Wisdom Paves the Way Questions & Answers | Class 8 English | CBSE NCERT

(a) — The cast list names them as Ram Datt, Shiv Datt, Har Datt, and Dev Datt.

(b) — The setting states a road leading to Ujjain, visible in the distance, at midday.

(a) — 'Resolute' means determined; despite being travel-worn, they press on towards the city.

eludes (is difficult for us to obtain).

They appear travel-worn but resolute, their eyes fixed on the city that looms ahead, walking under the high sun while the distant noise of the bustling city faintly reaches them.

It shows that the men are hopeful and determined; although ten days of travel have brought them no work, they keep their goal — the city of Ujjain — firmly in sight.

(b) — Ram Datt says, "Ten days, to be precise."

(b) — Ram Datt wishes to secure an audience with the King, and Shiv Datt and Dev Datt share this belief.

(a) — 'Devise' means to think of; Har Datt says they need to devise a strategy.

united.

He suggests that they first reach the city gates, and deliberate (think carefully) about their strategy once they are closer.

It reveals that Dev Datt is patient and optimistic. He sees their ten-day struggle in the larger perspective of life and is prepared for many more roads before finding suitable employment.

(b) — He says, "A camel has passed this way. The tracks are fresh."

(b) — The tracks carry clues that are not obvious at first glance, which the men later decode.

(a) — 'Scrutinise' means to examine closely; the men scrutinised every detail of the tracks.

peculiar (strange or unusual).

As they continued walking, they occasionally stopped to examine the tracks, scrutinised every detail, exchanged glances, and said very little to one another.

Each man seems to have wanted to work out his own conclusion first, without being influenced by the others. This shows that silent, careful observation often reveals more than hasty discussion. (Any reasonable personal view is acceptable.)

(c) — Shiv Datt sees "a merchant, running as if pursued by trouble."

(b) — Judging by his worried face and hurried manner, Ram Datt inferred the loss; he even guessed correctly that it was the camel.

(a) — 'Countenance' means facial expression; the merchant's face showed his distress.

False — he was panting and distressed, paused to catch his breath, and addressed them anxiously and breathlessly.

His camel has gone astray, and he asks them whether they have, by chance, seen it anywhere.

They greet him warmly with "Good day, brother," despite being tired travellers themselves. This shows that they are courteous and kind-hearted, ready to hear a stranger's problem respectfully.

(b) — Ram Datt first asked, "Is your camel lame in one leg, by any chance?"

(b) — He moves from 'Surprised' to 'Precisely!' to 'Astonished', as the men describe his camel perfectly.

(c) — The merchant confirms it is blind in one eye — the right one.

short.

They confirm that the camel is lame in one leg, blind in the right eye, and has a short tail.

They had inferred these details from the tracks and wanted to check whether their observations were correct. Asking polite questions also revealed the facts naturally, though it later made the merchant suspicious of them.

(b) — Dev Datt asked, "has it not been suffering from a pain in the stomach?"

(b) — Knowing a hidden ailment seemed possible only for a healer, so he offered to pay their fee.

(c) — The merchant says, "The poor creature has been unwell for two weeks now."

False — Ram Datt and Shiv Datt clearly state that they do not know where it is and have not seen it, not even once.

He says he will gladly pay their fee if they can cure the camel of its illness.

He was shocked because the men were describing even the camel's invisible ailment accurately, though they claimed never to have seen it — something that seemed impossible without special knowledge.

(b) — He cries, "You are deceivers! You must have stolen it and sold it off."

(b) — He says they shall be waiting under that banyan tree yonder.

(a) — The merchant is indignant, that is, angry, because he believes the men have stolen his camel.

King.

He does not trust their words and fears they will slip away; so he insists that they shall come with him to face the King.

His suspicion was understandable, since the men's knowledge seemed impossible, but calling them deceivers and thieves without proof was unfair. He should have asked them calmly how they knew so much before accusing them. (Any reasonable personal view is acceptable.)

(b) — The stage direction describes the grand hall adorned with rich draperies, tall columns, and a golden canopy.

