Introduction :- 

Bihar, one of the most important states of India, has a rich tradition of folk culture. ‘Panchtantra’, the collection of famous Indian folk tales, has its origin in the telling of morality stories to the princes of ‘Pataliputra’ (Patna – the capital of Bihar). Apart from folk tales, Bihar is rich in numerous ballads and folk songs sung on different occasions either in order to increase the efficiency of human labour or for recreational purposes. Similarly, proverbs and riddles indicate a deep insight into worldly matters.

Folklore, like all other products of man’s artistic endeavour, is an ideological manifestation of human creativity. Folklore includes all myths, legends, folk tales, ballads, riddles, proverbs and superstitions (Dundes 1989). The term folklore was first coined by William J. Thomas in 1846. Like other elements of human culture, folklore is not mere the creation of chance. Folklore exists in time and space, and is are current in people’s linguistic and social contacts, during the passage of years and accompanying historical change .

The folk tale is an important constituent of folklore. Even today the folk tale is one of the principal forms of entertainment and education for a large proportion of the world’s inhabitants. In India, for example, millions of people narrate folk tales for entertainment and aesthetic purposes. Folk tales are orally transmitted from one generation to another; often, especially in recent times, this may also occur in written form. Characterised by improbable background, folk tales usually emphasise a moral at the end of the story.

Folk tales are generally woven around supernatural, mythological, devotional, historical, and social topics (Chettiar 1973). Physical and psychological manifestations, the appeasement of wicked spirits, horror situations, devils and evil spirits, human sacrifice and other strange features are the most common elements of folk tales.

Universality and parallelism in folk tale :-

The paradigmatic foundation of an unreal world on real life surpasses the boundaries of any region. The primary features of most of the folk tales of different regions often coincide. In spite of varieties and local peculiarities, the folk tales of different regions share a common pattern. Stories about the genesis and origin of mankind, animal stories about the supposed cleverness of the jackal, the mischief of the crow and the royal magnanimity of the tiger are recounted throughout the world.

The life of a single sister among her seven brothers, the jealousy of a second wife, the villainy of an ogre, the simplicity of a scholar, the ultimate triumph of goodness and virtue, happiness after all trials, worries and deprivation, are some of the basic common features of folk stories not only in different parts of India but also in different countries of the world.

Motives of Folklore :- 

Several stories centre around the fight between ordinary man and supernatural being, and this story is one of these. Some of the basic values and morals contained in this story are the following:-

• An ordinary man can defeat a great ruler if he is just and intelligent.
• It reflects the people’s belief in three spheres of the world – Heaven, Hell and Earth.
• The main female character possessed the ability to understand animal speech.
• The story shows how animals and birds contribute to the life of a happy couple.
• This story also refers to the established social practice that a girl cannot marry without her father’s consent.
• Marriage alliances between young women of low caste and young men of high caste were not unknown.
• This story also reveals that virtue and merit are not the monopoly of people of high caste.
• The story supports the ingenious and highly imaginary theory about a great cyclopean stone wall at Rajgir which still exists; and through this an attempt is made to render
• The story more realistic and associate it with a particular place.

Vermilion and marriage The story refers to the custom prevalent among the tribes of Chotanagpur, that «Sindur-daan» or applying vermilion on the forehead of a girl means that she is married to the boy who does so. The story tries to preserve tradition.Even today marriages are forced this way in tribal society. This custom is also cleverly exploited by couples who have fallen in love. At the weekly fair a boy suddenly appears before a girl and applies vermilion on her forehead. The girl’s parents are then forced to recognise the marriage.
This story also reveals that fighting for a girl has always been a common practice in Indian society. At the same time the story supports the proverb that one who possesses skills cannot sit idle. The four friends were all endowed with skill, and rather than sitting idle they preferred to work, even at night, and could also enjoy the fruits of their labour.

Conclusion :- 
India has a long and varied history, and its people are of most diverse origin and of different religious traditions. As might be expected, the folklore of India reflects this diversity of history and population. Several old literary collections of tales have been popular among the population for centuries.

Folk tales, like other genres of folklore of any society, reflect emotions, needs, conflicts and other aspects of human psyche that people acquire as a result of growing up in a specific culture. Folk tales are probably the most crystallised and apt expression of human thoughts. The study of folk tales prevalent in a society helps to understand the common universal elements on the one hand and certain characteristic traits specific to that society on the other.