NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Vistas) Chapter 2: The Tiger King

Complete solutions for Class 12 English Vistas Chapter 2 – “The Tiger King” by Kalki (R. Krishnamurthy): an original summary, theme and message, word meanings, and the full Reading with Insight exercise answered in detail, plus extra short and long answers, MCQs with answer key, Assertion–Reason items, exam tips and FAQs. The textbook question headings are reproduced exactly as in NCERT; all answers are written in CBSE exam-ready style.

Class: 12 Subject: English Book: Vistas Type: Prose (Story) Author: Kalki (R. Krishnamurthy) Session: 2026–27
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About the author

“The Tiger King” is written by Kalki, the pen name of R. Krishnamurthy (1899–1954), one of the most popular and influential Tamil writers of the twentieth century. A freedom fighter who joined the non-cooperation movement, he turned to journalism and fiction, founding the Tamil weekly Kalki. He is best remembered for his sweeping historical novels such as Ponniyin Selvan and Sivagamiyin Sapatham, as well as for short stories rich in humour, irony and social comment. “The Tiger King” showcases his gift for satire – using wit and exaggeration to expose the vanity and abuse of power, while quietly raising a serious question about humanity’s cruelty towards wildlife.

Summary

The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, known as the Tiger King, is the subject of this satirical tale. At his birth, astrologers predict that he is destined to die – and the chief astrologer adds that his death will come from a tiger, since the prince was born in the hour of the Bull, the Tiger’s enemy. Even as a ten-day-old infant the prince reportedly speaks, demanding to know the manner of his death, and on hearing the word ‘tiger’ he growls, “Let tigers beware!”

Growing up educated entirely in the English manner, the king resolves to defy the prophecy by killing a hundred tigers. He kills his first tiger, and the astrologer warns him to be especially careful of the hundredth. The king bans all tiger hunting except his own and pours his whole energy into the slaughter. He even risks his kingdom when he refuses a visiting British officer permission to hunt, smoothing things over only by gifting fifty costly diamond rings to the officer’s wife at a cost of three lakh rupees.

After killing seventy tigers, he runs out of them in his own state, so he marries a princess from a state with a large tiger population and shoots tigers on every visit to his father-in-law. When ninety-nine are dead, the hundredth proves impossible to find. At last a tiger is reported near a village; the dewan secretly procures an old tiger from the People’s Park in Madras and releases it for the king. The Maharaja shoots and believes he has fulfilled his vow, but the bullet misses – the tiger only faints, and the hunters quietly kill it themselves to save their jobs. Ironically, the king finally dies from a tiny splinter on a cheap wooden toy tiger he buys for his son; the infected wound spreads, an operation “succeeds”, and the Maharaja dies – the hundredth tiger taking its revenge.

Theme & message

“The Tiger King” is a biting satire on the conceit, arrogance and irresponsibility of those in power. The Maharaja imagines he can outwit fate by force, yet his pride blinds him to how absurd and cruel his obsession is. The story uses dramatic irony – a wooden toy, not a living tiger, brings about his death – to mock his vanity. Beneath the comedy runs a serious ecological message: the senseless killing of innocent animals for the whims of the rich and powerful is shameful, and the man who slaughtered a hundred tigers is destroyed by a harmless splinter, suggesting that nature and destiny cannot be conquered by tyranny.

Word meanings

Word / PhraseMeaning
indomitablethat cannot be defeated or subdued
foretoldpredicted (something in the future)
transfixedmade motionless with shock or wonder
stupefactiona state of being stunned or amazed
enunciatedpronounced or spoke clearly
imperativeabsolutely necessary
proclamationan official public announcement
confiscatedtaken away as a penalty
durai(Tamil) sir / master (here, the British officer)
duraisani(Tamil) the master’s lady (the officer’s wife)
dewanthe chief minister of a princely state
extinctno longer existing
harakiriritual suicide (used ironically of the tigers)
satyagraha(here, ironic) passive resistance; refusal to move
supplicationhumble request or pleading
suppuratingforming or discharging pus; festering
obstinacystubbornness
relentedgave in; softened a firm stand
brandishingwaving (a weapon) in a threatening way
demisedeath

Reading with Insight

The following are the textbook “Reading with Insight” questions reproduced verbatim from NCERT Vistas; the answers are original.

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?

ANSWERDramatic irony arises when the reader knows something that the characters do not, and the author uses it throughout to mock the Maharaja’s conceit. The king is convinced he has conquered fate by killing a hundred tigers, yet the reader learns that his hundredth ‘kill’ was a fraud – the bullet missed and the half-dead tiger was finished off by his frightened hunters while he marched away in triumph. His pride is therefore built on a lie he never discovers.The greatest irony is the manner of his death. The mighty hunter who slew a hundred tigers with gun and bare hands is destroyed not by a living tiger but by a cheap, badly carved wooden toy tiger bought for his son: a splinter from it infects his hand and kills him. Thus the very prophecy he tried to defeat is fulfilled – the “hundredth tiger” takes its revenge. By letting the reader see how hollow and absurd the king’s victories are, Kalki turns his arrogance and vanity into the target of sharp, comic satire.