(b) — Facing serious accusations before a king, they still bowed respectfully and stayed calm, showing self-belief and inner strength.

(a) — A grievance is a complaint; the merchant had a grievance against four travellers.

confusion.

He says that the four men know every detail of his missing camel yet insist they have never seen it, so they are undoubtedly the thieves who stole and sold it.

To him, the only way anyone could know a camel's hidden lameness, blindness, short tail and illness was by possessing it. Unable to imagine observation and deduction, he jumped to the conclusion that they had stolen it.

(b) — Ram Datt discovered that the camel was lame in one of its legs.

(c) — The faint fourth impression indicated a limp, showing a creature struggling to bear its weight evenly.

(a) — 'Discern' means to notice or perceive; the King asks Shiv Datt what he discerned.

left.

The camel had eaten only the leaves on the left side of the road, leaving the right side untouched and hanging undisturbed, as if unseen. From this, Shiv Datt deduced that it could not see with its right eye.

It shows that the King is fair and appreciative of real merit. Instead of accepting the accusation blindly, he listens to the evidence and praises honest intelligence when he sees it.

(a) — He noticed small droplets of blood along the track, likely from mosquito bites.

(b) — A long tail would have brushed away the mosquitoes; the blood specks showed the animal lacked such defence.

(a) — 'Insight' means deep understanding; the King says Har Datt reasoned with great insight.

False — he deduced it from clues (droplets of blood from mosquito bites), reasoning that a long-tailed camel would have defended itself easily.

He saw small specks of blood from mosquito bites along the track. Since a camel with a long tail would have fended off such pests with ease, the absence of that defence told him the animal's tail must be short.

Observation is noticing the facts with our senses — for example, seeing the specks of blood. Deduction is using reason to explain those facts — concluding that a camel unable to swat mosquitoes must have a short tail. The men used both together.

(a) — Dev Datt observed that the forefeet prints were deep and clear while those of the sound hind foot were faint.

(b) — The faint hind prints indicated discomfort; it moved cautiously, burdened by a pain in its belly, sparing itself further suffering with every step.

(b) — The King says, "Your accusations are baseless and misguided. These are men of wisdom, not thieves."

made to feel sorry or humbled for one's fault.

The King tells him to go, continue the search for his camel, and be mindful of whom he accuses in the future.

He realised he had falsely called honest men deceivers and thieves in front of the King. Being proved wrong publicly made him feel embarrassed and ashamed of his hasty judgement.

(b) — The King says, "I extend to you the honour of becoming my advisers."

(b) — He says their wisdom shall be a beacon — a guiding light — for his kingdom.

(b) — The men had set out only hoping to find work; becoming royal advisers was far beyond their expectations.

Ujjain.

They accept with gratitude and humility — Ram Datt calls it an honour they had not dared to dream of, Shiv Datt says they are humbled and grateful, Har Datt accepts with all their hearts, and Dev Datt promises to dedicate themselves to the King's service.

The four men had travelled for ten days only hoping to find some employment in Ujjain. Instead, a lost camel's tracks — and the wisdom with which they read them — won them the far greater honour of becoming the King's advisers, an outcome they could never have imagined.

The main characters are the young King of Ujjain; the four young men — Ram Datt, Shiv Datt, Har Datt, and Dev Datt; the Merchant who loses his camel; and two Sentries.

They had been travelling for ten days, to be precise, since leaving their village. Ram Datt felt every day seemed longer than the last, though Dev Datt called it 'but a short span in the grand scheme of things'.

Ram Datt hoped the four men could secure an audience with the King of Ujjain. He was confident that the King would recognise their talents and appoint them to his service.

Har Datt knew that gaining an audience with the King was no simple task for ordinary travellers, so he felt they needed a careful plan rather than a direct approach.

Shiv Datt observed the fresh tracks of a camel that had passed that way. The four men studied the tracks as they walked, scrutinising every detail, and each silently discovered something unique about the animal.

From the tracks on the road, he observed that only three feet left distinct impressions while the fourth was faint, indicating a limp — the mark of a creature struggling to bear its weight evenly.

