Author

Kalki Krishnamurthy (1899 —1954), better known by his pen name Kalki, was a Tamil writer,
journalist, poet, critic and Indian independence activist.
His writings include over 120 short stories, 10 novelettes, 5 novels, 3 historical romances,
editorial and political writings, biographies, travelogues and hundreds of film and music reviews.
Kalki has the skill to take the reader into the times of the story.
Theme / Central Idea of the Lesson. Analysis of The Tiger King
Theme
The story ‘The Tiger King’ is a satire on those in power. Most of the time the rulers are not
interested in serving the people or work for the welfare of the public; instead, they spend their
time in foolish pursuits. This is a story about the transience of life. The story is about crime and
punishment. Kalki has used humour, irony and conversational narrative style to bring out the
theme.
Justify the title of The Tiger King
Appropriateness of Title
“The Tiger King” is a very appropriate title for the story for several reasons. First of all, the king is
crazy about tiger hunting and he marries a princess whose father’s kingdom has a sizeable tiger
population. He kills one hundred tigers just to fulfil his vow. Secondly, the king with all his frenzy,
anger and ruthlessness is as ferocious as a tiger. Thirdly, he dies of a sliver prick received from a
wooden toy tiger. The prediction that a tiger would cause the king’s death also comes true. Since
the story revolves around the king and the hundred tigers that he kills, it could not be better titled
than “The Tiger King”.
Moral/ Message of the lesson – The Tiger King
Message
Through this satirical story, the author has rightly portrayed how human beings have subjected
innocent animals to untold torture and death, merely to fulfil their own whims and fancies. The
Maharaja’s indiscriminate killing of tigers led to their extinction in some states, but the Maharaja
was oblivious of the grave consequences his action was leading to. The author strikes home the
message that the ruler’s primary duty should be the welfare of the citizens.
CHAPTER NUTSHELL
Theme
1.Satire on the conceit of those in power.
2.A comment on politicians who put personal gratification, fulfilment of their own whims and
fancies above the good of the masses or even good governance.
3. Pride has a fall, self-destructive nature of man.
4.The need for conservation of wildlife.
Content
1.Astrologers’ prediction about the tiger king: Astrologers predicted at his birth that since the
prince was born in the hour of the bull, the bull and the tiger are enemies hence death would
come to him from a tiger.
2. Ten-day-old spoke asked intelligent questions.
3. Once he grew up started tiger hunt, state astrologer predicted he may kill 99 tigers but the
hundredth would spell danger.
4.The king’s obsession with tigers.
(i) the state banned tiger hunting by anyone except the king, proclamation-if anyone dared fling
even a stone at a tiger, his wealth and property would be confiscated.
(ii) vowed to attend to all other matters only after killing a hundred tigers.
(iii) came close to losing his throne when he denied permission to a high ranking British officer to
hunt, appeased him with expensive diamond rings, lost three lakh rupees.
(iv) marries a girl from a family of a state with a large tiger population.
(v) 3-year exemption from all taxes for the village where sheep reported missing, ordered land
tax to be doubled when not tiger spotted.
Dramatic twist in the ending
1. The king pleased with himself at having proved all astrologers wrong by killing a hundred
tigers, gets a wooden tiger for his son’s birthday.
2. Silver pierces his right hand, gets infected, surgeons unable to save his life.
Character sketch of the tiger king
1. Self-centred (decides to deal with matters of the state only when the threat to his life is
removed and the 100 tigers are killed).
2.Egoistic (he thinks he can challenge fate, the astrologers and hunt down all the tigers, gloats
when he feels he’s succeeded by buying the wooden tiger as a present for his son; likes
flatterers, fires anyone who disobeys his orders.
3.Whimsical and irrational (three-year exemption from all taxes, doubles the land tax according to
his changing moods).
Irony In the lesson
The fact that one can’t defy destiny or fate, the tiger king spends his life in a single-minded
pursuit of tigers but finally killed, not by a live tiger but a wooden toy.
