April fools' Day

April Fool's Day:

April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day is a yearly celebration of hoaxes and jokes on 1st April. Jokesters say their jokes and then shout "April Fools Day" and then all people laugh. People usually do not take the jokes seriously. This custom has gained widespread social acceptance.

Origin
People site different stories for the origin of April Fools' Day. Some of these are the following.

Medieval Feast of Fools. The Feast of Fools was celebrated in the same parts of Europe where the first traces of April Fools' can be found.
After paying up all taxes for 31st March , man starts earning for Government from April 1st again -- In India.
A disputed association between 1st April and foolishness is in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" (1392). In the "Nun's Priest's Tale", a vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox on "Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two", i.e. 32 days since March began, which is 1 April. However, it is not clear that Chaucer was referencing 1 April since the text of the "Nun's Priest's Tale" also states that the story takes place on the day when the sun is "in the signe of Taurus had y-runne Twenty degrees and one", which would not be 1 April. Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, "Syn March was gon". If so, the passage would have originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. 2 May, the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, which took place in 1381.
In 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval referred to a poisson d'avril (April fool, literally "April's fish"), possibly the first reference to the celebration in France. Some writers suggest that April Fools' originated because, in the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on 25 March in most European towns, with a holiday that in some areas of France, specifically, ended on 1 April, and those who celebrated New Year's Eve on 1 January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates by the invention of April Fools' Day. The use of 1 January as New Year's Day became common in France only in the mid-16th century, and that date was not adopted officially until 1564, by the Edict of Roussillon, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for during the Council of Trent in 1563.
Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.
People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn't fully account for the spread of April Fools' Day to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools' Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently.
In Britain, meanwhile, the legal switch from March 25 until January 1 wasn't made until almost two centuries later than the rest of Europe. That has led other people to point to Britain, not France, as the country whose calendrical flub produced a day of tomfoolery.
As evidence, the first mention of the calendar change theory in the written record ascribes its origins to England, not France. In 1766, a correspondent wrote to the Gentleman’s Magazine:
The strange custom prevalent throughout this kingdom, of people making fools of one another upon the first of April, arose from the year formerly beginning, as to some purpose, and in some respects, on the twenty-fifth of March, which was supposed to be the incarnation of our Lord; it being customary with the Romans, as well as with us, to hold a festival, attended by an octave, at the commencement of the new year -- which festival lasted for eight days, whereof the first and last were the principal; therefore the first of April is the octave of the twenty-fifth of March, and, consequently, the close or ending of the feast, which was both the festival of the Annunciation and the beginning of the new year.
But the timing for this theory, too, is a little off. Britain switched the start of its calendar in 1752. By then, April Fools’ Day was already an established tradition both in England and in the rest of Europe, and people were already wondering why people played tricks on each other in the spring.
Even the French theory has some problems. As far back as 1507, at least some French towns exchanged gifts for the new year on January 1, following the Roman tradition. If that’s true, the legal transition away from marking the new year on Easter would have lasted more than half a century, leaving ample time for France’s culture to shift, too.
The timing of the French calendar switch fits the facts of April Fools’ Day so loosely, in fact, that many scholars now regard it as an example of “metafolklore” — when a story springs up to explain the origins of a folk holiday.
In 1561, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on 1 April.
In the Netherlands, the origin of April Fools' Day is often attributed to the Dutch victory in 1572 at Brielle, where the Spanish Duke Álvarez de Toledo was defeated. "Op 1 april verloor Alva zijn bril" is a Dutch proverb, which can be translated as: "On the first of April, Alva lost his glasses". In this case, "bril" ("glasses" in Dutch) serves as a homonym for Brielle. This theory, however, provides no explanation for the international celebration of April Fools' Day.
In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the celebration as "Fooles holy day", the first British reference.On 1 April 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed".
Although no biblical scholar or historian is known to have mentioned a relationship, some have expressed the belief that the origins of April Fools' Day may go back to the Genesis flood narrative. In a 1908 edition of the Harper's Weekly cartoonist Bertha R. McDonald wrote:
Authorities gravely back with it to the time of Noah and the ark. The London Public Advertiser of March 13, 1769, printed: "The mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the water had abated, on the first day of April, and to perpetuate the memory of this deliverance it was thought proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the patriarch".
Some people think the idea of April Fools’ Day goes back to classical Roman times, when a joyful festival called Hilaria, originally probably an equinox celebration, came to be celebrated on March 25. In Roman terms, March 25 was called “the eighth of the Calends of April,” which associates the festival strongly with April 1, the Calends of April. However, there’s no hard evidence to connect Hilaria with April Fools’ Day, so this is just one of many guesses advanced by curious people.
Another common theory placing the origin of April Fools’ Day in the Roman Empire dates it to the reign of Emperor Constantine. According to this story, a group of fools or jesters convinced Constantine to make one of them “king for a day.” Constantine obliged, and one of the jesters, named “Kugel,” was appointed to the position. He decreed that it would be a day of jollity, and thus created what came to be called April Fools’ Day.
The two-day Hindu celebration Holi, the Persian festival Sizdah Bedar, and the Jewish holiday Purim also fall in early spring. While not explicitly about tricking people, these holidays involve various forms of merriment and frivolity — throwing colored powder, picnicking outside, dressing in costume, etc. The Museum of Hoaxes (that exists) notes that there’s no direct evidence that April Fools’ Day came from any of these celebrations: “Instead, it’s more likely that April Fool’s Day resembles these other celebrations because they’re all manifestations of a deeper pattern of folk behavior — an instinct to respond to the arrival of spring with festive mischief and symbolic misrule.

