All courtiers got busy in finding out the three words or less to tell the difference between the truth and the false. But enough time passed and they could not tell.
“What about you, Birbal?”
“His Majesty!” Birbal looked around and replied, “Four fingers”
The King got surprised and asked him, “How, Birbal?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, this is the difference between truth and false. Because what your eyes see is truth, and what your ears hear, more often than not, may be false.”
“That is right, but then why do you say “four fingers”?” Akbar said.
4 finger difference
4 finger difference
Birbal bowed a little and said, “Because Your Majesty, only four fingers is the distance between ear and eyes.”
Akbar was very astonished to hear this reply.
