Panchatantra Stories – Part -3 Third Strategy: -1

Panchatantra Stories  

 Third Strategy: -

The Tale of Two Snakes

- The learned have said that where wicked men are honoured and wise men are insulted, there will be fear, famine and death.

Once upon a time there was a king named Devasakti. He had a son who was very weak and growing weaker by the day. It was found that he had a snake in his stomach. Experts, physicians and surgeons tried to nurse him back to health without success. Dejected, the son left his palace one night and took shelter in a lonely and dilapidated temple in another town ruled by a monarch called Bali. Every day, the son would go out to beg and return to the temple in the night.
King Bali had two daughters who came of age. Following a tradition, the two daughters would get up every dawn and touch the feet of their father in reverence.
One day, after paying respects to the king one of his daughters said, “Victory to the king. We are happy in every way.”
The second daughter said, “O king, reap the harvest of your actions.”
The king, very angry at the words of the second daughter, called his ministers and told them, “Take this foul-mouthed woman away and marry her off to some stranger. Let her reap the consequences of her actions.”
In compliance with the orders of the king, the ministers took her away and married her without pomp or ceremony to Devasakti’s son living in the old temple. The daughter considered the king’s son as God’s gift and after persuading him, left for another country.
The princess and the son of Devasakti reached a city where they camped close to a lake. She asked her husband to take care of the camp and went into the city with her maids to buy daily needs like rice, salt, butter oil and vegetables. After shopping, she returned to the lake where she saw a surprising spectacle.
The prince was sleeping, resting his head on an anthill. The serpent in his stomach came out to breath fresh air. Then another serpent emerged from the anthill for the same reason. Both of them glared at each other.
The anthill inmate said, “You wicked creature, why do you torment such a handsome prince.”
The other serpent retorted, “Why are you polluting the two golden urns in your hole.”
Thus in their row, they revealed the secrets of each other.
The serpent in the anthill told the other serpent, “Don’t be arrogant. Who does not know the secret of your death? If the prince drinks a concoction made of gruel and mustard you will die unsung”.
“Oh, is that so? You will also perish if someone pours hot oil or hot water in your anthill. Don’t be too proud,” said the serpent in the prince’s stomach.
The princess, who heard all that passed between the two serpents, poured hot oil into the anthill and took the two golden urns and gave the mustard concoction to her husband and killed the serpent inside his stomach. Both Divyasakti’s son and his daughter-in-law returned to his kingdom and lived happily ever after.
After listening to this story, owl king Arimardana accepted his advice that Sthirajeevi’s life should be spared.
Raktaksha, the first minister, was sad and told the ministers, "You have misled the king by giving wrong advice and paved the way for his destruction. The learned have said that where wicked men are honoured and wise men are insulted, there will be fear, famine and death.”
Disregarding the warning of Raktaksha, the king’s men set out to take Sthirajeevi to their fortress.
On the way, Sthirajeevi said, “My lord, in my condition, I cannot be of any help to you. Why do you unnecessarily carry me to the fortress? I will jump into a fire and perish. Please permit me to do that.”
Sensing his internal thoughts, Raktaksha asked him why he would want to end up in fire.
Sthirajeevi said, “It is for your cause I met this fate in the hands of Meghavarna.”
Raktaksha said, “You are a cheat, good at spinning words. You were really born as a crow and even if you are born as an owl in your next birth, you will still be a crow in nature. Haven’t you heard the story of the mouse, which even when she was born as a girl in another birth, chose to marry not a human being but another male mouse?”
The ministers and other king’s men pressed Raktaksha to tell them that story.
There was a hermitage belonging to the sage Salankayana. He went one morning to river Ganga to bathe. As he was reciting stanzas in praise of the Sun, he saw a kite carrying a mouse in its claws. At once, the sage aimed a stone at the kite. Hit by the stone, the kite released its prey and the mouse at once ran to the sage asking him for protection.
The kite addressed Salankayana and said, “O sage, you have hit me with a stone, which is not proper. Are you not afraid of God? Surrender that mouse to me or you will go to hell.”
The sage said, “You wretched bird, my duty is to save God’s creations, to punish the wicked, to respect the good, to honour the teacher and worship the Gods. Why do you preach all those irrelevant rules of conduct to me?”
The kite delivered a big lecture to the sage on the right path. “You have no idea of what is good and what is bad. God created all of us and at the time of creation also prescribed what should be our food. God has marked mice, other rodents and insects to be food for us. Why do you blame me for seeking what God has meant for me? There is nothing wrong for anyone to eat the food marked for him. The danger comes when one eats what is not food for him. What is meat for someone is poison for someone else.”
“It is not proper for sages to be violent. They are not presumed to notice what is happening around them. They are detached from this world. Nothing that happens in the material world should interest them. They should not discriminate between vice and virtue. They are above everything. But by your deed today you have lost all the gains of your penance. Learn from this story of three brothers how to attain that state of detachment.”
Salankayana asked the kite to relate that story to him. The kite told him the following story.