The camel had nibbled only the foliage on the left of the road, leaving the leaves on the right undisturbed, as if unseen. From this, Shiv Datt deduced that it could not see with its right eye.

Har Datt noticed small droplets of blood along the track, likely from mosquito bites. A camel with a long tail would have fended off such pests with ease, so the animal clearly lacked that defence.

Dev Datt noticed that the forefeet prints were deep and clear while those of the sound hind foot were faint. This told him the camel was drawing up its hind legs in discomfort, burdened by a pain in its belly.

When Dev Datt asked whether his camel had been suffering a pain in the stomach, the merchant was taken aback, for the creature had been unwell for two weeks. He assumed only a healer could know this without seeing the animal.

The men described his camel perfectly — lame, blind in the right eye, short-tailed and unwell — yet claimed they had never seen it. Unable to explain this, the merchant concluded they were deceivers who had stolen and sold the camel.

Dev Datt offered that if the King desired their presence, they would wait under the banyan tree yonder. The merchant rejected it because he did not trust their words and feared they would slip away.

The King commands the merchant to speak his accusation clearly, saying, "I shall not tolerate any confusion in my court." He wants to judge the matter with complete clarity.

The merchant accused the four men of stealing his camel. His argument was that they knew every detail of the missing animal, yet insisted they had never seen it — which, to him, proved they were the thieves.

They bowed respectfully and maintained perfect calm despite the serious accusations against them, showing quiet confidence in their own innocence.

After hearing each man's reasoning, the King saw that their knowledge came from sharp observation and flawless deduction, not from stealing the camel. The men were, in his words, 'men of wisdom, not thieves'.

He asked the merchant to go, continue his search for his camel, and be mindful of whom he accuses in the future.

Impressed by their remarkable intelligence and their ability to see beyond the obvious, the King extended to them the honour of becoming his advisers, whose counsel would guide his decisions.

They were humble and grateful. Ram Datt called it an honour they had not dared to dream of, Shiv Datt said they were humbled and grateful, Har Datt accepted it with all their hearts, and Dev Datt promised to dedicate themselves to the King's service.

'Scrutinise' — The detective scrutinised the footprints for clues. 'Deduce' — From the dark clouds, I deduced that it would rain soon. (Other correct choices: observe, discern, insight, deliberate.)

The observations transform the men's fortunes completely. What began as a simple walk behind fresh camel tracks becomes the proof of their wisdom: each man deduces a hidden fact — lameness, blindness, a short tail, a pain in the belly. When the merchant accuses them of theft, these same observations, explained before the King, clear their names. Finally, the King is so impressed that he appoints them his advisers. Thus a set of footprints turns four jobless travellers into royal advisers.

The King was fair and patient; he questioned each man individually and listened to the reasoning behind every claim. Each answer was supported by visible evidence — the tracks, the nibbled foliage, the blood specks, the depth of footprints — forming flawless chains of logic. The merchant, on the other hand, offered only suspicion and anger, without any proof. The King concluded that the men's wisdom went 'beyond mere sight' and that the accusations were baseless and misguided.

The men possess sharp observation, reasoning and deduction — they read a camel's whole story from its tracks. They are calm and composed, bowing respectfully before the King even while accused of theft. They are honest, admitting openly that they never saw the camel, and courteous, greeting a stranger as 'brother'. They are also united and hopeful, pressing on towards Ujjain for ten difficult days. A ruler needs exactly such clear, truthful and steady minds to guide his decisions.

The Merchant is a distressed owner of a lost camel, panting and anxious as he searches for it. He is quick to admire — he assumes the young men must be healers and offers to pay their fee. But he is also hasty in judgement: when he cannot understand how the men know so much, he instantly calls them 'deceivers' and drags them to the King. He is not wicked, however, for when his error is proven, he bows deeply, chastened and embarrassed, his face red with shame — showing that he can feel genuine remorse.

The King is young, regal and commanding, yet remarkably just. He insists on clarity — "I shall not tolerate any confusion in my court" — and questions every man himself instead of accepting the accusation blindly. He is discerning: he appreciates Ram Datt's 'sharp eyes', praises Shiv Datt's reasoning, and calls Dev Datt's logic flawless. He is generous in rewarding merit, appointing the strangers as his advisers, and wise in advising the merchant to be careful about whom he accuses. He values wisdom 'beyond mere sight' and proves a ruler who judges by evidence.

