Updated on 31/05/2026
2. The Tiger King (Kalki)
Main Points of the Chapter
This story is about the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram whose name was Jung Jung Bahadur.
But he was known by the name ‘Tiger King’
The astrologers told him that his death would come from a hundredth tiger.
The king vowed that he would attend all other matters only after killing one hundred tigers.
Once a British officer visited his state to hunt tigers. But the Maharaja refused his permission.
Within ten years, he was able to kill seventy tigers. But now, there were no tigers in his kingdom.
So he married a girl from a royal family. His purpose was to kill the tigers in his father-in-law’s kingdom.
Each time he visited the kingdom of his father-in-law, he killed five of six tigers.
Thus he had killed ninety nine tigers. Now only one more tiger remained to be killed.
But now there was no tiger left even in his father-in-law’s kingdom.
The dewan had an old and pet tiger hidden in his house. He left that tiger in the jungle to save his job.
The next day, the maharaja saw that tiger and shot at him.
But the tiger was not dead. The bullet had missed him.
The hunters dared not tell this secret to the king. He shot the tiger and killed it.
A few days later, the king decided to celebrate his son’s third birthday.
He got a wooden tiger for his son as a birthday present.
There were tiny splinters of wood in that wooden tiger. One of these pierced the Maharaja’s right hand.
The next day, an infection developed in the king’s right hand.
In four days, it spread all over the arm. Three famous surgeons decided to operate on the king.
After the operation they said, ‘The operation was successful. The Maharaja is dead’.
Thus the hundredth tiger took its final revenge upon the Tiger King.
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
1. Who is the writer of the story ‘The Tiger King’?
Ans. Kalki
2. Who is the main character in the story ‘The Tiger King’?
Ans. Jung Jung Bahadur
3. Which kingdom was ruled by Jung Jung Bahadur?
Ans. Pratibandapuram
4. By what name was king Jung Jung Bahadur known?
Ans. Tiger King
5. What miracle took place when the king was only ten days old?
Ans. He began to speak
6. What did the astrologer predict about the death of the king when he was an infant?
Ans. His death would be by a tiger
7. At what age did Jung Jung Bahadur become king?
Ans. At the age of Twenty years
8. How many rings did the king send to the British officer’s wife?
Ans. Fifty rings
9. How many tigers did the king kill in ten years?
Ans. Seventy tigers
10. How did the king solve the problem of finding more tigers for killing?
Ans. By marrying a girl of a royal family
11. How many tigers did the king kill in his father-in-law’s kingdom?
Ans. Twenty nine tigers
12. How did the dewan solve the problem of finding the hundredth tiger?
Ans. He released his own pet tiger in the jungle
13. What did the hunters find when they went near the hundredth tiger?
Ans. The tiger was not dead
14. Who actually killed the tiger
Ans. The hunter
15. What did the king decide to give his son on his third birthday?
Ans. A wooden tiger
16. How did the king die?
Ans. By the infection of a wooden splinter pierced in the king’s hand
Short Type Q-Ans.
Q. 1 Who is the tiger king? Why does he get that name?
Ans. The tiger king is the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. The astrologers foretold at his birth that his death would be by killing a tiger. When he grew up, he started to kill tigers. In this way, he got nick-named the tiger king.
Q. 2 What miracle took place when the tiger was only ten days old?
Ans. The astrologers foretold that one day, the royal infant would die by a tiger. At that moment, a great miracle took place. The infant, who was only ten days old, began to say that all those who are born would have to die one day. It was no less than a miracle to hear such words of wisdom from a ten days old baby.
Q. 3 When did the king come to know about the prediction about his death?
Ans. The prince became the Maharaja, at the age of twenty. People often talked about the astrologer’s prediction that the king’s death would come by a tiger. Slowly, this prediction came to the Maharaja's ears.
Q. 4 What vow did the king take?
Ans. When the crown prince Jung Jung Bahadur came to know the astrologer’s prediction that he would be killed by a tiger. He took a vow that he would attend all the matters of the state only after killing the hundredth tiger. Within ten years of active hunting, he had killed seventy tigers.
