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Questions
THE TIGER KING
Short Qs 2 marks PYQs
1. What did the Maharaja and Dewan do to avoid the danger of losing the
throne? [CBSE 2023]
OR
How did the Maharaja overcome the difficulty created by a high-ranking British
officer?
[CBSE 2015]
OR
How did the Maharaja please a high ranking British officer?
[CBSE 2014]
Ans. The Maharaja and dewan had sent the British official's wife fifty rings to
avoid the danger of losing the throne. He hoped that she would keep one ring,
but she ended up keeping them all. It was because of this bribe, that the
Maharaja could retain his kingdom.
 PYQs
2. What did the Maharaja do to realise his ambition of
killing hundred tigers?
[CBSE 2023]
Ans. The Maharaja took several actions to fulfill his goal
of killing one hundred tigers. He banned the hunting of
tigers and even faced the danger of losing his kingdom
when he refused to allow a British official to hunt tigers.
He himself stayed in forests to kill tigers. Further, he even
married a princess of a state with a great tiger population
to fulfill his ambition.
 PYQs
3. What message does the story "The Tiger King" give
to the readers? [CBSE 2023]
Ans. The story of "The Tiger King" attempts to convey
the author's message on the fleeting nature of power
and life. The story essentially is a satire on the
conduct of the people in power. It is found that those
in power such as the tiger king have no interest in or
concern for the wellbeing of the people. Instead, they
spend their time on silly activities.
 PYQs
4. How did the 'duraisani' behave on
receiving the gifts? [CBSE 2023]
Ans. When the 'duraisani' received the
gifts of 50 rings from the Maharaja of
Pratibandapuram, she behaved like a
greedy woman who kept all of them
which was not expected by anyone.
 PYQs
5. What was the hidden agenda behind the Tiger
King's marriage with the princess in the neighbouring
state? [CBSE 2023]
Ans. The Tiger King's marriage to the princess from
the neighbouring state had a hidden purpose. He
wanted to kill 100 tigers, and one way to make sure
he had control over enough tigers to accomplish his
goal, he had to marry a princess from a state with a
large tiger population.
 PYQs
6. Comment on any one aspect of the writing style of the
author, Kalki in "The Tiger King".
[CBSE SQP 2022]
Ans. The author of the story "The Tiger King", Kalki, is
extremely good at her work. The way she has narrated
the story of the tiger king with elements such as
exaggeration, humour, conversation, irony, etc., is
commendable. She has set up a satire on the powerful
people and described their might humorously.
 PYQs
7. How did the dewan save himself when the Maharaja's
anxiety reached a fever pitch?
[Delhi Gov. Term 2 SQP 2022]
Ans. When the Maharaja's anxiety reached a fever pitch on his
hunt for the hundredth tiger, the dewansaheb took matters
into his own hands. He remembered that there was a tiger
hidden in his house which was brought from the People's Park
in Madras. It was very old and weak, and the dewan brought it
to the forest where the Maharaja had set up his hunt. This is
how he saved himself.
 PYQs
8. Did the prophecy of the astrologer come true at
the end of the story? How? [CBSE SQP 2019]
Ans. When the Maharaja boasted about killing the
first tiger, the astrologer said that although the
Maharaja might kill ninety-nine tigers, he should
exercise extreme caution when it came to the
hundredth tiger. Yes, the astrologer's prophecy came
into effect when the Maharaja was ultimately killed
by the hundredth tiger.
 PYQs
9. What made the chief astrologer place his finger on his
nose? [CBSE 2019]
OR
What gave the astrologers the greatest surprise of their
life while they were studying the horoscope of the ten-
day old prince? [CBSE 2014]
Ans. The chief astrologer placed his finger on his nose in
wonder because he was shocked that a baby barely ten
days old opened its lips in speech and not only that, it
also raised intelligent questions.
