The Tiger King
by Kalki
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A political satire on the conceit and irresponsibility of those in power, told with dramatic irony. At his birth, astrologers predict that the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, the 'Tiger King', will one day die, and the danger will come from a tiger. The infant miraculously speaks, challenging the astrologers, who reveal that the hundredth tiger will be the cause of his death. Determined to defy fate, the King vows to kill a hundred tigers and bans everyone else from tiger-hunting. He kills tigers recklessly, even marrying into a royal family with a large tiger population to increase his tally, and survives many dangers. When tigers become extinct in his state, he struggles to find the hundredth. He finally believes he has killed it, but the hunters discover the tiger had only fainted and secretly shoot it themselves. Ironically, the King is killed not by a tiger but by a cheap wooden toy tiger he buys for his son's birthday: a sliver of wood pierces his hand, the wound turns septic, and he dies during an operation. Thus the 'hundredth tiger' takes its revenge.
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The story satirises the vanity, willfulness and cruelty of those in power, and their futile attempts to defy destiny, using dramatic irony and a mock-heroic tone.
The prophecy
At the birth of the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, astrologers foretell that he will die, and that death will come from a tiger, since he was born in the hour of the Bull. The ten-day-old infant miraculously speaks, and the chief astrologer explains that the hundredth tiger in particular will cause his death. The prince growls, 'Let tigers beware!'
The vow and the tiger hunt
Grown up, the King vows to kill a hundred tigers to defy the prophecy and bans everyone else from hunting them. He kills tigers recklessly, sometimes fighting them with bare hands, and even risks his kingdom by refusing a British officer permission to hunt, appeasing him instead with fifty expensive diamond rings.
The hunt for the hundredth tiger
When tigers become extinct in Pratibandapuram, the King marries into a royal family with many tigers to raise his tally, reaching ninety-nine. The last tiger proves impossible to find. Finally one appears in a hillside village; the King shoots at it and believes he has killed it, but the hunters discover the tiger had only fainted and secretly shoot it dead to save their jobs.
The ironic death
Believing his vow fulfilled, the King relaxes. For his son's third birthday he buys a cheap, roughly carved wooden tiger. A tiny sliver of wood from it pierces his hand; the wound festers, spreads up his arm, and despite an operation by three surgeons, the Maharaja dies. Thus the 'hundredth tiger', the wooden toy, takes its final revenge, and the prophecy comes true.