Q. 5 Why was the king in the danger of losing his throne?
Ans. Once a British officer visited the kingdom. He was very fond of hunting tigers. More than killing a tiger, he liked to take photographs with the killed tiger. But the Maharaja refused to give him permission. Because he had stopped a high ranked British officer to fulfill his desire. Thus the Maharaja was in danger of losing his throne.
Q. 6 How did the king solve the problem of finding more tigers for him to hunt?
Ans. The king had killed seventy tigers within ten years. Now there were no more tigers in his kingdom. So to solve this problem, he married a girl from a royal family. There were many tigers in that kingdom. Each time when he visited the kingdom of his father-in-law, he killed five or six tigers.
Q. 7 Who actually killed the hundredth tiger?
Ans. When the Maharaja had gone to kill the hundredth tiger, the hunter went near the tiger; he found that the tiger was not dead. The bullet had missed it. The old tiger had fainted from the sharp sound of the bullet. But they didn’t want to tell this secret to the Maharaja. So one of the hunters shot and killed the tiger.
Q. 8 What did the king decide to give his son on his third birthday?
Ans. A few days later, the king decided to celebrate his son’s third birthday. He wanted to give him some special gift on his birthday. The king saw a wooden tiger in a shop; he decided to give it to his son on his third birthday.
Q. 9 Discuss in brief how death at last comes to the tiger king?
Ans. The Maharaja got a tiny wooden tiger as a birthday gift for his son. The wooden tiger was of a very poor quality. The silver wood stood all over it. One of these pierced the Maharaja's right hand. In four days, the infection spread all over the arm, three famous surgeons declared after the operation. ‘The operation was successful, the maharaja is dead.
Q.10 What is the irony in the ending of the story 'The Tiger King'?
Ans. The irony is that the Maharaja survived ninety-nine real, dangerous tigers but was ultimately killed by a tiny, poorly made toy wooden tiger. Furthermore, the surgeons declared the operation "successful" even though the king died, satirizing the sycophancy (चापलूसी) of the system.
Q.11 How did the Dewan manage to find the hundredth tiger?
Ans. The Maharaja's anger was at its peak because the hundredth tiger could not be found. To save his job from the king's fury, the Dewan secretly brought an old, pet tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and released it in the forest where the Maharaja was hunting.
Long-Answer
Q. 1 Give a brief account of the killing of ninety nine tigers by the king.
Or
How did the king of Pratibandapuram get the nick-name the ‘Tiger King’?
Or
Why did the king take a vow to kill one hundred tigers?
Ans. The tiger king is the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. The astrologers foretold that his death would be by a tiger. At that moment, a great miracle took place. The infant, who was only ten days old, began to speak. He became the Maharaja, at the age of twenty. He came to know the astrologer’s prediction that his death would come by a tiger. So he took a vow that he would attend all the matters of the state only after killing the hundredth tiger. At the age of ten, he had killed seventy tigers. Now there were no more tigers in his kingdom. So he married a girl from a royal family. Each time when he visited the kingdom of his father-in-law, he killed five or six tigers. Thus he had killed ninety nine tigers. When he killed the hundredth tiger, actually it was not. The bullet had missed it. One of the hunters killed the tiger. A few days later, the king gave a wooden tiger as a birthday gift to his son on his third birthday. When he was playing with his son, one of the silver quills pierced the Maharaja's right hand. In four days, the infection spread all over the arm and he died.
Important Spellings
Pretending
Strategic
Withdrawal
Imperative
Indomitable
Fantastic
Astrologers
Warrior
Prophets
Prediction
Incredible
Terrifying
Rumour
Innumerable
Incoherent
Celebration
Deliberations
Statistics
Catastrophic
Thoroughly
Bafflement
Erected
Suppurating
Word-meanings
Strategic – important, planned, calculated
Imperative – necessary
Vital – important
Indomitable – unbeatable, unyielding
Abode – home, house, rooms
Demise – death
Foretold – predicted
Prophets – foretellers
Prediction – forecast
Incredible – unbelievable
Nanny – nurse
Tuft – bunch of hair, knot
Carcass – dead body
Deliberations – discussion
Hara-kiri – suicide
Shuddering – trembling
Babble – childish talk
Adorned- decorated
Savage – cruel
Rage – anger
Thoroughly – completely
Supplication – prayer
Bafflement – confusion
Erected – built