 PYQs
10. Who actually killed the hundredth tiger in "The Tiger
King"? Why? [CBSE 2019]
OR
Who killed the hundredth tiger? Why? [CBSE 2015]
Ans. After the Maharaja left, the hunters went to take a
closer look at the tiger. The tiger looked back at them
rolling its eyes in bafflement. The men realised that the
tiger was not dead; the bullet had missed it. One of the
hunters took aim from a distance of one foot and shot the
tiger
 PYQs
11. How did the Tiger King kill the hundredth tiger?
[CBSE 2019, 15]
Ans. The dewan found a tiger for the Tiger King to kill.
He shot at the tiger which fell in a crumpled heap.
Everyone thought the tiger was dead, but it wasn't. It
had merely fainted from the shock of a bullet whizzing
by. The king had left by then. The minions decided not to
inform the Maharaja. One of the hunters killed the Tiger
King's 'hundredth' tiger.
 PYQs
12. 'I shall cut my tuft crop my hair short and become
an insurance agent.' Explain the context. [CBSE SQP
2018]
Ans. When the Maharaja asked the astrologer what if
he killed the hundredth tiger? The astrologer replied
by saying that then he will tear up all his books on
astrology, set fire to them, and he shall cut off his
tuft, crop his hair short and become an insurance
agent.
 PYQs
13. What considerations influenced the Tiger King to get married? [CBSE
2018, 17, 15, 14]
OR
Why did the Maharaja decide to get married? [CBSE 2017]
Ans. The Tiger king was on a mission to hunt hundred tigers, to prove
the chief astrologer predictions wrong that he would be killed by the
100th tiger. In 15 years, he was able the kill 70 tigers but the
population of tiger started to lessen. He was becoming restless and
annoyed by not being able the find anymore tigers. So he decided to
marry a princess from a kingdom which would have a large population
of tigers so that he would hunt them whenever he visited his in-laws.
 PYQs
14. When did the Maharaja decide to double the land tax
for a village? [CBSE 2017]
OR
Why did the Maharaja order the Dewan to double the
land tax? [CBSE 2014]
Ans. The tiger was not easily found. It seemed as if it had
hid itself in order to flout the Maharaja's will. One day
when his rage was at its height, the Maharaja called the
dewan and ordered him to double the land tax forthwith.
 PYQs
15. Why was the Maharaja once in danger of losing his kingdom?
[CBSE 2017]
OR
When was the Tiger King in danger of losing his throne? [CBSE 2015]
OR
Why do you think was the Maharaja in danger of losing his throne?
[CBSE 2015]
Ans. The Maharaja was in danger of losing his throne as when one
day, a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram with an
intention of being photographed with the tigers he had shot, the
Maharaja refused permission.
 PYQs
16. Why did the Maharaja have to pay a bill of three
lakh rupees for the jewellery? [CBSE 2017]
OR
How did the Maharaja deal with a high ranking British
officer who wanted to shoot a tiger? [CBSE 2017]
Ans. When the Maharaja refused a British officer to
conduct a tiger hunt, he risked losing his kingdom. So,
he sent fifty diamond rings to his wife costing three
lakh rupees to select one. But she kept them all.
 PYQs
17. When he was only ten days old, a prediction was
made about the future of the Tiger King.
What was ironic about it? [CBSE 2016]
Ans. The prediction that was made when the crown
prince Jung Jung Bahadur was ten days old was that he
would die one day. The irony was that this was not a
prediction as everyone who was born had to die. This is
what the infant Tiger King said when he heard the
prediction.
 PYQs
18. How did the ten-day old baby (the future Tiger King)
react to the prediction about his future made by the
astrologers? [CBSE 2016]
Ans. When the astrologers predicted that one day the
future Tiger King would die, the little prince said that
those who are born will one day have to die. They don't
need his predictions to know that. There would be some
sense in it if he could tell him the manner of that death.
 PYQs
19. What did the British officer's secretary tell the Maharaja?
Why did the Maharaja refuse permission? [CBSE 2016]
Ans. The British officer's secretary sent word to the Maharaja
through the dewan that the durai himself did not have to kill
the tiger. The Maharaja could do the actual killing. What
actually mattered to the durai was a photograph of himself
holding the gun and standing over the tiger's carcass. The
Maharaja did not agree to his request because he felt doing
so would mean other officers may come with similar
demands.
