Class XII – NCERT – English
Chapter 2
The Tiger King
Page No: 8 Read and Find Out
1. Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name?
Answer: Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur, the king of Pratibandapuram, is known as the Tiger King.
At the time of his birth the astrologers declared that the prince would have to die one day.
The ten-day-old prince asked the astrologers to reveal the manner of his death. The wise men
were baffled at this miracle. The chief astrologer said that the cause of his death would be a
tiger. The young prince growled and uttered terrifying words: 'Let tigers beware!' He decided
to kill one hundred tigers. He thus got the name 'Tiger King'.
Page No: 10
1. What did the royal infant grow up to be?
Answer: The royal infant grew up to be the king of Pratibandapuram who was obsessed with
the idea of killing one hundred tigers. He wanted to do so to disprove the prophecy which
said that his death would come from the hundredth tiger. This made him kill all the tigers of
Pratibandapuram. He even married for the sake of this ambition. He came to be known as
the Tiger King.
Page No: 13
1. What will the Maharaja do to find the required number of tigers to kill?
Answer: To get the required number of tigers to kill, the Maharaja will ask his dewan to find
a suitable girl for him to marry. A suitable girl for matrimonial alliance should be the one
who would not only come from a royal family but also would belong to a state with a large
tiger population. As Pratibandapuram had no more tigers left, a province that belonged to
his father-in-law would certainly provide him with an opportunity to kill more tigers and
reach his aim of killing one hundred tigers.
Page No: 14
1. How will the Maharaja prepare himself for the hundredth tiger which was supposed
to decide his fate?
Answer: The Maharaja would be extremely careful while dealing with the hundredth tiger
which was supposed to be the reason for his death. On encountering the hundredth one, he
will take a careful aim at the tiger and will shoot it. When it falls in a crumpled heap, he
would be filled with joy and will leave the place hastily.
Page No: 15
1. What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy was indisputably
disproved?
Answer: The astrologer dies before the king of Pratibandapuram gets an opportunity to kill
one hundred tigers. Disproving his prophecy seems to be the sole reason for the king's
existence. Except for killing hundred tigers, everything else takes a back-seat for the king.
The prophecy cannot be indisputably disproved as the king was ultimately killed by a tiger,
though neither by a real one nor by the hundredth one. Looking at the weak, old and almost
lifeless tiger that was the hundredth one, no one would have thought that it would escape the
king’s bullet by fainting at the shock of the bullet whizzing past. It was the “tiny little wooden
tiger” from the toy shop that caused the death of the Tiger King.
Page No: 17 Reading with Insight
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?
Answer: The story "The Tiger King" is a supreme example of dramatic irony.Dramatic irony
refers to a situation where the complete significance of a character's words or actions
is transparent to the audience but is not known to the character.
The character acts in a way grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances or expects the
opposite of what fate holds in store for him. Kalki has used a very dexterous use of dramatic
irony in the story. After killing the first tiger the King flaunts its dead body before the
astrologer to show that he is more powerful than the tiger. However, the astrologer warns
the king that he should be "careful with the hundredth tiger". The king chooses to prove the
astrologer wrong once again and makes frantic efforts to kill hundred tigers. Thus, having
shot at the old tiger, the Tiger king believes he has killed the hundredth tiger. But the reader
as well as the king's officers and minions soon come to know that the emaciated tiger does
not get killed but only has fainted. The king gets happy of killing the tiger but in actual
ignorance of this ironical fate the prediction proves to be right and mere sliver on wooden
tiger's body causes his dramatic death. Quite ironically the hundredth tiger kills the king
instead and astrologer's predictions stand vindicated.
2. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the
willfulness of human beings?
Answer: Through this satirical story the author has rightly portrayed how human beings
have subjected innocent animals to untold torture and death, merely to fulfill their own
whims and fancies. The maharaja’s indiscriminate killing of tigers led to their extinction in
some states, but the maharaja was oblivious to the grave consequences his action was
leading to. In order to prove an astrologer wrong the maharaja went on a killing spree
proving his dominance over the hapless animals.He wished to show his superiority as a
human being and exercised his power to kill hundred unlucky tigers.
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?
Answer: Maharaja’s minions were subservient and sycophantic. Most of them were scared
of Maharaja and tried to keep him in good humour by obeying his orders. They did not dare
to disobey him as his displeasure could mean loss of their jobs or even loss of their lives.
The astrologer was afraid of predicting his death .However Maharaja thad asked him to
speak without any fear. Dewan who should have advised the king not to kill the tigers did not
dare to go against his wishes and aided his marriage to a princess whose father’s kingdom
possessed a large number of tigers. Being afraid of losing his job, he presented an old tiger to
satisfy the whims of his Maharaja. Likewise , the hunters chose not to inform him of the
survival of the 100th tiger and instead killed it themselves fearing that they might lose their
jobs. Even the shopkeeper, who sold the king a cheap wooden toy tiger, quoted a higher price
lest he should be punished under the rules of emergency.
So it is evident that the king’s minions were driven by fear rather than by any feelings of
sincerity towards their ruler.
Today’s political order is no different. We know too well that many of the people in power
are not there because of their ability but because of their influence and power. Moreover,
others pander to them for their own vested interests rather than for the good of the country.
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?
Answer: There have been a few instances of game hunting in the present times. Even the
affluent have been involved in instances that illustrate the callousness of human beings
towards wildlife.
Salman Khan – Black Buck poaching case.
Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi - Antelope case.
Salman Khan is a Bollywood celebrity and is fond of game hunting.He poached
three Chinkaras in two separate incidents.Black Buck is an endangered species.Despite
knowing it Salman killed them.A case was lodged against him but he was acquitted.
Nawab Pataudi,the great cricketer, was also in the news for killing the rare species of
antelopes.
