Vetala Panchavimshati (, IAST: ) or Betaal Pachisi ("Twenty-five (tales) of Betaal"), is a collection of tales and legends within a frame story, from India. Internationally, it is also known as Vikram-Betaal. It was originally written in Sanskrit. One of its oldest recensions is found in the 12th Book of the Kathasaritsagara ("Ocean of the Streams of Story"), a work in Sanskrit compiled in the 11th century by Somadeva, but based on yet older materials, now lost. This recension comprises in fact twenty-four tales, the frame narrative itself being the twenty-fifth. The two other major recensions in Sanskrit are those by Śivadāsa and Jambhaladatta. The Vetala stories are popular in India and have been translated into many Indian vernaculars. Several English translations exist, based on Sanskrit recensions and on Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi versions. Probably the best-known English version is that of Sir Richard Francis Burton which is, however, not a translation but a very free adaptation. Plot The legendary king Vikramāditya (Vikrama) promises a vamachari (a tantric sorcerer) that he will capture a vetala (or Baital or Betal), a celestial spirit Pishacha, celestial spirit or a Bhairava, who hangs upside-down from a tree and inhabits and animates dead bodies. King Vikrama faces many difficulties in bringing the vetala to the tantric. Each time Vikram tries to capture the vetala, it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If Vikrama cannot answer the question correctly, the vampire consents to remain in captivity. If the king knows the answer but still keeps quiet, then his head shall burst into thousand pieces. And if King Vikrama answers the question correctly, the vampire would escape and return to his tree. He knows the answer to every question; therefore the cycle of catching and releasing the vampire continues twenty-four times. On the twenty-fifth attempt, the Vetala tells the story of a father and a son in the aftermath of a devastating war. They find the queen and the princess alive in the chaos, and decide to take them home. In due time, the son marries the queen and the father marries the princess. Eventually, the son and the queen have a son, and the father and the princess have a daughter. The vetala asks what the relation between the two newborn children is. The question stumps Vikrama. Satisfied, the vetala allows himself to be taken to the tantric. On their way to