Knowledge is possessing facts; wisdom is using them with good judgement. The four men's knowledge of tracks, foliage and animal behaviour becomes wisdom when they combine it with reasoning to infer facts they cannot see. The merchant has knowledge of his own camel, but lacks the wisdom to judge the situation — he leaps to a false accusation. The King shows wisdom by testing every claim with questions before deciding. The play thus teaches that wisdom — knowledge guided by careful reasoning — paves the way to success.

In the King's court, the merchant watches each young man explain how careful observation — not theft — gave them their knowledge of the camel. The King declares the accusations baseless and misguided, and the merchant realises he had wrongly insulted honest men as 'deceivers' in public. His face turns red with shame because his own rashness and lack of trust, not their wrongdoing, caused the whole episode.

The merchant sees men who know hidden details about his camel and instantly concludes they are thieves — without asking a single question about how they knew. This hasty judgement leads to a false accusation, a royal case, and finally public humiliation for him. Had he questioned them calmly, he would have learnt the truth immediately. The play warns that conclusions must be built on evidence and reasoning, not on surprise and suspicion.

The title means that wisdom clears the path of life's difficulties and leads to success. In the play, the four men's wisdom — their observation and deduction — first saves them from a false charge of theft in the King's court, and then paves their way from jobless travellers to honoured royal advisers. Their journey is fulfilled 'in a manner they had never anticipated', proving that it was wisdom, not luck or force, that paved their way.

First, at Ram Datt's explanation of the lame leg from three clear footprints, I would think, "Impressive observation — this man misses nothing." At Shiv Datt's account of the untouched foliage, I would marvel at how he reasoned an unseen fact. Har Datt's blood-speck clue would convince me of their innocence, and Dev Datt's account of the pained belly would leave me marvelling at wisdom that goes beyond mere sight. Finally, I would conclude: "These are men of wisdom, not thieves — such minds must serve my kingdom."

The four young men — Ram Datt, Shiv Datt, Har Datt and Dev Datt — are the heroes of the play, and their strength lies in their combined qualities. They are hopeful and determined: after ten days of travel-worn wandering with no work, they remain resolute, their eyes fixed on Ujjain, confident the King would recognise their talents. They are observant and patient: walking behind fresh camel tracks, they scrutinise every detail in silence, each working out a separate clue. They are brilliantly logical: Ram Datt reads lameness from three clear footprints, Shiv Datt deduces blindness from untouched foliage, Har Datt infers a short tail from specks of mosquito-bitten blood, and Dev Datt concludes a stomach pain from faint hind prints. They are honest and courageous: accused as thieves, they maintain calm, bow respectfully, and truthfully insist they have never seen the camel. Finally, they are humble and united: they accept the King's offer with gratitude, calling it 'an honour we had not dared to dream of'. Together they embody the play's message that observation, reason and integrity win honour.

The King of Ujjain, though young, is portrayed as an ideal ruler. He is dignified and commanding: seated under a golden canopy, he opens the case with "What is the matter that brings you to my court?" and demands that the accusation be spoken clearly, tolerating no confusion. Above all, he is just and impartial — he does not favour the complaining merchant simply because he arrived first, but summons the accused, hears their side, and questions each man personally. He is discerning and appreciative of merit: he praises Ram Datt's 'sharp eyes', calls Shiv Datt's logic 'well-reasoned', admires Har Datt's 'observation and deduction', and marvels that Dev Datt's 'reasoning is flawless and speaks of wisdom that goes beyond mere sight'. He is fair in judgement — he dismisses the merchant's 'baseless and misguided' accusations and advises him to be 'mindful of whom you accuse in the future'. And he is generous: he rewards unknown travellers with the highest honour of advisership, declaring that their wisdom shall be 'a beacon for my kingdom'. A ruler who judges by evidence and values wisdom is his defining quality.

