Vikram

* With Gauri
* Alt

**Emperor Vikramaditya**—more commonly known as Vikram—is the Emperor of Bharat-Jain, along with his wife, Gauri. He is one of the main protagonists and narrators of *A Crown of Wishes* written by Roshani Chokshi. He also appears in *The Star-Touched Queen* and *Star-Touched Stories*

## History

### Birth & Early Life

Vikram was born to Keertana and an unknown man in a secluded part of Bharata’s neighbouring kingdom, Ujijain. Growing up, his mother often sang to him with her alluring voice and cradled him in her lap, whenever he used to have nightmares.

### Death of His Mother & Meeting with Pururavas

One day when Vikram was 7, he decided to play a prank on his mother. His mother Keertana and he were near a rockslide in the secluded area of Ujjain. He left one of his sandals near the rockslide and hid behind another rock in the area, with blue flowers in his hand. His plan was to jump out from behind the rock and surprise his mother with the blue flowers and make her laugh. But his plan went dreadfully wrong when Keertana slipped and fell down the rockslide, which ultimately led to her death. Vikram was severely shocked and saddened by this fact. For one whole day, he sat beside the dead body of his mother, trying to shake her awake, with the bunch of wilting blue flowers clutched in his hand. That is, until King Pururavas came alone.

The King, who was riding alone in that area, found Vikram sitting beside his dead mother’s body. The usually tough and strict King, felt such immense pity and sympathy at the sight of the poor little boy sitting beside his dead guardian, that he took Vikram to the royal palace of Ujijain and adopted the boy as his own child.

### His Childhood in the Royal Palace

Growing up, Vikram was a fun-loving, yet determined and intelligent boy. He used to experiment different things, most of which never ended up in the way he expected them to.

Once, when he was 10 years old, he tried to fly by using some silk scarves, which did not give a successful result.

Another time at the age of 15, he tried to sneak into the *harem* by dressing up as a courtesan. He ended up appearing “too convincing” to one of the guards of the *harem* who passionately spun Vikram around and kissed him. In the end, Vikram had to throw away his disguise and punch the guard.

### The Three Trials by the Council

At one point, the Council of Ujijain decided to give Vikram a trial to test his worth and to see if he really deserved the royal throne of Ujijain. The trial consisted of three different seemingly impossible tasks which he had to submit to the Council.

For the first task, he had to give the dead a new life. For this task, he carved a piece of bark into a knife, proving that even discarded things could be given new life in purpose.

For the second task, he had to hold a flame that never burned. To do this, he released one thousand jars of fireflies and held the small insects in his hand, showing that he could hold a flame that never burned.

For the third task, he was supposed to deliver the strongest weapon in the world. To fulfill this task, he said that he had poisoned the Council, and he had the antidote, but he would only give them the antidote, if they named him the heir of Ujijain. Desperate for the antidote, the Council named him the heir of Ujijain. Vikram then revealed that he had lied and thus proved that belief was the strongest substance in the world.

## The Star-Touched Queen Duology

### *The Star-Touched Queen*

Vikram is first shown in a vision, which Amar shows to Maya, using the silver thread in the tapestry.

In the vision, a 7 year old Vikram is seen walking with his mother Keertana through the forest, kicking at leaves and jumping over rocks, all playful and happy. In the next scene, he is shown picking blue flowers for his mother to surprise her.

In another vision, which is one of the two choices which Maya has to pick to decide his fate, Vikram is standing with the bunch of wilting blue flowers in his hand, crying and calling out to his mother, who had actually slipped on the rockslide and died. When Maya remarks that she dislikes this outcome of his fate, Amar quietens her and tells her what Vikram will eventually do and what he'll eventually and ultimately face in his life if Maya chooses the first option.