The Wedding of The Mouse

-         I want you know that a crow is a crow and cannot become an owl.

Once upon a time, three sages, who were also brothers, chose a riverbank to do penance. Their names were Ekata, Dwita and Trita. The clothes they washed every day used to dry in the sky without a clothesline lest they should drop and become soiled. One day a kite was carrying a female frog like I (the kite) carried a female mouse.
Ekata saw this and shouted at the kite, “Leave it, Leave it.”
At once his clothes drying in the sky dropped down to the ground.
When Dwita saw this, he shouted at the kite, “Don’t leave it, Don’t leave it” and soon his clothes also came down hurtling.
When Trita saw that the clothes of his elder brothers fell down, he thought it would be better not to say anything and remained silent. That is why it is better not to notice the happenings around and concentrate on self.
The sage Salankayana replied, “O foolish kite, your story has happened in the Age of Truth when even if you spoke to a wicked person you became a sinner. The clothes came down because the first two sages addressed the wicked kite. We are now living in the Age of Kali, an age in which everyone is a born sinner. In this age only those who commit a sin become sinners and not those who speak to sinners. Now, don’t waste my time. Disperse or face my curse.”
The kite flew away disappointed.
The female mouse then prayed Salankayana, “O sage, please give me shelter in your hermitage. Otherwise, some wicked bird will kill me. I will spend the rest of my life with whatever leftovers you choose to feed me with.”
The female mouse’s prayer moved the sage but he thought that if he took her home, people would laugh at him. So, he turned the mouse into a beautiful girl and took her home.
“What is this you have brought,” asked the sage’s wife. Where did you bring this girl from?”
“She is a female mouse. She needed protection from wicked birds. That’s why I turned her into a girl and brought her home. You will need to shower all care on her. I will make her a mouse again,” said the sage.
“Please don’t do that,” pleaded his wife, “You have saved her life and therefore you have become her father. I don’t have a child. Since you are her father, she becomes my daughter.” The sage accepted her plea.
The girl grew into a beautiful woman and became an eligible bride. Salankayana told his wife, “The girl has come of age. It is not proper for her to remain in our house. The learned have said,
He who keeps an eligible bride in his house
Forfeits a place in heaven. So do his ancestors.
“It’s all right. Look for a boy,” said his wife.
Salankayana immediately summoned the Sun and told him, “This is my daughter. If she is willing to marry you, get ready to marry her.”
He then showed the Sun to his daughter and asked her if she would marry him. She said that the Sun was very hot and she would prefer someone else. The sage then summoned the God of Clouds, the God of Wind and the God of Mountains. The girl rejected every one of them on one ground or the other.
Then the God of Mountains told the sage, “The most suitable candidate for your daughter is a mouse. He is more powerful than I am.”
The sage then turned her into a mouse and gave her away to a king of mice in marriage.
“That’s why,” Raktaksha resumed, “I want you know that a crow is a crow and cannot become an owl.”
Yet, disregarding Raktaksha’s warnings, the king’s men took away Sthirajeevi to their fortress not knowing that they were bringing ruin upon themselves and the king. Sthirajeevi thought on the way to his destination, “This man (Raktaksha) alone advised the king to kill me. Of all of the king’s men he alone knows statecraft. If they had heeded his word and killed me the king would have escaped disaster.”
When Sthirajeevi’s procession arrived at the entrance of the fortress, king Arimardana ordered his men to accommodate him in a comfortable place of his choice. But Sthirajeevi had other ideas. If he had to hatch a plan to kill the king, it was not possible within the fort because he and his movements would be constantly under watch. That would alert his hosts. So, he thought, it was better to be outside the fort.
He told the king, “My lord, I am grateful for your generosity. But I am a politician and belong to the enemy camp. Yet I am your devotee and faithful servant. It does not become of me to live inside the palace. I will stay at the entrance of the fort and every day sanctify my body with the dust of your feet.”
The king of owls accepted his request and let him stay where he wanted to. The king’s men took extraordinary care of his needs and very soon Sthirajeevi became as strong as a wrestler. Seeing Sthirajeevi’s new personality, Raktaksha told the king and other ministers, “I regard all of you as very unwise. Haven’t you heard the learned often repeating the words of the bird Sindhuka? The bird used to say, "“First, I am a fool. Then the hunter and then the king and his ministers.”
“How was that?” asked the ministers and Raktaksha began telling them the story of Sindhuka.

