Mahesh Das, aka Birbal (1528 - 1583)

We have all heard of Birbal, whose name immediately evokes one more notable person - Akbar.

The bond and trust between these two persons is legendary as is proved beyond doubt in the numerous stories that history has carried forth till today.

Before we take our virtual tour of the famous stories that exhibit the wit of Birbal in reply to the cunning manipulations of various other court attendants, we shall take a moment to step aside and take a look at the actual facts that fail to get as much limelight as the morals of the stories do.

Birbal is not his real name, it happens to be one of the titles given to him - another being Raja. His actual name was Mahesh Das, and was known to have been born to Gangadas amd Anabhadevi in Trivikrampur in 1528, during the reign of the Mughal Emperors. As he lost his father at a very young age, he was sent to his maternal grandfather for education. His grandfather, who was a scholar in Sanskrit, also taught him Hindi and Hindustani (a mix of Hindi and Urdu, which was later popularized by the British as it was a very good common medium for both the Indians as well as themselves.)