
The Tiger King was able to kill only seventy tigers in his kingdom. To prove the prophecy wrong, he needed to kill thirty more tigers. He decided to marry a girl from a royal family in a state with a large tiger population so that he could kill thirty more tigers.
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7. When he was only ten days old, a prediction was made about the future of the Tiger King. What was ironic about it? (2016 Delhi)
When The Tiger King was only ten days old, the chief astrologer predicted that the death of the prince would result from a tiger. So when he grew up, he killed a hundred tigers without knowing that the hundredth tiger didn’t die from his bullet. Ironically, the King died because of a wooden toy tiger.
8. What kind of life was enjoyed by crown prince Jung Bahadur till he reached the age of twenty? (2016 Delhi)
The British dominance and its effect on the Indian royalty are evident in the upbringing of the crown prince Jung Bahadur. He was brought up by an English nanny, drank the milk of an English cow, was taught English by an Englishman, and watched English films.
9. Why was the Maharaja once in danger of losing his kingdom? (2017 Delhi)
The Maharaja had annoyed a senior British officer by refusing him permission to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram and even refusing to allow him to get photographed with a dead tiger. As a result, he was in danger of losing his throne. Later, to amend, he sent about fifty samples of expensive diamond rings to the officer’s wife as a bribe.
10. How did the Maharaja deal with a high-ranking British officer who wanted to shoot a tiger? (2017 Delhi)
The British Officer told the Maharaja that he wanted to hunt tigers in his kingdom but the Maharaja refused to give him his permission. The Maharaja himself wanted to kill a hundred tigers, so he had to refuse to give permission to the British Officer. Instead, he told the officer that if he wants to hunt boars, rats, or even mosquitoes, there will be no problem. But hunting tigers could never be allowed.
11. Why did the Maharaja have to pay a bill of three lakh rupees to the British jewelers? (2017 Delhi)
After killing seventy tigers, the Maharaja found that the tigers had become extinct in his kingdom and thirty tigers still remained to be killed. So, he decided to marry a girl in the royal family of a state which has a large tiger population.
12. What considerations influenced the Tiger King to get married? (2018 All India)
For the Tiger King, his selfish interests were more important. He wanted to marry the princess not for love but for his own greed. He wanted to marry a girl who had enough tigers in her father’s kingdom as he had to kill 30 more tigers to complete his mission of killing 100 tigers.
13. What made the chief astrologer place his finger on his nose? (2019 Delhi)
The Chief astrologer placed his finger on his nose because he was astonished when he heard the ten-day-old royal infant uttering the words so clearly in his little squeaky voice. The chief astrologer took off his spectacles and gazed intently at the baby in sheer surprise.
14. How did the Tiger King’ manage to kill the hundredth tiger? (2019 Delhi)
The Tiger King had already killed Ninety- nine tigers and only one tiger was left if he could kill just one more, he would have no fears left. But now it became impossible to locate tigers anywhere. The king sank into gloom but soon came the happy news about a tiger seen in the nearby village in his own state. He announced a three-year exemption from all the taxes to the village in his excitement. He set out for a hunt and managed to kill the hundredth tiger in the village.
Long Questions (120-150 words)
1. How did the Tiger king stand in danger of losing his kingdom? How was he able to avert the danger? (2012 Delhi)
Tiger king was told by the astrologer that he would be killed by a tiger, so he started hunting and killing tigers and prohibited all the people of the kingdom from hunting them. If anybody disobeyed him, he would be punished severely. A high-ranking British official wanted to kill the tigers. Maharaja did not give him permission and told him that he could kill any animal except tigers. The officer wished to get a photograph of himself holding a gun beside the tiger’s body. But Maharaja even refused that. As he had not allowed the officer to fulfill his desire, he was in danger of losing his kingdom.
He then discussed the issue with his Deewan and offered a bribe of 50 diamond rings of the value of three lakh rupees to the wife of the British officer. She became happy and kept all of them. This way, he was able to retain his kingdom.
2. What sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organize for the high-ranking British officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal? (2013 Delhi)
The Maharaja offered to organize every sort of hunt for the high-ranking British Officer which also included boar hunt, mouse hunt, and so on but refused to entertain the tiger hunt.
The British officer himself was not interested in killing the tiger, he only wanted his photograph beside the body of the dead tiger with a gun in his hand. It reveals that the British officer was a booster and self-publicist.
3. Giving a bribe is an evil practice. How did Tiger King bribe the British officer to save his kingdom? How do you view this act of his? (2015 Delhi)
The Tiger King dispatched a telegram to a famous British Company of jewellers in Calcutta to send samples of expensive diamond rings of different designs. Some fifty rings arrived and the king sent the entire lot to the British officer’s wife. The king and his minister had expected that the Duraisani would choose one or two rings and send the rest back. However, it turned out that the Duraisani had kept the entire lot and replied with a thank-you note for the gifts. In two days, a bill for three lakh rupees came from the British jewellers, which the Maharaja was happy to pay because he had managed to retain his kingdom. This act of the king sheds light on the deplorable practice of bribery that perpetuates the vicious cycle of corruption, especially considering the fact that the king had personal interests to protect rather than the welfare of his kingdom.
4. Even today so many among us believe in superstitions. An astrologer predicted about ‘the Tiger King’ that would be killed by a tiger. He “killed’ one hundred tigers yet was himself “killed” by a tiger. How did the superstitious belief “prevail”? (2015 All India)
On his birth, the astrologers had predicted that the Maharaja’s death would be caused by the hundredth tiger. As soon as the Maharaja learned this, he started killing tigers. This shows that though people believed in superstition, the Maharaja wanted to prove the prophecy wrong. After killing all the tigers in his kingdom, he married a girl whose state had a large tiger population. He killed the tigers in his father-in-law’s kingdom too. He was assured that he had killed a hundred tigers and was still alive, but ironically, his death was caused by a wooden tiger. While playing with his son and his wooden tiger, a rough surface pierced Maharaja’s hand causing an infection that later led to his death. Destiny had taken its revenge for trying to overrule it. The superstitious belief prevailed as the hundredth tiger led to the Maharaja’s death.
5. Describe the efforts made by the Tiger King to achieve his target of killing a hundred tigers. (2019 All India)
The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram was known as the Tiger King. At the time of his birth, the astrologers had declared that the prince would die one day. At that prophecy, the ten-day-old prince asked the astrologers to reveal the manner of his death. The wise men, though baffled by this miracle, declared that the prince’s death would come from a tiger. When the Prince came of age, he took matters into his own hands and killed a tiger. On sharing these details with the astrologer, he stated that it did not mean that the King was safe. As a matter of fact, he must be careful about the hundredth tiger. Thereafter, the King decided to kill a hundred tigers. He, thus, got the name ‘Tiger King’. In his initial years as a king, he killed around seventy tigers. He also killed around twenty-nine tigers in the forest belonging to his father-in-law. Somehow a hundredth tiger was arranged for him to kill but the tiger did not die when it was shot. Later, the soldiers killed the tiger and with this, the King achieved his dream of killing a hundred tigers.