The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. How does the author employ the literary device of dramatic irony in the story?

The story "The Tiger King" is a supreme example of dramatic irony.Dramatic irony refers to a situation where the complete significance of a character's words or actions  is transparent to the audience but is not known to the character.  

The character acts in a way grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances or expects the opposite of what fate holds in store for him. Kalki has used a very dexterous use of dramatic irony in the story. After killing the first tiger the King flaunts its dead body before the astrologer to show that he is more powerful than the tiger. However, the astrologer warns the king that he should be "careful with the hundredth tiger". The king chooses to prove the astrologer wrong once again and makes frantic efforts to kill hundred tigers. Thus, having shot at the old tiger, the Tiger king believes he has killed the hundredth tiger. But the reader as well as the king's officers and minions soon come to know that the emaciated tiger does not get killed but only has fainted. The king gets happy of killing the tiger but in actual ignorance of this ironical fate the prediction proves to be right and mere sliver on wooden tiger's body causes his dramatic death. Quite ironically the hundredth tiger kills the king instead and astrologer's predictions stand vindicated.

The story is about a king who causes death to a hundred tigers. He does so because a tiger has been predicted as the cause of his death. In his pride of power, he wantonly kills these animals. The proud king bans tiger hunting in the state by anyone except himself. He does so to belie the prediction of his death by a tiger. But in spite of his hunting so many tigers, the prediction comes true. One day he is playing with his son with a wooden tiger. Its rough surface has sharp slivers of wood. One such sliver pierces his hand. The wound later takes his life. Thus a small wooden tiger becomes the cause of his death. This is a fine example of dramatic irony.

यह कहानी एक राजा के बारे में है जो सौ व्याघ्रों की मृत्यु का कारण बनता है। वह ऐसा इस कारण करता है क्योंकि उसकी मृत्यु एक व्याघ्र द्वारा होने की भविष्यवाणी की गई थी। घमंडी राजा राज्य में अपने सिवाय अन्य किसी के द्वारा व्याघ्र के शिकार पर रोक लगा देता है। अपनी शक्ति के घमंड में वह इन जीवों की जाने ले लेता है। वह एक व्याघ्र के द्वारा अपनी मृत्यु की भविष्यवाणी को झूठा सिद्ध करने के लिए ऐसी करता है। लेकिन उसके इतने अधिक व्याघ्रों का शिकार करने के बावजूद वह भविष्यवाणी सत्य होती है। एक दिन वह अपने पुत्र के साथ लकड़ी के एक व्याघ्र से खेल रहा होता है। उसकी खुरदरी सतह पर लकड़ी की फाँसें होती हैं। ऐसी एक तेज फाँस उसके हाथ में चुभ जाती है। वह घाव राजा को जीवन लेने का कारण साबित होता है। इस प्रकार छोटा-सा लकड़ी का एक व्याघ्र उसकी (राजा की) मृत्यु का कारण बनता है। यह नाटकीय व्यंग्य का एक अच्छा उदाहरण है।