Tale of The Golden Droppings

• He survives who anticipates a danger and acts to avert it, he who does not comes to grief.
• If you want to achieve your goal you will have to put up with all inconvenience and discomfort.

On a big tree in the lap of a mountain lived a bird named Sindhuka. His droppings used to turn into gold as soon as they hit the ground. One day, a hunter came to the tree in search of prey and saw Sindhuka’s droppings hit the ground and turn into gold.

The hunter, struck by wonder, thought, “I have been hunting birds and small animals since I was a boy. I am now eighty years old. I have never seen in my life this kind of miracle.”
He decided to get the bird some how and set a noose for him. Not aware of the trap, the bird stayed on the branch merrily singing. Soon, the noose tightened and the hunter caught the bird and pushed him into his cage.
The hunter took it home and considered, “If the king comes to know of this wonder, he will certainly take away the bird from me. Instead, I will go to the king and present the unique bird to him.”
The hunter took the bird the following day to the king and presented it to him with great reverence. The king was extremely happy and told his men to keep the bird in safe custody and feed him with the best bird food. But his minister was reluctant to accept the bird.
He said, “O Rajah, There is no use in trusting the word of this hunter and accepting the bird. Has anyone seen a bird dropping gold? Therefore, I request you to release the bird from the cage.”
The king ordered the bird to be set free. As soon as the door of the cage opened, the bird perched himself on a nearby doorway and defecated. The dropping immediately turned into gold. Sindhuka then recited that line about fools, “First, I was a fool. Then the hunter and then the king and his ministers.”
Raktaksha continued, “That’s why I tell you that we are all fools in sparing the life of this minister of the crows, Sthirajeevi.” Despite Raktaksha’s warnings, the owls continued to look after Sthirajeevi with great devotion. The crow minister became strong and powerful. Giving up all hopes of reforming his king and ministers, Raktaksha called his close colleagues and told them,
“Friends, our king and his men are beyond reform. We have given whatever advice a minister has to give. We shall now leave this dangerous place and pitch our tents elsewhere. The elders have said, “He prospers who anticipates danger and escapes it. He who does not destroys himself.” I have been living in this jungle for so long, I have become old. Yet, in all my life I have never heard a cave speaking like a human being.”
“What, a cave speaking like a human being! Surprising. We have never heard of it. Please tell us all about it,” asked his followers.
Raktaksha then told them the following story.
Deep in the rain forest lived a lion named Kharanakara. One day, he was very hungry and looked for a prey in every nook and corner of the forest. There was no animal, big or small, as far as he could see. As he was wandering in search of food he found a big cave and thought, “There must be some animal living here. If so, it is bound to return to the cave in the evening. I will hide myself in the cave and when the animal returns, pounce on him and have a good meal.”
Then as sun began to set, Dadhiputcha, a jackal, came to the cave that was his home and saw the footprints of the lion entering the cave. There were, however, no traces of footprints to show that the lion had left. Scared, the jackal wanted to make sure that it was a lion or some big animal that went into the cave. But how should he know? He hit upon a brilliant idea.
The jackal went near the cave and began shouting, “Hello cave, I am your friend here.” There was no reply from the cave. He did not know what to do. He again shouted, “Hello cave, don’t you remember the arrangement we made? I have to shout when I arrive at the cave and you will ask me to come in. Without your green signal I do not enter the cave. Since you are silent, I will go to some other cave.”
The lion heard the jackal speaking and thought, “Ah, there seems to be an arrangement between the cave and this animal. Let me get him into my trap. I will shout back a welcome to him and he will walk in happily.”
The lion then roared, “Hi jackal, come in. You are welcome.”
The jackal at once knew it was a lion inside the cave and hurriedly fled the place, remembering the lines of the learned,
“He survives who anticipates a danger and acts to avert it,
He who does not comes to grief.”
Raktaksha said, “That is how we must also anticipate danger and act. Let us leave now before it is too late.”
Listening to his advice, his ministers and others followed him to a far off place.
Seeing that the main obstacle in his way has disappeared and that the remaining king’s men were all stupid, Sthirajeevi began piling up twigs on the pretext of building a nest. He heaped them at the entrance of the cave in which the king and other owls lived. When the pile was big enough, he waited for daybreak when the owls would become blind. Then he flew off to Meghavarna and told him that before word could reach the enemy camp of this plan, he and his followers should accompany him (Sthirajeevi) each carrying a piece of burning wood.
Accordingly, Meghavarna and his men followed Sthirajeevi, each carrying a burning twig in his beak. When they reached the entrance of the cave, which was now blocked by the pile of twigs Sthirajeevi built, they threw the burning twigs on the pile, which began to burn fiercely killing all the owls trapped inside.
When Megahvarna and his men returned to their kingdom, he asked Sthirajeevi to tell him how he could plan to kill the enemy.
Sthirajeevi said, “It was not an easy job living in the enemy camp. Luckily, except Raktaksha, every one of Arimardana’s ministers was a fool. Yet it was like walking on the edge of a sword. But if you want to achieve your goal you will have to put up with all inconvenience and discomfort like the snake which carried the frogs on its back.”