Long-standing customs

United Kingdom

In the UK, an April Fool prank is sometimes later revealed by shouting "April fool!" at the recipient, who becomes the "April fool". A study in the 1950s, by folklorists Iona and Peter Opie, found that in the UK, and in countries whose traditions derived from the UK, the joking ceased at midday. This continues to be the practice, with the custom ceasing at noon, after which time it is no longer acceptable to play pranks. Thus a person playing a prank after midday is considered the "April fool" themselves.

In Scotland, April Fools' Day was originally called "Huntigowk Day". The name is a corruption of "hunt the gowk", gowk being Scots for a cuckoo or a foolish person; alternative terms in Gaelic would be Là na Gocaireachd, "gowking day", or Là Ruith na Cuthaige, "the day of running the cuckoo". The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message that supposedly requests help of some sort. In fact, the message reads "Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile." The recipient, upon reading it, will explain they can only help if they first contact another person, and they send the victim to this next person with an identical message, with the same result.

In England a "fool" is known by a few different names around the country, including "noodle", "gob", "gobby", or "noddy".

Ireland In Ireland, it was traditional to entrust the victim with an "important letter" to be given to a named person. That person would read the letter, then ask the victim to take it to someone else, and so on. The letter when opened contained the words "send the fool further".

Prima aprilis in Poland In Poland, prima aprilis ("First April" in Latin) as a day of pranks is a centuries-long tradition. It is a day when many pranks are played: hoaxes – sometimes very sophisticated – are prepared by people, media (which often cooperate to make the "information" more credible) and even public institutions. Serious activities are usually avoided, and generally every word said on 1 April could be untrue. The conviction for this is so strong that the Polish anti-Turkish alliance with Leopold I signed on 1 April 1683, was backdated to 31 March. However, for some in Poland prima aprilis ends at noon of 1 April and prima aprilis jokes after that hour are considered inappropriate and not classy.

Nordic countries Danes, Finns, Icelanders, Norwegians and Swedes celebrate April Fools' Day (aprilsnar in Danish; aprillipäivä in Finnish; aprilskämt in Swedish). Most news media outlets will publish exactly one false story on 1 April; for newspapers this will typically be a first-page article but not the top headline.

April fish In Italy, France, Belgium and French-speaking areas of Switzerland and Canada, the 1 April tradition is often known as "April fish" (poisson d'avril in French, april vis in Dutch or pesce d'aprile in Italian). Possible pranks include attempting to attach a paper fish to the victim's back without being noticed. This fish feature is prominently present on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools' Day postcards. Many newspapers also spread a false story on April Fish Day, and a subtle reference to a fish is sometimes given as a clue to the fact that it is an April Fools' prank.