Short and Simple Summary of the lesson in English– The Tiger King/ Summary in simple
Words/ Critical appreciation of the lesson – The Tiger King
Summary
When Maharaja Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur was born, the astrologers had foretold that One day
the king would die. The ten-day-old Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur started speaking; he told them that
all those born would have to die one day. He asked the astrologers to tell the manner of his
death. Everyone was stunned. An infant born just ten days ago was talking in such a manner.
The chief astrologer told the Prince that he was born in the hour of the bull. As bull and tiger were
enemies so his death would come from the tiger. The royal arrogance surfaces when the infant
pronounces “Let tigers beware!”
The Maharaja grew stronger and took to tiger hunting. He was overjoyed when he killed the first
tiger. When he told the chief astrologer about it, the chief astrologer told him that he may kill 99
tigers but he must be careful with the hundredth one. In ten years he killed 70 tigers. He banned
the killing of tigers in Pratibandhpuram. The tiger population became extinct at Pratibandhpuram.
So the Maharaja, on the advice of the dewan married a princess of a state where the tiger
population was large. He would hunt tigers during his visits to his father-in-law. He managed to
kill 99 tigers but one was still left. There was no sign of tigers anywhere. The Maharaja could not
bear it any more. He raised the land tax and also dismissed some of his men.
Finally, the dewan arranged for a tiger which was brought from the ‘People’s Park in Madras’. It
was dragged and driven to the forest and left where it would be spotted by the Maharaja. The
Maharaja had taken his men for hunting. He shot the tiger and it dropped dead. The elated
Maharaja did not notice that the weak and emaciated tiger had fainted from the shock of the
bullet shot. Maharaja’s men knew it but they feared that if they revealed this fact, then they would
surely lose their jobs. So they killed the tiger. The Maharaja did not know that he still has one
tiger left to be killed.
Maharaja had to attend his three-year-old son’s birthday. He gifted him a wooden tiger. The tiger
was made by an unskilled man. Its surface was rough. A wood sliver pierced into the Maharaja’s
hand. Next day the infection spread into his whole hand and three surgeons performed the
operation but failed to save the king’s life.
Thus the fateful hundredth tiger, though a wooden one, was the cause of the Maharaja’s death
and proved the prediction of the astrologer correct.
Following is the complete question bank for – The Tiger King
Short Answer Type Questions (30 to 40 words)
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (3 Marks Each)
Q1.What is the matter of vital importance the author wants to disclose at the beginning of
the story? Why?
Ans. The author wants to disclose in the very beginning, the fact that the Tiger King has reached
the final abode of all living creatures, i.e. the king is dead. The author wants to clarify this matter
because he is sure that everyone who reads about him would naturally want to meet this man of
indomitable courage face to face.
Q2. What did the astrologers predict about the child when he was born?
Ans. The astrologers predicted that the child would grow to become the warrior of warriors, the
hero of heroes, champion of champions. They also foretold that the child born under this star
would one day have to meet its death.
Q3. What was the miracle that happened when the astrologers predicted about the death
of the born child?
Ans. The newborn ten-day-old child uttered a phrase after hearing the astrologer’s prediction.
The phrase shocked and surprised and everyone. The child said, ‘O Wise Prophets!’. When
everyone was stunned into shock d silence, the baby said again `O Wise Prophets! It was I who
spoke.’
Q4. Why did the chief astrologer put his finger on his nose in wonder?
Ans. The chief astrologer reacted thus because a baby barely ten days old could open its lips in
speech and not only that, it raised intelligent questions. This was incredible and rather like the
bulletins issued by the war office.
Q5. What reason did the astrologer give in support of his answers?
Ans. The astrologer fixed his eyes upon the little prince and explained that the prince was born in
the hour of the Bull. The Bull and the Tiger were enemies; therefore, death would come from the
tiger.