Frogs That Rode a Snake

• What you have said is correct. Great men do not give up what they have begun even in the face of obstacles. Cowards, afraid of failure, do not venture at all. There are some that begin a task and give it up when there is a problem. But courageous people do not give up whatever dangers they face.
• It is dangerous to leave a fire un extinguished a debt unredeemed an enemy uncrushed and a disease untreated.

A black snake named Mandavishya lived in a forest on the Varuna hills. He was becoming old and worried that he would not be able to snare frogs any more and that would make him weak and bring his end closer. With a plan in his head, he went to a lake and resting on its edge pretended that he had lost all interest in worldly matters.
A frog in the lake came out and asked him, “Uncle, why are you not preying for food as used you to do in the past?”
The snake said, “Listen, my son, I am very unfortunate. How can I have any fervour for food? Last night when I was on my rounds looking for food I sighted a frog. When I tried to get at him, he jumped into the middle of a group of Brahmins reciting the Vedas. I could not track him. But soon I saw something like a frog near the Brahmins and at once jumped at him and bit him. It turned out to be the thumb of a Brahmin boy. The boy died immediately.”
“When his father found that I had killed his son, he cursed me, “You wicked snake, you have killed my innocent son. From now onwards you will serve as a vehicle for all frogs. Your life will be at their mercy.” I have now decided to serve my sentence. That is why I am here,” said the snake.
The frog ran into the lake and told every one about the snake and his offer to serve as a vehicle. Happy at the prospect, all the frogs went and met their king Jalapada and told him about the snake. “What a wonderful news,” thought the king and trooped out of the lake with his ministers and subjects. The king was the first to get on to the hood of the snake, followed by his ministers. In the order of seniority and prominence, the kings’ subjects also climbed the back of the snake. Those unfortunate frogs that could not find space on the vehicle followed the snake in a procession. To entertain them, Mandavishya showed several feats he could do.
Thrilled by the experience of riding a deadly snake, Jalapada, the king of the frogs, thought that the ride had no parallel. No ride, whether on an elephant or a horse or a chariot or a palanquin, can match this experience, he thought.
On the second day, Mandavishya slowed down the pace of his haul. Noticing the change of pace, Jalapada asked the snake why he was not moving as briskly as he used to. The snake told the king of frogs that he had no food that day and being weak he was not able to carry so much load.
Jalapada, taking pity on the snake, said, “You can have the younger frogs for your food.”
Thrilled at this offer, the snake said, “O king of frogs, my plight is due to the curse the Brahmin gave me. Your magnanimous concession has released me today from the curse. I am so happy.”
The snake thus began eating a few frogs every day and soon became strong and healthy. He was also worried that if he began eating the frogs at that rate there would not be any frogs left for him in the future.
Meanwhile, a big cobra chanced to come that way and seeing the snake carrying the frogs and struck by wonder asked the snake, “This is very unique though unnatural. How is it you have become a vehicle for frogs which are our natural food?”
