How Raja Rasalu Journeyed to the City of King Sarkap

After ruling Hodinagari for a while, Rasalu gave up his kingdom and set out to play chaupur, a game of dice and counters, with King Sarkap.

On his way a fierce thunderstorm broke, with flashes of lightning, and he looked for shelter. The only place he could find was an old graveyard, where a headless body lay on the ground. It was so lonely there that even a dead body seemed like company, so Rasalu sat down beside it and said, “There is nobody here, near or far, except this cold, breathless corpse. If only God would bring him back to life, I would have someone to talk to.”

At once the headless corpse got up and sat beside Raja Rasalu. Rasalu was not in the least surprised. “The storm is fierce and loud,” he said, “and thick clouds are rising in the west. What troubles your grave and your shroud, corpse, that you cannot rest?”

The headless corpse answered, “When I was alive I was just like you. I wore my turban at a jaunty angle like a king and held my head as high as anyone. I had my fun, fought my enemies bravely and lived life to the full. Now that I am dead, my sins lie on me as heavy as lead, and they will not let me rest in my grave.”

So the long, dark night went by while Rasalu sat in the graveyard talking with the headless corpse. When morning came, Rasalu said he must go on with his journey, and the corpse asked where he was going.

“To play chaupur with King Sarkap,” said Rasalu.

The corpse begged him to give up the idea. “I am King Sarkap’s brother,” he said, “and I know his ways. Every day before breakfast he cuts off the heads of two or three men, just for his own amusement. One day there was nobody else handy, so he cut off mine. He will certainly find some excuse to cut off yours. But if you are set on playing chaupur with him, take some bones from this graveyard and make your dice out of them. Then the magic dice my brother plays with will lose their power. Otherwise he will always win.”

So Rasalu picked up some of the bones lying around and carved them into dice, and he put them in his pocket. Then he said goodbye to the headless corpse and went on his way to play chaupur with the king.

About this tale

This short, eerie chapter comes from Flora Annie Steel’s Tales of the Punjab. According to R. C. Temple’s notes, the name Sarkap literally means “King Beheader,” and he is a figure of fable who has left many places linked to his memory, whose historical identity Temple did not establish.

The ghost’s talk of beheadings is told as plainly as in Steel, without added detail, and the rhyming speeches have been turned into prose. With its headless ghost in a graveyard, this episode is best for older children.

Read the original: Flora Annie Steel, Tales of the Punjab (Project Gutenberg #6145, How Raja Rasâlu Journeyed to the City of King Sarkap)

Reading guidance: Ages 9–12 with adult preview; a headless corpse describes repeated beheadings and offers bones for magical dice. This is a grim transitional episode rather than a complete victory story.

A closer reading

Rasalu first sees the corpse as possible company, not an obstacle or a threat. That willingness to speak turns an eerie shelter into a source of practical knowledge. The dead man’s relationship to Sarkap gives the warning a particular basis: he describes the king’s violence as one of its victims.

His confession also places a mirror before Rasalu. Both men have worn signs of rank and valued a bold life, but the corpse now describes the burden of his actions. The bone dice carry this encounter forward into the next adventure. Their usefulness depends on Rasalu remembering advice when he reaches the game, a condition this short episode leaves unresolved.

Try this with the story

Divide the corpse’s speech into reflection on his own life, warning about Sarkap and practical advice. Explain what each part contributes that the other two do not. Predict what Rasalu will need to remember at the gaming board.

Questions to ask

• Why does Rasalu welcome conversation with the corpse?
• What makes this warning more specific than a rumour?
• How does the corpse’s past resemble Rasalu’s present?
• What remains uncertain at the end of this episode?

Related stories

• How Raja Rasalu Became a Jogi — the adventure before this in the Raja Rasalu story
• How Raja Rasalu Swung the Seventy Fair Maidens, Daughters of the King — what happened when Rasalu reached King Sarkap’s city
• The Ghost-Brahman — another Indian tale with a ghost in it