Q6. What happened when the chief astrologer said that the death would come from a
tiger?
Ans. As soon as the crown prince Jung Jung Bahadur heard the word ‘Tiger’, he did not get
thrown into a quake. He only gave a deep growl and terrifying words `Let Tigers Beware’,
emerged from his lips.
Q7. What was the reply of the astrologer, when the Tiger King asked the astrologer what
he would do if the hundredth tiger were killed?
Ans. The astrologer replied that he would tear all his books on astrology, set fire to them and cut
off his tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance agent.
Q8. What did the Maharaja do to realize his ambition of killing a hundred tigers?
Ans. The State banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. Anyone defying this order
would lose all his wealth and property. The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters
only after killing a hundred tigers. He fired many of his officers for not getting him tigers. He even
stayed in the forest for many days. He had married a princess whose father’s kingdom had a
large tiger population. The Tiger King had to spend three lakh rupees to impress the British
official and discourage him from killing the tigers.
Q9. Why did the Maharaja and dewan do to avoid the danger of losing the throne?
Ans. The Maharaja and dewan connived to get samples of expensive diamond rings of different
designs from a famous British Company of jewellers in Calcutta. About fifty rings arrived and
were sent to the British Officer’s wife as a gift. They expected her to choose one or two rings and
send the rest back. But she kept all the rings and sent back a thank you note. The Maharaja had
to pay a bill of three lakhs but was happy that he could save his throne.
Q10. Why did the Maharaja not agree to the proposal of the British officer’s secretary?
Ans. The British Officer’s secretary had brought the proposal that the officer (Durai) could only
take a photograph of himself holding the gun and standing over the tiger’s carcass. The actual
killing could be done by the Maharaja. The Maharaja did not agree to say that if he relented, what
would he do if other British officers turned up for tiger hunts.
Q11. Why did the Maharaja decide to marry a girl of the royal family from a neighbouring
state?
Ans. The Maharaja decided to do this so that he could be allowed to hunt tigers from the state of
his father-in-law because in his own state he had killed all the tigers available. He wanted to
marry a girl from a state with a large tiger population.
Q12. What did the dewan do on hearing the Maharaja’s threat?
Ans. The dewan and his wife took the tiger which had been brought from the People’s Park in
Madras and dragged it to the car and shoved it into the seat. They left the tiger with great
difficulty and ensured that it should wander into the Raja’s presence. Everything happened
according to their plan. The Maharaja took careful aim at the beast and killed it.
Q13. What was special about the gift the Maharaja had given to the crown prince on his
third birthday?
Ans. The Maharaja had decided to give a special gift to the crown prince on his third birthday. He
searched for a suitable gift and finally spotted a wooden tiger in a toy shop and decided it was a
perfect gift. He paid three hundred rupees to the shopkeeper who convinced him that it was an
extremely rare example of craftsmanship. On the contrary, it was rough, carved by an unskilled
carpenter and had tiny slivers of wood all over it.
Q14. How was the Maharaja hurt and what was the result of the wound?
Ans. One of the sharp slivers of wood pierced the Maharaja’s hand. He pulled it out with his left
hand and continued to play with the prince. Infection flared in his hand the next day and in four
days, it developed into a big sore which spread all over the arm. Despite the operation conducted
on him by three famous surgeons, he died. The hundredth tiger had taken its final revenge on
him.
Q15. How does the author satirize the upbringing and education of crown princes of
Indian States?
Ans. The author satirizes the attitude of Indian royalty during the pre-partition days. The kings
wanted to impress the British and believed that all things connected with the British were good.
The author ridicules the upbringing of the princes when he says the Tiger King was brought up
by an English nanny, tutored in English by an Englishman. He was given the milk of an English
cow and watched only English movies.
Q16. Do you agree with the Maharaja’s statement, ‘You may kill even a cow in self-
defence’?