 PYQs

20. What kind of life was enjoyed by crown

prince Jung Bahadur till he reached the age
of twenty? [CBSE 2016]
Ans. The boy drank the milk of an English
cow, was brought up by an English nanny,
tutored in English by an Englishman, and saw
nothing but English films.
 PYQs
21. The manner of his (Tiger King's) death is a matter of
extraordinary interest. Comment. [CBSE 2015]
OR
How did the Tiger king become the victim of the hundredth
tiger? [CBSE 2014]
Ans. One of the slivers pierced the Maharaja's right hand. The
next day, infection flared in the Maharaja's right hand. In four
days, it developed into a suppurating sore which spread all
over the arm. The Maharaja was operated on but he died. The
ironic or interesting fact is that the Tiger King had killed
hundred tigers but was killed by a wooden tiger.
 PYQs
22. How did the Tiger king manage to retain his
kingdom? [CBSE 2015]
Ans. The Maharaja sent the British officer's wife
fifty diamond rings because he didn't want to
enrage him and risk losing his kingdom. The
woman thanked him with a note and kept all the
rings. The king was able to save his throne.
 PYQs
23. Why did the Maharaja ban tiger hunting
in his state? [CBSE 2015, 14]
Ans. The Maharaja banned hunting in his
state. No one except him was allowed to
hunt tigers to ensure that he met the target
of killing a hundred tigers. He wanted to
prove the state astrologer wrong and live a
long life.
Long Qs 2 marks PYQs
1. An anti-climactic ending is one which subverts the expectations of the readers. In the story
"The Tiger King", the ending has the same effect on the readers. Write in 120-150 words the
instances which led to anti- climactic ending for both the Tiger King and the story. [Mod. CBSE
2020]
Ans. When the Tiger King was born, the astrologers made a prediction that he would one day
die at the hands of a tiger. This shaped the entire life of the Tiger King. He grew up and killed
his first tiger, and showed the dead beast to the State astrologer. He said that the king can kill
ninety-nine tigers but he has to be afraid of the hundredth one. To get started on his hundred
tigers, the king banned hunting by anyone but him. He refused a high-ranking British official
permission to shoot a tiger in his kingdom, and bribed him by gifting diamonds from a famous
British jewellery store in Calcutta. After he finished Pratibandapuram's tiger supply in ten
years, he used marriage as a political tool to get access to another state's tiger population. His
own dewan saheb sneaked a tiger into his presence to help him reach his count of hundred.
That backfired since the bullet missed the tiger, and only caused him to faint. But his minions
hushed it up as they were afraid that the king would be angry. This made the prediction of the
astrologer true as the hundredth tiger was not killed.
 PYQs
2. What was the prediction of the astrologers regarding the ultimate fate of the Tiger
King? How did it come to be true? Describe with reference to the story. [CBSE 2020]
Ans. When the son of Tiger King was born, the astrologers predicted that he would
die at the hands of a tiger. When he grew up, he killed one tiger and asked his state
astrologer about this prediction. The state astrologer clarified that it was not the
question of one tiger. Even if he killed ninety-nine tigers, there would be the
'hundredth' one which he had to be careful about. This sent the Tiger King on a tiger
killing spree. He killed ninety-nine tigers. However, the hundredth tiger eluded him.
His dewan arranged an old tiger so that the Tiger King would kill it and be done. That
tiger only fainted. It did not add to his tally. Later, the Tiger King bought his son a
wooden toy tiger. While playing with the new toy, a wooden splinter pierced the king's
hand from which an infection spread to his body, and he eventually died. The
hundredth tiger did, in fact, kill him. It was just not a real tiger like the Tiger King had
expected.