“That’s a long story resembling the story of the Brahmin who pretended to have become blind after eating the good food his wife had made,” said Mandavishya.
The cobra asked the snake to relate that story.
Once upon a time, a Brahmin named Yagnadatta lived in a city. He had a wife who was not trustworthy. She had a lover to whom she would secretly send every day delicious food she made. One day, her husband found out what she was doing.
He asked her, “My dear, you are making every day some special dish or the other and taking it out of the house. Tell me, what is the truth.”
With great presence of mind, she told Yagnadatta, “Every day I am fasting and taking this food to offer to the Goddess.” To allay suspicion, she collected food and telling her husband that she was leaving for the temple, left home. The husband began following her secretly and when she went to the tank to bathe, he went to the temple of the Goddess and hid behind the idol.
After taking bath in the tank, the Brahmin’s wife came to the temple from the tank and began praying the Goddess, “O mother, tell me how can I render my husband blind?”
The Brahmin, hiding behind the idol, changed his voice and said, “O great devotee, you feed your husband daily with good and delicious food. Very soon he will become blind.”
From then onwards, the wife began feeding her husband with delicacies. Soon, the Brahmin complained to the wife that he was not able to see clearly. The wife thought that the Goddess had at last fulfilled her desire.
Encouraged by the Brahmin’s blindness, his wife’s lover began visiting her without any fear. One day, Yagnadatta saw him and his wife together. The lover ignored him thinking the Brahmin was blind. Yagnadatta then thrashed the lover so hard that he died. The Brahmin then cut the nose of his wife.
“That’s why,” Mandavishya told the cobra, “I am pretending to be friendly with the frogs.” Jalapada, the king of frogs overheard this conversation and asked Mandavishya if what he had heard was true. The snake at once realised his mistake and told the king of frogs that it was all fun. The king of frogs foolishly believed the words of the snake and the snake slowly swallowed all the frogs.
Sthirajeevi told Meghavarna that he followed the tactics of Mandavishya in misleading his enemies. Pleased, the king of crows said, “What you have said is correct. Great men do not give up what they have begun even in the face of obstacles. Cowards, afraid of failure, do not venture at all. There are some that begin a task and give it up when there is a problem. But courageous people do not give up whatever dangers they face.”
“You (Sthirajeevi) have crushed the enemies and brought security to my kingdom. The learned have said,

“It is dangerous to leave
A fire un extinguished
A debt unredeemed
An enemy uncrushed and
A disease untreated.”

Sthirajeevi said, “My lord, virtue belongs to him who is charitable, learned, courageous and friendly. Virtue brings wealth. Wealth brings power. It is a king with these qualities who can rule and expand his kingdom. I have done my duty. I need rest. But I humbly seek to offer one word of advice. All this power should not go to your head. Follow the path of duty and rule your subjects for a hundred years. May God bless you.”
This is the end of the third strategy Vishnu Sarma disclosed to his royal wards.
 

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

_{(My humble salutations to Katha varatha and  Hinduism dot org for the  collection)} 

(A Tribute to the great Bharatiya Samskruti)