Ukraine April Fools' Day is widely celebrated in Odessa and has the special local name Humorina - in Ukrainian Гуморина (Humorina). This holiday arose in 1973. An April Fool prank is revealed by saying "Первое Апреля, никому не верю" ("Pervoye Aprelya, nikomu ne veryu") - which means "April the First, I trust nobody" - to the recipient. The festival includes a large parade in the city centre, free concerts, street fairs and performances. Festival participants dress up in a variety of costumes and walk around the city fooling around and pranking passersby. One of the traditions on April Fools' Day is to dress up the main city monument in funny clothes. Humorina even has its own logo — a cheerful sailor in lifebelt — whose author was the artist, Arkady Tsykun. During the festival, special souvenirs bearing the logo are printed and sold everywhere. Since 2010, April Fools' Day celebrations include an International Clown Festival and both celebrated as one. In 2019, the festival was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Odessa Film Studio and all events were held with an emphasis on cinema.

Lebanon In Lebanon, an April Fool prank is revealed by saying كذبة أول نيسان (which means "First of April Lie") to the recipient.

Spanish-speaking countries In many Spanish-speaking countries (and the Philippines), "Día de los Santos Inocentes" (Holy Innocents Day) is a festivity which is very similar to April Fools' Day, but it is celebrated in late December (27, 28 or 29 depending on the location).

Israel Israel has also adopted the custom of pranking on April Fools' Day.

Comparable prank days
28 December, the equivalent day in Spain, Hispanic America and the Philippines, is also the Christian day of celebration of the Day of the Holy Innocents. The Christian celebration is a religious holiday in its own right, but the tradition of pranks is not, though the latter is observed yearly. In some regions of Hispanic America after a prank is played, the cry is made, "Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar" ("You innocent little dove that let yourself be fooled!"; not to be confused with another meaning of palomita, which means "popcorn" in some dialects).

In Argentina, the prankster says, "¡Que la inocencia te valga!" which roughly translates as advice to not be as gullible as the victim of the prank. In Spain, it is common to say just "¡Inocente!" (which in Spanish can mean "innocent" or "gullible").

In Colombia, the term is used as "Pásala por Inocentes", which roughly means: "Let it go; today it's Innocent's Day."

In Belgium, this day is also known as the "Day of the Innocent Children" or "Day of the Stupid Children". It used to be a day where parents, grandparents, and teachers would fool the children in some way. But the celebration of this day has died out in favour of April Fools' Day.

Nevertheless, on the Spanish island of Menorca, Dia d'enganyar ("Fooling day") is celebrated on 1 April because Menorca was a British possession during part of the 18th century. In Brazil, the "Dia da mentira" ("Day of the lie") is also celebrated on 1 April due to the Portuguese influence.

First day of a new month
In many English-speaking countries, mainly Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, it is a custom to say "pinch and a punch for the first of the month" or an alternative, typically by children. The victim might respond with "a flick and a kick for being so quick", and the attacker might reply with "a punch in the eye for being so sly".

Another custom in Britain and North America is to say "rabbit rabbit" upon waking on the first day of a month, for good luck.

Some Corporate Pranks

An April Fools' Day prank in Boston's Public Garden warning people not to photograph sculptures, as light emitted will "erode the sculptures"

In one famous prank in 1957, the BBC broadcast a film in their Panorama current affairs series purporting to show Swiss farmers picking freshly-grown spaghetti, in what they called the Swiss spaghetti harvest. The BBC was soon flooded with requests to purchase a spaghetti plant, forcing them to declare the film a hoax on the news the next day.

On April Fools' Day 1980, the BBC announced Big Ben's clock face was going digital and whoever got in touch first could win the clock hands.

In previous years Google has advertised fictitious jobs at a new research center on the moon, turned Google Maps into a game of Where’s Waldo - also known as Where’s Wally - and claimed its search technology uses trained pigeons to rank pages.

