# Vikram Aur Betaal (विक्रम और बेताल)
**Vikram Aur Betaal** (विक्रम और बेताल) is an Indian mythological-fantasy television series created by [Ramanand Sagar](https://www.edgepedia.org/ramanand-sagar), broadcast on [DD National](https://www.edgepedia.org/dd-national) ([Doordarshan](https://www.edgepedia.org/doordarshan)) in 1985 and 1986, based on the Sanskrit tale collection *Baital Pachisi* about King Vikramaditya and the spirit Betaal.[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0390792/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original run | 13 October 1985 to 6 April 1986, Sundays at 4:30 pm on DD National[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) |
| Episodes | 26 episodes built around 13 riddles posed by Betaal[3](https://ndtv.in/bollywood/doordarshan-36-year-old-serial-vikram-betaal-turned-arun-govil-superstar-before-ramayan-26-episodes-26-questions-still-evergreen-12059227/amp/1) |
| Source text | *Baital Pachisi*, associated with the 11th-century Kashmiri poet Somadeva Bhatt[4](https://dailyinsights.in/vikram-aur-betal-the-mythological-serial-of-doordarshan-which-tested-the-intelligence-of-the-audience-at-the-end-of-every-story/) |
| Lead cast | Arun Govil as King Vikramaditya; Sajjan as Betaal[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) |
| Creator | Ramanand Sagar; produced under Sagar Arts[2](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0390792/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt1517053/) |
| IMDb rating | 8.3/10 from about 1,200 users[2](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0390792/) |
| Rerun | Rebroadcast in 1988, after the success of Sagar's *Ramayan*[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) |
## Premise and format
The serial follows King Vikramaditya, who is set a task by a sage: to capture a corpse hanging from a tree in a forest and carry it in silence on his shoulder. The corpse is occupied by Betaal, a vetala (a spirit of Indian folklore), who agrees to ride on the king's shoulder but tells him a story on the way.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKFdSCCJhL0) • [7](https://www.jagran.com/entertainment/tv-vikram-aur-betaal-doordarshan-hit-show-popular-like-ramayana-mahabharat-with-imdb-8-40109820.html)
Each episode follows the same structure. At the end of the story Betaal poses a riddle, often a question of ethics or judgment, and tells the king that if he knows the answer he must speak, or his head will be shattered into a thousand pieces. When Vikram answers, Betaal escapes and flies back to the tree, and the king must begin the journey again.[7](https://www.jagran.com/entertainment/tv-vikram-aur-betaal-doordarshan-hit-show-popular-like-ramayana-mahabharat-with-imdb-8-40109820.html) • [8](https://www.tv9hindi.com/entertainment/television/arun-govil-deepika-chikhalia-worked-together-in-vikram-aur-betaal-before-ramayan-3806768.html) The 26 episodes were built around 13 such questions.[3](https://ndtv.in/bollywood/doordarshan-36-year-old-serial-vikram-betaal-turned-arun-govil-superstar-before-ramayan-26-episodes-26-questions-still-evergreen-12059227/amp/1) The frame gave the serial its identity as a weekly puzzle for viewers as much as a fantasy adventure.[4](https://dailyinsights.in/vikram-aur-betal-the-mythological-serial-of-doordarshan-which-tested-the-intelligence-of-the-audience-at-the-end-of-every-story/)
## Literary source
The television stories were drawn from [Baital Pachisi](https://www.edgepedia.org/baital-pachisi) (literally "twenty-five tales of the vetala"), a collection in which the spirit Betaal narrates stories to King Vikramaditya. Tradition connects the written version of these tales to Somadeva Bhatt, an 11th-century Kashmiri poet, whose Sanskrit compendium *Kathasaritsagara* contains them.[4](https://dailyinsights.in/vikram-aur-betal-the-mythological-serial-of-doordarshan-which-tested-the-intelligence-of-the-audience-at-the-end-of-every-story/) • [9](https://www.sushmajee.com/folktales/FT-Library/FT-History/His-3-Books-12-136.pdf) The Vikram-Betaal cycle also appears in other Sanskrit works such as the *Simhasana Dvatrimsika* (known in folk usage as *[Singhasan Battisi](https://www.edgepedia.org/singhasan-battisi)*), and the tales exist in multiple Sanskrit recensions and in adaptations in languages including Gujarati and Marathi.[10](https://www.mvspujjain.com/exhibition-view/bhartiya-rishi-vaigyanik/230/)
## Cast and production
[Arun Govil](https://www.edgepedia.org/arun-govil) played King Vikramaditya and Sajjan played Betaal; both actors would later become household names through Ramanand Sagar's *[Ramayan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ramayan-1987-tv-series)* (Govil as Rama, with Deepika Chikhalia as Sita).[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) • [8](https://www.tv9hindi.com/entertainment/television/arun-govil-deepika-chikhalia-worked-together-in-vikram-aur-betaal-before-ramayan-3806768.html) The supporting cast included [Arvind Trivedi](https://www.edgepedia.org/arvind-trivedi), Deepika Chikhalia, Vijay Arora, Ramesh Bhatkar, Sunil Lahri, Lilliput, Rama Vij, and Satish Kaul.[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) Episode credits list Prem Sagar as director and the production company as Sagar Arts.[5](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt1517053/)