2. What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?

ANSWERThrough gentle comedy, Kalki delivers a serious protest against human cruelty to wildlife. Tigers are killed in their hundreds not out of need or self-defence but to satisfy one man’s ego and his fear of a prophecy. A whole species is wiped out in Pratibandapuram – the author ironically wonders whether the tigers “practised birth control or committed harakiri” – exposing how casually powerful people treat the lives of helpless creatures.The author’s sympathy clearly lies with the animals. The old, weak tiger dragged from a zoo to be shot, and the British officer’s craving to be photographed over a dead tiger, show wildlife reduced to a prop for vanity. By making the king’s callous slaughter end in his own ridiculous death, Kalki implies that such wilful cruelty towards innocent animals is both shameful and self-destructive, and quietly pleads for respect and protection for wildlife.

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?

ANSWERThe Maharaja’s minions are obedient and flattering, but their loyalty springs from fear, not sincerity. The dewan trembles at the mere sight of the king’s gun and obeys even the most unreasonable orders – doubling the land tax, and finally smuggling a tiger from a Madras zoo and dragging it to the forest at midnight with his aged wife – simply to keep his post. The hunters who discover the bullet missed conspire to kill the tiger themselves and hide the truth, terrified of losing their jobs. Officers are dismissed whenever the king’s temper flares.None of them tells the king the truth; they prefer to humour his vanity and protect themselves. This is exactly what we still see in many political setups today, where subordinates flatter powerful leaders, suppress unwelcome facts and obey blindly to safeguard their positions, allowing the powerful to remain wrapped in self-delusion.

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?

ANSWERYes. Even today the rich and powerful indulge in ‘trophy hunting’ and poaching that mirror the Maharaja’s callousness. Wealthy hunters pay huge sums for licensed safaris to shoot lions, elephants, rhinos and leopards in Africa, posing with the carcasses for photographs – an attitude identical to the British officer who wanted a snapshot over a dead tiger.In India, despite strict laws, big cats and other protected animals are poached for skins, bones and body parts, and influential people have been prosecuted for hunting endangered species such as the blackbuck. Tigers, rhinos and elephants are still killed for sport or profit, pushing many species towards extinction. These instances prove that human greed and vanity continue to treat wildlife as mere objects of pleasure, exactly as Kalki warned.

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.

ANSWERThe story makes it clear that the old mindset – in which nature exists only to serve human pride and pleasure – is both cruel and self-destructive. The age of ecology demands a new system built on the principle that human welfare cannot be separated from the welfare of the Earth and all its creatures. Forests, rivers, animals and people form one interconnected web; harming one part ultimately harms us all.Such a system means replacing exploitation with stewardship: protecting endangered species, preserving forests and habitats, banning needless hunting, controlling pollution and adopting sustainable development. It also means educating people to value every form of life and to live in harmony with nature rather than dominating it. Just as the Maharaja’s reckless slaughter rebounded upon him, our own survival depends on caring for the Earth. A future that cares for all people and for all life upon the planet is not a luxury but a necessity.

Extra questions

Short answer (30–40 words)

1. Why was the Maharaja called the Tiger King?

ANSWERAt his birth astrologers predicted his death would come from a tiger. To defy this prophecy he vowed to kill a hundred tigers, devoting his life to hunting them. Because of this obsession, the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram came to be known as the Tiger King.

2. What did the chief astrologer predict, and how did the infant prince react?

ANSWERThe chief astrologer foretold that the prince, born in the hour of the Bull, would die because of a tiger, the Bull’s enemy. Astonishingly, the ten-day-old infant spoke clearly and, on hearing this, growled the defiant words, “Let tigers beware!”

3. How did the Maharaja manage to retain his kingdom after refusing the British officer?

ANSWERWhen the king refused a British officer permission to hunt tigers, he risked losing his state. He ordered fifty costly diamond rings from Calcutta and sent them to the officer’s wife, who kept them all. The three-lakh-rupee gift pleased the British and saved his kingdom.

4. How did the Maharaja kill his ninety-ninth and almost his hundredth tiger?

ANSWERAfter tigers grew extinct in his state, he married a princess from a tiger-rich kingdom and shot five or six tigers on every visit to his father-in-law, reaching ninety-nine. For the hundredth, an old tiger from a Madras zoo was released; the king shot but missed, and his hunters secretly killed it.

5. How did the Tiger King actually die?

ANSWERA tiny sliver of wood from a cheap toy tiger he bought for his son pierced his right hand. The wound became infected and turned into a festering sore. Three surgeons operated, declaring it a success, but the Maharaja died – the hundredth tiger’s revenge.

Long answer (100–120 words)

6. “The Tiger King is a satire on the vanity and irresponsibility of those in power.” Discuss with reference to the story.

ANSWERKalki turns the Maharaja into a figure of ridicule to attack the arrogance of rulers. The Tiger King imagines he can defeat destiny by force, banning all hunting but his own and slaughtering a hundred tigers to feed his ego. He misuses his power recklessly – confiscating property for stoning a tiger, doubling taxes in a fit of rage, dismissing officers at whim, and spending three lakh rupees to flatter a British officer’s wife. His subjects obey out of fear, never daring to tell him the truth, so he never learns that his hundredth tiger was killed by his hunters. Finally a worthless wooden toy ends his life. Through this absurd downfall, the author satirises the vanity, cruelty and irresponsibility of the powerful.

