Once upon a time, there was a king. In his court, there were many learned scholars. One day, a ghost appeared in the court, breaking through the ceiling. It was holding a skull in its hand. Seeing this, all the courtiers trembled with fear. The ghost pointed the skull at the king and said, "Tell me the worth of this skull! If you don’t answer, I’ll turn everyone in the court into chewable bits." Upon hearing this, everyone started shaking with fear. The ghost warned that if they didn’t answer by the twenty-fourth day, it would consume them all. After saying this, the ghost laughed and left. Chaos ensued in the court. The courtiers were all in despair as they couldn't find an answer. Among them was a scholar known as Lambodar Pandit. He returned home and asked his wife but got no answers from her either. He decided to go out to find an answer.

Lambodar Pandit ventured out into the dark night. As he walked, morning arrived. He kept walking throughout the day and finally reached a dense forest. When night fell, he climbed a tree and sat there out of fear. The night passed, and a ghost came under the tree, exclaiming, "Ugh! A human being! Ugh! A human being!" It told its ghostly companions that a human's scent was in the air. The ghostly women asked, "There’s neither a man nor humanity here; you’re just imagining things. So what have you brought to eat today?" The ghost replied that it had asked the value of a skull in the king’s court. If no answer was given in twenty-four days, it would eat everyone. The ghostly women asked for more details, but the ghost didn’t share anything further. Meanwhile, Panditji had lost his senses. Holding onto the tree branch for dear life, he kept praying, "Oh God! Oh God!" As he did so, he overheard the murmuring of the ghost and the ghostly women. The Pandit became hopeful and thought, "Somehow, let morning arrive!" When morning came, the ghost fled, and Lambodar Pandit quickly came down from the tree and rushed home to tell his wife that he had found the answer, but despite her many inquiries, he wouldn’t reveal it to her.

As the twenty-fourth day arrived, the royal court gathered. Everyone was anxious, preparing to be consumed, but Lambodar Pandit arrived with a long mark on his forehead and a large cloth tucked at his waist, sitting happily in the court. Just then, the ghost burst in through the ceiling with a laugh. Everyone was so startled that they turned pale. The ghost demanded, "Tell me the worth of the skull!" The king, hearing this, felt anxious but remained calm. At that moment, Lambodar Pandit stepped forward and said, "I will tell you the worth of the skull, but you must give me a flute!" The ghost understood that there was something significant about the request and handed over a flute.

Lambodar Pandit took the flute and said, "If you blow into one ear, then when the air comes out of the mouth, it is worth nothing because that means it was gossip. If the air comes out of the other ear, then it is worth ten rupees. If the air remains in the stomach, then understand that it is worth one lakh rupees. And if the air settles in the mind, then understand that the worth of the skull is one crore rupees."

Hearing this answer, the ghost left quickly. The king began to ask for the meaning of this answer. Lambodar Pandit explained, "When a person hears something from one ear and lets it slip out of the mouth, it should be valued at nothing because it indicates gossip. If someone hears something and lets it escape from the other ear, it means they have at least not gossiped and it is worth ten rupees! If someone digests what they hear and does not share it, that is worth one lakh rupees. However, if someone hears something and reflects on it, then that is worth one crore rupees!"

The king was very pleased upon hearing all this and shared half of the kingdom with Lambodar Pandit. From that day forward, Lambodar Pandit’s life was filled with happiness, and he and his wife lived joyfully.