Ans. The Maharaja killed the Tigers, not in self-defence but to change his destiny as predicted
by the astrologers. He went in search of tigers with the intention of killing a hundred of them. This
statement of the Maharaja is not justified by his actions.
Q17. What were the two restricting outside forces that checked the kings in those days
from doing exactly what they wished?
Ans. The eccentric kings of pre-partition India were afraid of two things. Firstly the British
Officers. They could lose their kingdom if they annoyed the Britishers. Secondly, if the subjects
were unhappy the rulers feared they would follow the Indian National Congress. Q18. ‘The bullet
had missed it’. How did the hundredth tiger die? Bring out the irony of the situation.
Q19. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state?
Ans. The Maharaja wanted to prove the predictions of the state astrologer wrong regarding his
death. The prediction was that he would be killed by the hundredth tiger. In order to hunt a
hundred tigers, the Maharaja put a ban on the hunting of tigers by anyone except the Maharaja
himself.
Q20. Why did the Maharaja double the land tax?
Ans. Ninety-nine tigers had been successfully killed but the hundredth tiger could not be found.
News of a tiger being spotted at a hillside village came but it was false. The Maharaja doubled
the land tax in anger in order to teach the villagers a lesson.
Q21. What sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organise for the high ranking British
officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal?
Ans. The Maharaja offered to organise any other hunt in place of the tiger hunt. He offered a
boar-hunt. A mouse-hunt could be conducted. The state was ready even for a mosquito hunt.
The officer comes across as vain and shallow.
Q22. What led the Maharaja to start out on a tiger hunt?
Ans. The Maharaja wanted to prove the predictions of state astrologer wrong that he would be
killed by the hundredth tiger. In order to save his own life and prove the astrological prediction as
incorrect, he started tiger hunting.
Q23. How did the Maharaja get the name ‘Tiger King’?
Ans. At the time of the birth of the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, the astrologers declared that
the prince would have to die one day. The ten-day-old prince spoke miraculously. He asked the
astrologers to reveal the manner of his death. The chief astrologer replied that death would come
from a tiger. The young prince growled and uttered the terrifying words: ‘Let tigers beware!’ He
later decided to kill a hundred tigers and got the name Tiger king.
Q24. Why was the Maharaja once in danger of losing his kingdom? [Delhi 2017]
Ans. In his quest of procuring the hundredth tiger, the tiger king imposed a ban on tiger hunting
in Pratibandhpuram. A British official asked his permission to allow him tiger hunting and
subsequently, a photo session with the dead tiger. The king refused and thus ran the risk of
losing his kingdom as in those days the British annexed Indian kingdoms on trivial pretexts.
Q25. Why did the Maharaja have to pay a bill of three lakh rupees to the British
jewellers? [Delhi 2017]
Ans. At one time the Maharaja was in danger of losing his throne as he had refused a high
ranking British officer to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. He was very fond of hunting tigers and
being photographed with them. Now the Maharaja stood in danger of losing his kingdom itself. To
appease the British officer, the Maharaja sent 50 expensive rings to the British officer’s good lady
who kept the whole lot. Thus the Maharaja lost three lakh of rupees.
Q26. Why did the Maharaja decide to get married? [All India 2017]
Ans. The Maharaja had exhausted the tiger population in Pratibandhapuram but he still had thirty
more to kill, so he asked his dewan to draw up figures of tiger populations in the different native
states. He would marry in a royal family with a large tiger population. The dewan found out the
right girl. The Maharaja killed five or six tigers each time he visited his father-in-law.
Q27. Which problem did the Maharaja face when he had killed seventy tigers? How did
he solve it? [All India 2017]
Ans. Within ten years of the prediction, The Tiger King was able to kill seventy tigers. Then an
unforeseen hurdle brought his mission to a halt as the tiger population became extinct in the
forests of Pratibandapuram The Maharaja asked his dewan to draw up figures of tiger
populations in the different native states so that could marry into a royal family with a large tiger
population. The dewan found out the right girl. The Maharaja used to kill five or six tigers each
time he visited his father-in-law. Ultimately, he was able to kill 99 tigers in all.