Examples of genuine news on 1 April mistaken as a hoax include:

1 April 1946: Warnings about the Aleutian Island earthquake's tsunami that killed 165 people in Hawaii and Alaska.
1 April 2004: Gmail is announced to the public by Google.
1 April 2005: News that the comedian Mitch Hedberg had died on 29 March 2005.
1 April 2005: Announcement about Powerpuff Girls Z, by Aniplex, Cartoon Network and Toei Animation.
1 April 2009: Announcement that the long running soap opera Guiding Light was being cancelled.
1 April 2011: Isaiah Thomas declared for the NBA draft.

Reception The practice of April Fool pranks and hoaxes is controversial.

The positive view is that April Fools' can be good for one's health because it encourages "jokes, hoaxes, pranks, and belly laughs", and brings all the benefits of laughter including stress relief and reducing strain on the heart. There are many "best of" April Fools' Day lists that are compiled in order to showcase the best examples of how the day is celebrated. Various April Fools' campaigns have been praised for their innovation, creativity, writing, and general effort.

The negative view describes April Fools' hoaxes as "creepy and manipulative", "rude" and "a little bit nasty", as well as based on Schadenfreude and deceit. When genuine news or a genuine important order or warning is issued on April Fools' Day, there is risk that it will be misinterpreted as a joke and ignored – for example, when Google, known to play elaborate April Fools' Day hoaxes, announced the launch of Gmail with 1-gigabyte inboxes in 2004, an era when competing webmail services offered 4-megabytes or less, many dismissed it as a joke outright. On the other hand, sometimes stories intended as jokes are taken seriously. Either way, there can be adverse effects, such as confusion, misinformation, waste of resources (especially when the hoax concerns people in danger), and even legal or commercial consequences.

In Thailand, the police warned ahead of the April Fools' in 2021 that posting or sharing fake news online could lead to maximum of five years imprisonment.

April Fools' Day jokes that make fun of someone's age, disability, sex, race or other protected status—such as religion, national origin or in many regions sexual orientation—may lead to discrimination complaints. Injuries resulting from mischief also can lead to workers' compensation claims.

In addition to concerns with discrimination claims, workplace injuries resulting from April Fools' pranks can increase employers' workers' compensation or medical costs.

No jokes should focus on an employee's race, gender, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sexual identity or other protected status.
No pranks should interrupt an employee's ability to complete his or her job or interfere with a deadline.
No jokes should be physical. There should be no physical contact or injury.
No pranks should cause damage to property or the company's reputation.
No jokes should suggest someone has been terminated or demoted.

When debating whether a prank could qualify as a crime, two elements are important:

Intent. If a person carries out a prank while knowing it will bring the victim bodily or emotional harm, it's easier to prosecute the prank as a crime.
Action. The actions a person takes while carrying out a prank play a central role in whether it's a crime or not.

Pranks involving following are usually considdered criminal:
Abuse
Neglect
Assault and/or battery
Destruction of property
Endangerment
Impersonation
Stalking
False imprisonment
Putting toilet paper on (TPing) someone else's property. If you cause significant damage to someone else's property or cause them significant distress, you could be charged with destruction of property. This can also apply to throwing eggs at (egging) someone else's property.
Impersonating police. Much like logging into someone else's social media account, impersonating police is obviously a pretty big no-no, but it's a surprisingly common "prank" around April Fool's Day.
People also commonly impersonate firemen and higher-up career professionals (such as CEOs), prank-calling establishments and ordering employees to take certain actions.
Tainting food. Unfortunately, tainting food is also an increasingly popular prank. Whether it's licking and then putting back ice cream or doing other unclean things to food at restaurants and grocery stores, vegetable and food destruction is a common prank-turned-crime.

Some countries threatened jail for April Fools' Day jokes about coronavirus.
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - From Thailand to India, countries have told people not to make April Fools’ Day pranks related to coronavirus, with some threatening jail time as they seek to prevent the spread of rumors which could put lives at risk.
Tech giant Google, which is famous for its annual spoofs, has canceled the tradition “out of respect for all those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Thailand said on Tuesday that April Fool’s Day jokes about the virus could be punished under a law carrying a sentence of up to five years in prison.
“It’s against the law to fake having COVID-19 this April Fools’ Day,” the government said on Twitter.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen took to Facebook to tell people not to prank about the virus, adding that anyone spreading rumors or false information could face up to three years in jail and/or a fine of up to NT$3 million ($99,200).
In India, Maharashtra state’s cyber security unit said it would take legal action against anyone spreading fake news on April Fools’ Day.
“The state govt won’t allow anyone to spread rumors/panic on #Corona,” Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted, adding that he had instructed the authorities to “act swiftly & strongly (against) such miscreants”.
Under the heading “Corona is no joke”, Germany’s health ministry also urged the public not to make up stories related to the virus.