Unlike Sagar's religious epics, which were based on scripture, *Vikram Aur Betaal* drew on folklore and mystery, which made it stand apart from his other projects of the period.[11](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-ramanand-sagar-tv-show-terrified-and-thrilled-children-rating-8-3-11471425) Contemporary accounts describe it as a low-budget production made with limited technical facilities, yet one whose atmosphere was strong enough that some viewers found Betaal frightening.[11](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-ramanand-sagar-tv-show-terrified-and-thrilled-children-rating-8-3-11471425) • [4](https://dailyinsights.in/vikram-aur-betal-the-mythological-serial-of-doordarshan-which-tested-the-intelligence-of-the-audience-at-the-end-of-every-story/)
## Reception and later broadcasts
The serial aired on Sunday afternoons at 4:30 pm, and accounts of the period describe streets emptying as it began, with children and adults watching together despite Betaal's eerie laugh.[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) It was rebroadcast on Doordarshan in 1988, after *Ramayan* had made its leads national stars.[1](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1) On IMDb the series holds a rating of 8.3/10 from roughly 1,200 users.[2](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0390792/)
**Legacy.** The Vikram-Betaal frame has been remade repeatedly for Indian television; *Vikram Betaal Ki Rahasya Gatha*, which began airing in 2018 on &TV, retells the same king-and-spirit premise.[12](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt9110176/) The storytelling structure also echoes in cinema: the 2022 Hindi film *Vikram Vedha* centers on a gangster who tells stories to a police officer and ends each with the question "what would you do?", a device the film's reviews explicitly trace to the Vikram Aur Betaal tales.[13](https://www.jagran.com/entertainment/reviews-vikram-vedha-review-hrithik-roshan-saif-ali-khan-radhika-apte-starrer-vikram-vedha-review-23109348.html)
## References
1. [साल 1985, दिन रविवार, समय शाम साढ़े चार बजे... NDTV](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-39-year-old-doordarshan-serial-makes-streets-empty-and-silence-everywhere-5235435/amp/1)
2. [विक्रम और बेताल (टीवी सीरीज़ 1985–1986), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt0390792/)
3. [दूरदर्शन का वो सीरियल जिसने रामायण से पहले अरुण गोविल को बना दिया था सुपरस्टार, NDTV](https://ndtv.in/bollywood/doordarshan-36-year-old-serial-vikram-betaal-turned-arun-govil-superstar-before-ramayan-26-episodes-26-questions-still-evergreen-12059227/amp/1)
4. [विक्रम और बेताल: दूरदर्शन का यादगार पौराणिक शो, Daily Insights](https://dailyinsights.in/vikram-aur-betal-the-mythological-serial-of-doordarshan-which-tested-the-intelligence-of-the-audience-at-the-end-of-every-story/)
5. ["The Story of Padmavati and Prince Vajramukti" (episode), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt1517053/)
6. [रामानंद सागर कृत विक्रम और बेताल भाग 1, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKFdSCCJhL0)
7. [26 एपिसोड, 8.3 रेटिंग... दूरदर्शन का सुपरहिट शो, Jagran](https://www.jagran.com/entertainment/tv-vikram-aur-betaal-doordarshan-hit-show-popular-like-ramayana-mahabharat-with-imdb-8-40109820.html)
8. ['रामायण' से पहले आया वो सीरियल..., TV9 Hindi](https://www.tv9hindi.com/entertainment/television/arun-govil-deepika-chikhalia-worked-together-in-vikram-aur-betaal-before-ramayan-3806768.html)
9. [पुस्तकों का आरम्भ: विक्रम बेताल की कथाएँ, Sushmajee](https://www.sushmajee.com/folktales/FT-Library/FT-History/His-3-Books-12-136.pdf)
10. [बेतालभट्ट - महाराजा विक्रमादित्य शोधपीठ](https://www.mvspujjain.com/exhibition-view/bhartiya-rishi-vaigyanik/230/)
11. [रामानंद सागर का रामायण से भी पहले आया वो शो..., NDTV India](https://ndtv.in/television/vikram-aur-betaal-ramanand-sagar-tv-show-terrified-and-thrilled-children-rating-8-3-11471425)
12. [विक्रम बेताल की रहस्य गाथा (2018–), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/hi/title/tt9110176/)
13. [Vikram Vedha Review, Jagran](https://www.jagran.com/entertainment/reviews-vikram-vedha-review-hrithik-roshan-saif-ali-khan-radhika-apte-starrer-vikram-vedha-review-23109348.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › South and Southeast Asian serials › Hindi serials and Indian Hindi-language dramas › Mythological serials*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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