The central theme is that wisdom — the ability to observe carefully and reason soundly — paves the way to success and justice. The four men's wisdom is displayed in every deduction: from faint tracks Ram Datt infers a lame leg; from one-sided nibbling Shiv Datt infers blindness; from specks of blood Har Datt infers a short tail; and from deep forefeet prints Dev Datt infers a pain in the belly. This same wisdom saves them when the merchant falsely accuses them of theft, for the King recognises that 'these are men of wisdom, not thieves'. Finally, wisdom paves their way to fortune: the King appoints them his advisers, saying their 'counsel shall guide my decisions'. A second strand of the theme warns against hasty judgement — the merchant's rash accusation of the innocent men earns him only shame, while the King's patient, evidence-based approach reveals the truth. The play thus celebrates minds that 'see beyond the obvious'.

The play teaches several strong values. First, the value of observation: the four men 'scrutinise every detail' of the camel's tracks, and each learns something unique from small clues. Second, the value of reasoning and patience: they reach conclusions only after careful deduction, and the King praises 'observation and deduction' together. Third, honesty: even when knowledge of the camel makes them suspects, they plainly tell the merchant, 'We have not seen your camel, not even once.' Fourth, composure in adversity: before the King, they 'maintain calm despite the accusations'. Fifth, justice and fairness: the King refuses to tolerate confusion in his court, questions everyone, and acquits the innocent, while advising the merchant to be 'mindful of whom you accuse in the future'. Finally, humility: the men accept their great honour with gratitude, calling it 'an honour we had not dared to dream of'. These values together show how character and intellect earn respect.

The play's lesson — that careful observation, honest reasoning and fair judgement lead to truth — applies to everyday life. Like Ram Datt, a student can notice patterns in mistakes in a test paper and deduce which topics need more practice. Like Shiv Datt, we can read small signs around us: untouched tiffin in a friend's bag may tell us she is unwell or upset, and asking gently matters more than assuming. The merchant's mistake warns us against jumping to conclusions — if a classmate is found near a lost article, branding him a thief without proof can deeply hurt an innocent person. The King's method — hearing both sides, asking for evidence, and judging calmly — is exactly how we should resolve disputes in class, at home, or on the playground. And like the four men, we should stay calm and truthful when falsely accused, letting patience and reasoning clear our names. Wisdom, in short, is a skill we can practise every single day.

(An imaginative answer in the merchant's voice.) Dear Diary, what a day it has been! My camel went astray, and as I ran along the road, I met four young men. When they asked whether my camel was lame, blind in the right eye, short-tailed and sick in the stomach, I was first astonished, then certain they had stolen it — how else could strangers know my animal so well? I called them deceivers and dragged them before the King of Ujjain. But in court, everything changed. One by one, the men explained their reasoning: three clear footprints and one faint one meant a limp; leaves nibbled only on the left meant blindness in the right eye; specks of blood from mosquitoes meant no long tail to swat them away; and deep forefeet prints meant a pained belly. I had never heard such flawless reasoning! The King declared my accusations baseless and told me to be mindful of whom I accuse. My face burned red with shame as I bowed and left. Today I learnt two lessons I will never forget: do not judge without proof, and there are wise people who see beyond the obvious. Tomorrow I shall continue my search for my poor camel — humbler and wiser.

(An imaginative answer.) When his turn came before the King, Ved Datt might have said: "Your Majesty, I discovered that the camel was carrying a load on its back, and a fairly heavy one. As I examined the track, I noticed that the footprints sank deep into the dust, far deeper than a camel without any burden would leave behind, and the stride between the prints was short and laboured, as of an animal pressing on under weight. Yet the tracks ran steadily along the middle of the road, close by the nibbled foliage, telling me the beast was calm and walking with its handler's direction rather than straying wildly." The King, marvelling as he did at each brother, might have replied, "Extraordinary! Five minds, one truth — you have read the camel's entire story from the dust of the road." Such an answer would fit the play's pattern perfectly: a small, visible clue, patiently observed and logically explained, revealing a fact never actually seen. (Any imaginative deduction built logically on the tracks is acceptable.)