 PYQs
3. Why did the Tiger King decide to kill a hundred tigers? Describe the
efforts he made to attain his target. [CBSE 2020]
Ans. The Tiger King decided to kill a hundred tigers because there was a
prophecy according to which he would be killed by the hundredth tiger. He
had put in a lot of time and effort to achieve his goal of killing one
hundred tigers. He spent several days in the forest. When the tiger
population in his own kingdom went extinct, the Tiger King married a girl
from another kingdom which had a large tiger population. In addition, the
Tiger King banned tiger hunting in his state and denied permission to a
British official to hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. He afterwards realised
that his monarchy was in danger and had to pay three lakh rupees to the
British officer's wife. All these efforts were made to fulfil his target of
killing a hundred tigers.
 PYQs
4. Why did no one in Pratibandapuram experience any sorrow and
anguish at the death of the Tiger King? [CBSE 2019]
Ans. The death of the Tiger King caused no grief or suffering in
Pratibandapuram since he was a pompous, vicious, cruel man who
followed his whims and desires. The Maharaja lacked any sense of reason
or logic. It was the fear of authority of the king that makes the minions.
work to the king, otherwise, none of them felt or regretted on his death.
In addition, the tiger king banned tiger hunting in his state and denied
permission to a British official to hunt tiger in Pratibandapuram. He
afterwards realised that his monarchy was in danger and had to pay
three lakh rupees to the British officer's wife. All these efforts were made
to fulfil his target of killing a hundred tigers.
 PYQs
5. The Tiger King wanted to protect himself from a tiger attack. Describe the difficulties
created by him for his officials and subjects. [CBSE 2019]
Ans. On being warned by the chief astrologer to beware of the hundred tiger, the Tiger
king aimed to will one hundred tigers. He ignored all his other duties as king and
terrorised his ministers with his ferocity and single mindedness. He imposed a ban on
tiger hunting in his state and prevented own a British official from hunting a tiger. This
put his kingdom in danger of being seized by the British. To appear the British, he had to
spend the lakh rupees from the royal treasury. He forced his minister to draw up
statistics and find a girl a kingdom with a large tiger population. After killing ninety nine
tigers, he became more restless and impotents. He took out his anger on his ministers.
When he came to know of a tiger in a village of his own state, he exempted them from
all takes for 3 years but when the tiger refused to show itself, he doused the land tax,
Many officials lost there jobs. When the minister warned him about the Indian National
Longness, Then the king disliked him to resign.
 PYQs
6. Giving a bribe is an evil practice. How did the Tiger King bribe the British officer to
save his kingdom? How do you view this act of his? [CBSE 2015]
Ans. Once a high-ranking British officer visited Pratibandapuram. He wished to
hunt tigers in Pratibandapuram. But the Maharaja was firm and resolved. He
refused permission, fearing that it would lead to similar requests from other
officers later on. As the Maharaja did not want to upset the British officer and risk
losing his kingdom, he sent fifty diamond rings to the wife of the officer so that she
could choose the one she liked. However, the lady kept all the rings and sent him a
note of thanks. The Maharaja was happy that though he had lost three lakh of
rupees, he had managed to retain his kingdom.
I personally hold an opinion that being a King, the Maharaja is setting a bad
example for the other people by his act of bribing. I do not support such actions at
any cost and this shows his selfish nature.
 PYQs
7. Even today, so many among us believe in superstitions. An astrologer predicted
about 'The Tiger King that he would be killed by a tiger. He 'killed one hundred
tigers yet was himself 'killed' by a tiger. How did superstitious belief prevail'?
[CBSE 2015]
Ans. The astrologer's prediction came true since the old tiger fainted as the bullet
passed close to him. The Tiger King had not "killed" the hundredth tiger. The tiger
was subsequently killed by a hunter accompanying the king, so that the king
would not find out about his bullet missing the tiger. This made the king believe
that the prediction was nullified. Subsequently, a sliver of wood from the wooden
toy tiger pierced the Maharaja's right hand which developed into a suppurating
sore as it spread all over the arm. This caused his death despite the king being
operated upon.
The wooden tiger was the hundredth tiger, hence, the superstitious belief
prevailed and caused his death.