Here is a comprehensive guide to Chapter 2, “The Tiger King,” from the VISTAS textbook, created specifically for AHSEC Class 12 students. This guide includes a summary, complete textual answers, previous years’ AHSEC questions, and other important questions, with all answers based on the book
Chapter 2:
The Tiger King by Kalki
Summary Note
“The Tiger King” is a political satire by Kalki that ridicules the pride and stubbornness of those in power. The story revolves around the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, also known as the Tiger King. When he was born, astrologers predicted that while he would become a great warrior and hero, his death would come from a tiger. The ten-day-old infant miraculously spoke, challenging the prophecy and declaring, “Let tigers beware!”
Growing up, the Maharaja, driven by the prophecy, embarks on a mission to kill one hundred tigers to prove the astrologers wrong. He bans tiger hunting in his state for everyone except himself. He becomes so obsessed with his goal that he neglects his royal duties, even risking his kingdom to prevent a British officer from hunting a tiger. To continue his hunt after tigers become extinct in his kingdom, he marries a princess from a state with a large tiger population.
After successfully killing ninety-nine tigers, the Maharaja desperately searches for the hundredth one. His dewan, fearing the king’s rage, secretly arranges for an old, weak tiger from a park in Madras and places it in the forest. The King shoots the tiger, and believing it to be dead, leaves in triumph. However, the tiger had only fainted from the shock of the bullet whizzing past. Not wanting to upset the King, the hunters kill the tiger themselves.
The story ends with a twist of dramatic irony. Years later, while celebrating his son’s third birthday, the Maharaja buys him a cheap wooden tiger. While playing, a tiny sliver of wood from the toy pierces the King’s hand. The wound becomes infected, leading to his death. Thus, the prophecy is fulfilled, and the hundredth tiger—a wooden one—takes its final revenge upon the Tiger King.
Complete Textual Question and Answer
1. The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. How does the author employ the literary device of dramatic irony in the story?
Answers: The author employs dramatic irony throughout the story to satirize the conceit of those in power. The ultimate irony is in the King’s death. The King dedicates his life to killing one hundred tigers to defy a prophecy, only to be killed by a non-living, wooden tiger. He believes he has killed the hundredth tiger, but the reader knows it survived his bullet and was killed by his hunters. The King feels safe after killing the hundredth tiger, but the reader is aware that his death is imminent. The most dramatic irony is when the King gifts his son the wooden toy that causes his death, thinking it is a harmless plaything, while it is, in fact, the instrument of his doom.
2. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?
Answers: The author indirectly comments on the cruelty and callousness of human beings towards innocent animals. The Tiger King’s relentless hunting, driven by a selfish desire to defy his fate, leads to the extinction of the tiger population in Pratibandapuram. The author satirically notes, “Who knows whether the tigers practised birth control or committed harakiri? Or simply ran away from the State because they desired to be shot by British hands alone?”. This highlights the absurdity and tragedy of the mass killing of animals for human vanity and sport.
3. How would you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions towards him? Do you find them truly sincere towards him or are they driven by fear when they obey him? Do we find a similarity in today’s political order?
Answers: The Maharaja’s minions are not sincere; they are driven by fear. The dewan, the astrologer, and the hunters all obey the King’s irrational orders to save their jobs and lives. For instance, the dewan risks his job to find a suitable bride for the king and later plants an old tiger in the forest to satisfy the king’s whim. The hunters lie about killing the hundredth tiger to avoid the King’s fury. This sycophantic behavior, where subordinates flatter and blindly obey a powerful leader out of fear, is a common feature in many political systems even today.
4. Can you relate instances of game-hunting among the rich and the powerful in the present times that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife?
(This question requires general knowledge beyond the text.)
Answers: Yes, even in present times, there are instances of illegal game-hunting and poaching by the rich and powerful. These individuals often hunt endangered species for sport, trophies, or illegal trade, showing a similar callousness towards wildlife as the Tiger King. They use their power and influence to bypass laws designed to protect these animals, reflecting the same theme of human arrogance and disregard for nature that is satirized in the story.
5. We need a new system for the age of ecology—a system which is embedded in the care of all people and also in the care of the Earth and all life upon it. Discuss.
(This is a discussion question based on the story’s themes.)
Answers: The story of “The Tiger King” serves as a cautionary tale that highlights the need for an ecological system based on care and respect for all life. The King’s single-minded destruction of an entire species for his personal pride shows a flawed system where human ego is placed above the well-being of the planet. A new system for the age of ecology would require a shift in perspective—from one of dominance over nature to one of co-existence. It would mean recognizing that the Earth’s resources are finite and that the survival of all species, including humans, depends on maintaining a balanced and healthy ecosystem. This requires empathy, foresight, and policies that prioritize conservation and sustainability over short-term human desires.