7. Discuss the role of dramatic irony in highlighting the central message of “The Tiger King.”

ANSWERDramatic irony is the backbone of the story’s message. The reader constantly knows more than the proud Maharaja. He celebrates a hundredth kill that never happened, unaware his bullet missed and his hunters finished the job. He spends his life dreading living tigers, only to be killed by a lifeless wooden one. The very prophecy he tried to crush is fulfilled in the most humiliating way. This gap between the king’s belief in his own triumph and the truth the reader sees exposes the emptiness of his power and vanity. By using irony rather than open preaching, Kalki makes his satire sharper and his ecological and moral message – that arrogance and cruelty bring their own downfall – far more effective.

MCQs

1. Who is the author of “The Tiger King”?

(a) R. K. Narayan   (b) Kalki (R. Krishnamurthy)   (c) Mulk Raj Anand   (d) Ruskin Bond

2. The Maharaja was the ruler of:

(a) Pratibandapuram   (b) Malgudi   (c) Mysore   (d) Travancore

3. According to the chief astrologer, the king’s death would come from:

(a) a snake   (b) the Bull   (c) the hundredth tiger   (d) a British officer

4. The prince was born in the hour of the:

(a) Tiger   (b) Bull   (c) Lion   (d) Scorpion

5. To retain his kingdom, the Maharaja sent the British officer’s wife:

(a) gold coins   (b) fifty diamond rings   (c) a tiger skin   (d) an elephant

6. The total bill for the rings the duraisani kept came to:

(a) one lakh   (b) two lakh   (c) three lakh rupees   (d) five lakh rupees

7. How did the Maharaja get tigers after they became extinct in his state?

(a) imported them   (b) bred them   (c) hunted in his father-in-law’s kingdom   (d) gave up hunting

8. The hundredth tiger that the king ‘shot’ was actually:

(a) killed by the king   (b) only fainted and later killed by hunters   (c) a wooden toy   (d) never found

9. What gift did the Maharaja buy for his son’s third birthday?

(a) a real tiger cub   (b) a wooden toy tiger   (c) a gun   (d) a diamond ring

10. The Maharaja finally died because of:

(a) a tiger attack   (b) a hunting accident   (c) an infected wound from a wooden toy splinter   (d) old age

Answer key: 1-(b)   2-(a)   3-(c)   4-(b)   5-(b)   6-(c)   7-(c)   8-(b)   9-(b)   10-(c)

Assertion–Reason

Choose: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A; (b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A; (c) A is true but R is false; (d) A is false but R is true.

1. Assertion (A): The Maharaja vowed to kill a hundred tigers.

Reason (R): Astrologers had predicted that his death would be caused by a tiger.

2. Assertion (A): The Maharaja sent fifty diamond rings to the British officer’s wife.

Reason (R): He wished to please the British and avoid losing his kingdom.

3. Assertion (A): The king actually killed the hundredth tiger with his own gun.

Reason (R): His bullet missed and the hunters secretly shot the fainted tiger.

4. Assertion (A): The dewan obeyed the Maharaja’s unreasonable orders.

Reason (R): The dewan sincerely admired the Maharaja’s wisdom and courage.

5. Assertion (A): The story is an example of dramatic irony.

Reason (R): The mighty tiger-hunter is killed by a harmless wooden toy tiger.

Answer key: 1-(a) Both true, R explains A   |   2-(a) Both true, R explains A   |   3-(d) A is false (he missed), R is true   |   4-(c) A is true, R is false (he obeyed out of fear, not admiration)   |   5-(a) Both true, R explains A

Exam tips

Score full marks on “The Tiger King”

Always link the story to the keywords satire, dramatic irony and the ecological / wildlife-conservation message – examiners reward these terms. Remember the exact chain of events (prophecy → hundred-tiger vow → missed hundredth tiger → death by wooden toy splinter) and a few precise facts (born in the hour of the Bull; three lakh rupees for the rings; tiger brought from the People’s Park in Madras). For long answers, give a brief introduction, two or three well-developed points with examples from the text, and a short conclusion. Avoid retelling the whole plot; instead analyse the author’s purpose and tone.

FAQs

Why is “The Tiger King” called a satire?

It uses humour, irony and exaggeration to ridicule the vanity, arrogance and irresponsibility of those in power, while also criticising human cruelty towards wildlife.

How did the Tiger King finally die?

A splinter from a cheap wooden toy tiger he bought for his son pierced his hand. The wound became infected, and despite an operation the Maharaja died – the ‘hundredth tiger’ taking its revenge.

What is the central message of the story?

That arrogance and the wilful, cruel killing of innocent animals are both shameful and self-destructive, and that no one can truly conquer nature or destiny by force.

The “Reading with Insight” questions are taken verbatim from the NCERT Vistas textbook; the summary and all answers are written originally by ClearStudy.

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