With people relying on the internet and media for vital information about coronavirus, there are fears that jokes could fan the spread of misinformation.
From drinking cow urine to sleeping by chopped onions, myths about how people can catch and cure COVID-19 are already widely circulating.
The World Health Organization has described it as an “infodemic”, which could increase the spread of the virus among vulnerable people. “Our highest goal right now is to be helpful to people, so let’s save the jokes for next April, which will undoubtedly be a whole lot brighter than this one,” it said in an internal email to staff.
Taylor Herring, a British PR agency whose clients include TV channels and international brands, advised all companies to ditch the jokes this year.
“Tip for any brands planning an April Fool’s Day stunt. Just. Don’t,” it said on social media.

Others commented on twitter that April Fools’ Day had been canceled because no one could make up anything more unbelievable than what is currently happening in the world.

April Fools' Day in the context of Hinduism
Truthfulness is a virtue and it takes courage. Truthfulness is one of the Yamas in Astang Yoga. Speaking the truth is the easiest thing to do because it is based on facts. The beauty of truth is that it never changes. A life where we commit ourselves to speaking only the truth is the happiest. Wise people and saints universally have urged mankind to be truthful and experience inner peace. A true practitioner of Sanatana Dharma must follow Truth at all its levels to experience pure consciousness. Satyameva jayate(Truth alone triumphs) is a common Hindu saying.

Lying is against Hindu traditions. Lying is not encouraged even jockingkly. Lying is not our custom, it is a vice and adarm. It even hurts the person who is lying. Lying may give emotional, mental hurt to others and takes away the trust even if it is a innocuous joke. It is okay to joke around and keep mood light and stress free but we do not need to include lies in these jokes. Jokes, laughter, happiness, can come from truthful things.
Lying is a learnt behaviour, and not natural like hunger, thirst, laughter, or sex. It can be unlearned or tackled in following ways:
One way is to trust our conscience or the instinctive negative response of the brain and refrain from telling a lie. The second is to make an effort to speak the truth, irrespective of the temptations. The third is to share our decision with a friend or family member and request them to check us whenever we lapse.
The goal of human life is to severe ties from all forms of lies and become one with the Ultimate truth.
False humor is not good even for a day or a couple of hours.

In India, Mahamurkh sameelans take place at various places. Some of these are Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Varanasi, Chandni chowk in New Delhi. New Delhi hosted International Mahamurkh Sameelan for more than 40 yrs. However, these samelans are different from April Fools' Day. People who want to participate attend this festival voluntarily and there is a designated place for this occassion. There are poems, songs, jokes(based on facts and reality) but no one personally attacks others. There are no lies. Only laughter and happiness prevails. This is a stress free and light time for attendes. There are arrangements for stage, sitting, food, drinks etc. In Bharatpur, this samelan runs for five days and on the last day it culminates in a long parade. People do funny acts in parade. Some wear garlands of shoes. There is music and people usually color each other with dry, powder colors.There are some awards and a crown for the best Mahamurkh.

During Holi, people apply gulal, throw colors on each other, laugh and say bura na mano Holi hai. This tradition is nowhere similar to April Fools' day. Color is applied to ony those people who are outside. Holi is a national Holiday in India. People know that if they are going out, they can get colored. They have the choice not to come out in public. Tradition is same for everyone, apply color, exchange greetings, and laugh. No one is lying. There are no surprise jokes, only colors for everyone. Laughter is not to hurt the feelings or to ridicule others.