Previous Year AHSEC Question Answers (2015-2025)
Short Answer Questions (2 Marks)
1. Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name? (AHSEC 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022)
Answers: The Tiger King is the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. He gets that name because of a prophecy made at his birth that he would be killed by a tiger. To defy this prophecy, he embarked on a mission to kill one hundred tigers, and his obsession with tiger hunting earned him this title.
2. What did the astrologers predict about the Tiger King? (AHSEC 2016, 2018)
Answers: The astrologers predicted that the child would grow up to become the “warrior of warriors, hero of heroes, champion of champions.” However, they also foretold that the child was “born in the hour of the Bull. The Bull and the Tiger are enemies, therefore, death comes from the Tiger.”
3. What did the ten-day-old Tiger King say to the astrologers? (AHSEC 2020)
Answers: The ten-day-old infant miraculously spoke, uttering the words, “O wise prophets!” He then argued that there was no great secret in predicting that everyone who is born will one day die. He demanded to know the manner of his death. When the astrologer revealed it would be a tiger, the infant growled, “Let tigers beware!”
4. How did the Tiger King save his kingdom? (AHSEC 2023)
Answers: The Tiger King saved his kingdom by bribing a high-ranking British officer’s wife. When the King refused the officer permission to hunt a tiger, he stood in danger of losing his kingdom. To placate the officer, the Maharaja sent about fifty expensive diamond rings to the officer’s wife (the ‘duraisani’), expecting her to choose one or two. She kept all of them, costing the King three lakh rupees, but he was happy to have saved his throne.
Long Answer Questions (5-7 Marks)
1. Describe the efforts made by the Tiger King to kill the hundredth tiger. (AHSEC 2016, 2019)
Answers: After killing ninety-nine tigers, the Tiger King’s anxiety reached a “fever pitch.” Tigers had become extinct in his kingdom and his father-in-law’s. When news arrived that sheep were disappearing from a hillside village, the King announced a three-year tax exemption for that village and went there, refusing to leave until the tiger was found. As days passed and the tiger did not appear, his “fury and obstinacy mounted alarmingly,” and he fired many officers. Fearing for his own job, the dewan arranged for an old tiger from the People’s Park in Madras. He dragged the tiger to the forest where the King was hunting. The King took careful aim and fired, and the tiger fell, but it had only fainted. The King, believing he had succeeded, left the scene.
2. How did the Tiger King meet his end? What is ironical about his death? (AHSEC 2017, 2020, 2023)
Answers: The Tiger King met his end not by a real tiger, but by a wooden one. For his son’s third birthday, he bought a wooden toy tiger. The toy was poorly made by an unskilled carpenter, and its surface was rough with “tiny slivers of wood.” While playing with his son, one of these slivers pierced the Maharaja’s right hand. The infection flared up, developed into a suppurating sore that spread all over his arm, and despite three famous surgeons being brought from Madras to operate, the King died. The irony is that the king, who spent his entire life killing ferocious tigers to avoid his prophesied fate, was ultimately killed by a lifeless, inanimate toy tiger. The hundredth tiger finally took its revenge in this unexpected and ironic manner.
Most Important Question Answers
1. What was the ‘great miracle’ that took place when the Tiger King was just an infant?
Answers: The “great miracle” was that the ten-day-old infant, Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur, spoke. When the chief astrologer predicted his death, the infant uttered an “astonishing phrase,” saying, “O wise prophets!” He then intelligently questioned the prophecy, asking to be told the manner of his death, which left everyone “transfixed in stupefaction.”
2. Why did the Tiger King decide to get married?
Answers: The Tiger King decided to get married to complete his mission of killing one hundred tigers. After the tiger population became extinct in his own kingdom, he needed to kill thirty more tigers. He ordered his dewan to “draw up statistics of tiger populations in the different native states.” His plan was to marry a girl from the royal family of a state with a large tiger population, which would give him access to more tigers to hunt.
3. How was the hundredth tiger arranged?
Answers: The hundredth tiger was arranged by the King’s dewan. When the King could not find the final tiger and his rage grew, the dewan, fearing for his life and job, brought an old and weak tiger from the People’s Park in Madras. He and his wife secretly dragged the tiger in their car to the forest where the Maharaja was hunting and pushed it out, ensuring it would wander into the King’s presence.
4. What was the astrologer’s reaction when the King showed him the first tiger he had killed?
When the Maharaja showed the State astrologer the first tiger he had killed and asked for his opinion, the astrologer replied, “Your majesty may kill ninety-nine tigers in exactly the same manner. But…” He then warned the King that he “must be very careful with the hundredth tiger.” He was so certain of his prediction that he promised to tear up his books, set them on fire, and become an insurance agent if he was proven wrong.