Q28. When did the Maharaja decide to double the land tax for a village? [All India 2017]
Ans. The hundredth tiger, essential to disprove the prophecy, could not be located. The
Maharaja’s anger and desperation were at a height. He called the dewan and arbitrarily ordered
him to double the land-tax forthwith. The dewan warned him that the people would rise in revolt.
Then their state too would fall a prey to the Indian National Congress but the king didn’t relent.
Important Long/ Detailed Answer Type Questions- to be answered in about 100 -150
words each Value-based questions-
ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS (6 Marks Each)
Q1. The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. Discuss.
Ans. The story satirizes the concept of people in power. They refuse to take no for an answer
and their whims become laws for their subjects. This is aptly illustrated by the eccentric
behaviour of the Tiger King who wished to disprove an astrologer’s prediction about his death.
The Tiger King banned tiger hunting in his state. Only the Maharaja could kill the tigers. He went
out on a hunting spree and made it his main occupation. After killing seventy tigers, its population
became extinct. He married a princess in a neighbouring kingdom with a large tiger population.
The author satirizes the rulers using humour as a tool. The British Officer wanted to be
photographed with a tiger as it was a status symbol. The story exposed the fondness of officials
in pre-partition days for portraying themselves as brave.
The Tiger King’s eccentricity made him whimsical and conceited. He felt happy when he was
informed about the presence of tiger that would have completed his mission of killing the
hundredth tiger. He immediately announced a three-year exemption from all taxes. When the
tiger was not traced for a few days, the king decided to double the taxes, many officers also lost
their jobs.
Thus in pre-partition days, though India rulers were scared of the British officers, in their own
state, they behaved like autocrats.
Q2. How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his death?
Ans. It had been predicted by astrologers that the hundredth tiger would prove to be fatal for the
Tiger King. He then set out to hunt all the tigers. He vowed he would attend to all other matters
only after he had realized his aim. He managed to kill ninety-nine but the Maharaja’s bullet
missed the hundredth tiger who had fainted from the shock of the bullet. The ignorant king was
jubilant. It is ironical that the brave king did not know that the hundredth tiger had fainted and had
been killed by a hunter.
The wooden toy tiger the king got as a birthday present for his son was the cause of his death. It
is ironical that the king who killed many tigers with his bare hands died of a ‘sliver’ from the body
of the toy tiger. The sliver caused infection and developed a suppurating sore. The Tiger King
died while being operating upon. In this way destiny took its final revenge upon the Tiger King
and death ironically came to him from a tiger.
Q3. Give an account of the Maharaja’s encounter with the hundredth tiger and his
subsequent death.
Ans. The Maharaja was keen to kill the hundredth tiger. All the tigers seemed to have been
killed. The Tiger King left for the forest when the villagers informed him of the activities of a tiger
near the hillside. Many officers lost their jobs. Even the dewan was asked to resign.
 The wise old dewan got an old tiger from the People’s Park in Madras. He released it at night in
the forest near the Maharaja’s camp. In the morning, the infirm tiger wandered into the
Maharaja’s presence and stood before him as if in humble supplication. The Maharaja took
careful aim at the beast. It fell down in a crumpled heap. It had fainted from the shock of the
bullet whizzing past. One of the hunters fearing the Maharaja’s wrath took aim and shot the tiger
dead. The Maharaja could not kill the hundredth Tiger.
It was a wooden tiger from a toy shop that became the cause of the Maharaja’s death. One of the
slivers of the badly carved wooden toy pierced the Maharaja’s right hand. The prick developed
into a suppurating sore. A surgical operation was performed on his hand, but the king died. The
narrator comments that the hundredth tiger (although a toy one) took its final revenge upon the
Tiger King.