New Delhi: India was once divided into princely states ruled by Kings and Maharajas. One such state was Jaisalmer, a city rich in art, culture and heritage. While visiting the city is fun and exciting, till then here is a puzzle from the city. If you like to solve brainstorming puzzles which will allow you to use logical reasoning, here is one for you.
It is the story of the Maharaja of Jaisalmer and his elephants. As you visualise and enjoy the story, try to solve the problem given below.
Story:
Maharaja of Jaisalmer had 17 elephants. When the Maharaja passed away, his will was announced. The will said that the elephants were to be divided among his three children. But, it also had a few conditions. After listening to the conditions, the children were tensed as they thought the will would not be fulfilled without killing any elephants. While they could not find a good solution to it, a wise minister was called. As the minister arrived on an elephant, the children asked him to sit down and told him the problem.
The minister thought for a moment and gave a cunning smile. He said, “I know how you can carry out your father’s will without having to kill even one of the elephants.”
The conditions stated in the will:
The conditions were that these elephants should be distributed on the principle that the eldest child should get four ninths, the second one should get third and the youngest one-sixth of them.
What do you need to answer?
Now, when you know the story and the conditions, answer the following question-
What was the solution given by the minister?
Answer:
The minister said to take his elephant also and then divide.
Explanation:
Now they had 18 elephants. The eldest child gets 4/9 of 18, that is 8 elephants. The second child gets 1/3 of 18, that is 6 elephants while the youngest one gets 1/6 of 18, that is, 3 elephants. As, 8+6+3 = 17, the minister took his elephant and marched back.
* The puzzle is authored by Vikas Khatri (V & S Publishers).