अप्रैल फूल" किसी को कहने से पहले इसकी वास्तविक सत्यता जरुर जान ले.!!
पावन महीने की शुरुआत को मूर्खता दिवस कह रहे हो !!
पता भी है क्यों कहते है अप्रैल फूल (अप्रैल फुल का अर्थ है - हिन्दुओ का मूर्खता दिवस).??
ये नाम अंग्रेज ईसाईयों की देन है. मुर्ख हिन्दू कैसे समझें "अप्रैल फूल" का मतलब
बड़े दिनों से बिना सोचे समझे चल रहा है अप्रैल फूल, अप्रैल फूल ???
इसका मतलब क्या है.?? दरअसल जब ईसाइयत अंग्रेजो द्वारा हमे 1 जनवरी का नववर्ष थोपा गया तो उस समय लोग विक्रमी संवत के अनुसार 1 अप्रैल से अपना नया साल बनाते थे, जो आज भी सच्चे हिन्दुओ द्वारा मनाया जाता है, आज भी हमारे बही खाते और बैंक 31 मार्च को बंद होते है और 1 अप्रैल से शुरू होते है, पर उस समय जब भारत गुलाम था तो ईसाइयत ने विक्रमी संवत का नाश करने के लिए साजिश करते हुए 1 अप्रैल को मूर्खता दिवस "अप्रैल फूल" का नाम दे दिया ताकि हमारी सभ्यता मूर्खता लगे
अब आप ही सोचो अप्रैल फूल कहने वाले कितने सही हो आप.?
यादरखो अप्रैल माह से जुड़े हुए इतिहासिक दिन और त्यौहार

हिन्दुओं का पावन महिना इस दिन से शुरू होता है (शुक्ल प्रतिपदा)
-हिन्दुओ के रीति -रिवाज़ सब इस दिन के कलेण्डर के अनुसार बनाये जाते है।
आज का दिन दुनिया को दिशा देने वाला है।
अंग्रेज ईसाई, हिन्दुओ के विरुध थे इसलिए हिन्दू के त्योहारों को मूर्खता का दिन कहते थे और आप हिन्दू भी बहुत शान से कह रहे हो.!!
गुलाम मानसिकता का सुबूत ना दो अप्रैल फूल लिख के.!!
अप्रैल फूल सिर्फ भारतीय सनातन कलेण्डर, जिसको पूरा विश्व फॉलो करता था उसको भुलाने और मजाक उड़ाने के लिए बनाया गया था।
1582 में पोप ग्रेगोरी ने नया कलेण्डर अपनाने का फरमान जारी कर दिया जिसमें 1 जनवरी को नया साल का प्रथम दिन बनाया गया।
जिन लोगो ने इसको मानने से इंकार किया, उनको 1 अप्रैल को मजाक उड़ाना शुरू कर दिया और धीरे-धीरे 1 अप्रैल नया साल का नया दिन होने के बजाय मूर्ख दिवस बन गया।
आज भारत के सभी लोग अपनी ही संस्कृति का मजाक उड़ाते हुए अप्रैल फूल डे मना रहे है।

From FB post of Sh. Nityanand Mishra Ji:
Ten Sanskrit words for a fool

Ajna (अज्ञ): one who does not know
Astadhi (अस्तधी): one who has thrown away his intellect or one whose intellect has set (like the sun at night)
Devanampriya (देवानाम्प्रिय): dear to the Devtas
Balish (बालिश): one who can be deceived like a fish by a fish-hook
Mudha (मूढ): one who is confused/bewildered
Murkh (मूर्ख): one who is confused/bewildered easily
Yathajata (यथाजात): one who has not grown beyond newborn stage
Vivekavishranta (विवेकविश्रान्त): one whose discrimination is always at rest/sleep
Vaidheya (वैधेय): one who follows rules ‘vidhi’s' without thinking
Hasra (हस्र): one who laughs unnecessarily

Five words for great fools (महामूर्ख)

Ganda-mudha/vajramurkh (गण्डमूर्ख/वज्रमूर्ख): extremely foolish
Murkhadhipati (मूर्खाधिपति): the head of fools
Murkharaja (मूर्खराज): the king among fools
Murkha-pumgava (मूर्खपुंगव): the best among fools
Murkha-chakra-chudamani (मूर्खचक्रचूडामणि): the round jewel in the crown among fools

20170826_150800
Bharti Raizada