by Visnu Sarma
In a certain wooded region there was a very large lake in which lived a wild goose named Love Mad.38 He had lived in that lake for a very long time playing and enjoying himself in many different ways. One day an owl made his appearance there, his death in the shape of an owl as it turned out.
Seeing the owl alight on the bank, Love Mad enquired: ‘Sir, where have you come from? And here, to this desolate forest?’
‘I have heard so much about your excellent qualities. Your Honour,’ answered the owl, ‘that I decided to come here to meet you. You must know that:
(277) Dedicated to the quest of virtue,
I have roamed the world entire,
Not finding one with virtues greater than yours,
I have now come to sit at your feet.
(278) I need your friendship; and right now and here;
with great reverence cultivate it I shall.
Even what is sullied gains purity
when it touches Gafigā’s holy waters.
‘Moreover:
(279) What was mere shell became in Viṣṇu’s hand,
the divine conch celebrated.
Association with the virtuous,
whom does it not ennoble?’
After this address was delivered by the owl, the wild goose declared, ‘So be it, my noble friend. Dwell here by this great lake in this pleasant forest as long as you wish and enjoy my company.’
And the days passed by with these two friends enjoying various pastimes together. One day, however, the owl said, ‘My friend, I think I’d like to return to my own home in Lotus Woods. If you set store by our friendship, if you entertain any affection for me, pray visit me there and be my guest.’ With these words the owl flew off to his native woods.
As time went by, one day the wild goose began to reflect thus: ‘I have grown old living in this same spot; I know of no other place to go to. Why don’t I go to the place where my dear friend, the owl, lives? I am sure to find different kinds of dainty foods there, to be nibbled and eaten; and various spots to sport in and enjoy myself.’
After these reflections, Love Mad went in search of the home of his friend, the owl. But at first he could not find his friend anywhere in the woods. Having conducted a minute and painstaking search, Love Mad finally discovered the owl, who being blind during daytime was I oled up in a deep and dark hollow at the lake’s edge. He addressed the owl, calling out courteously: ‘Hallo, hallo there, my friend; come, come out at once. Here I am, Love Mad, your dear friend, the wild goose, come to visit you.’
The owl heard his friend’s greetings and replied: ‘Listen, I am not a creature of daylight. You and I can meet and converse only after sunset.’
Hearing this, Love Mad waited expectantly for many hours until finally he was able to meet the owl. After making the customary enquiries about their mutual good health and spirits and having exchanged news, the wild goose, exhausted by his long and wearying journey, fell asleep then and there.
Now, it happened that a group of merchants with their caravan of carts had set up camp beside that very same lotus lake. At dawn, the leader of the caravan rose from sleep and ordered the conch to be sounded to signal preparations for the caravan’s departure. Immediately, the owl set up a loud and harsh screech and flew into his nest in the cleft at the lake’s edge. But the wild goose stayed still asleep. The caravan leader who was disturbed hearing this ill-omened screech of the owl at the start of their journey, ordered an expert archer in his company who could aim by sound, to shoot. The archer strung his powerful bow, drew the bowstring fully even up to his ear, let fly an arrow that struck the wild goose who was sleeping near the owl’s nest and killed him.
Lively concluded his tale with the comment: ‘You see, that is why I said, “Inopportune course, undesirable company…” and so on.’
Lively then continued rather pensively: ‘You know, at first, our master Tawny’s speech was all honey… now… it turns out that his mind is seething with poison. It is always right that:
(280) A man should shun the friend
who slanders him behind his back
while flattering him to his face;
for he is a jar of poison with milk on top.
‘Ah! How well I know this from experience:
(281) Hands raised high greet you from afar;
eyes misting with affection, he tenders half his own seat;
he clasps you close in a loving embrace;
tirelessly attentive in kind enquiries,
he makes pleasant talk—
O what wondrous skill in deceit and tricks!
Poison hidden deep within—all honey without—
What unprecedented dramatic art is this!
That a rank villain receives his training in!
(282) All finely decked in fascinations: fine manners,
extravagant courtesies, compliments, that’s how it starts;
Midway it is all abloom—Ah!
With such marvellous phrases of praise, esteem—
except they bear no fruit—
then, at the end see how loathsome it all turns out,
dark, overgrown by calumny, disdain, dishonour—
How and why has this course been created! Alas!
The course of friendship with the lowborn, the ill-bred—
whose only goal is the flouting of the just Law!
‘And mark this too:
(283) He bows as prescribed; he rises in welcome;
he waits upon you, the villain;
he is attentive to your every need,
makes a show of unswerving devotion,
hugs you in an excess of affection,
wins your heart with his sweetest speech,
extols all your excellent qualities,
but never does what rightly should be done.
He is always a villain.
‘O misery! Lamentable misery! How could I have struck up a friendship with a lion! I, a grass-eater… he a devourer of raw flesh. How well it is observed:
(284) Where wealth matches wealth and lineage is equal
there marriage or friendship works well;
but not between the well-fed, prosperous
and the lean and down-and-out in the world.
(285) Even as the flaming sun stands on the western mountain
flinging despondent his final glory,
the thirsty honey-bee explores the heart of the lotus,
unmindful of imprisonment at sunset.
So too, the suitor, his eye on the fruit,
scarce reflects on the risks he runs.
(286) Passing nonchalantly at some distance,
the coveted honey-filled cups of fresh blue-lotuses,
not caring to drink from them;
flinging away from fragrant night-blooming jasmine buds
that exhale their native scents intoxicating;
damselflies weary themselves tasting the rut
trickling down the temples of tuskers.
So too, the world passes by what is effortlessly gained
to seek delight in the company of knaves.
(287) Greedy for a new taste of honey-sweetness,
bees clamour over droplets of rut gathering
continually on wild elephants’ cheeks.
When hurled to the ground by the gusts of wind
from the beasts’ flapping fan-ears, they remember then
the happy times, sporting within lotus-chalices.
‘Perhaps… the fault really lies within the qualities themselves:
(288) The branches of the great lords of the forest
bend low from the wealth of fruit they bear;
the peacock’s gait is slow and indolent
from the proudly-swelling plumage he trails;
the noble horse, pure-blooded, he races,
fleet as wind, yet he is led like a cow.
In persons endowed with qualities most admirable,
most often, those qualities themselves become their worst foes.
(289) Where Yamunā flows with deep-blue waters and
sapphire-sparkles of glittering sands,
there, in those depths, lies submerged, the dark-blue snake,
coiling mass glossy as collyrium.
Who would track him down there? Unless…
he is betrayed by gleams of brilliant star-gems clustered in the
circlets of his hoods?
By virtues raised to lofty heights,
by those same virtues the noble fall.
(290) Great monarchs are mostly averse to men of merit;
riches are commonly enamoured of knaves and fools;
Oh! How false a statement — that in merit lies a man’s greatness!
When, as a rule, people think little of manliness.
(291) Lordly lions confined in cages, cowed down, and skulking,
with disconsolate mien;
noble elephants, whose brows by constant pricks of sharp
goads are dented and rent;
cobras, listless, lulled into dull stupor by charms and
potent incantations;
scholars down-and-out, dogged by misfortune;
heroic warriors abandoned by fortune:
Time sports with such beings,
swinging them back and forth as if they were playthings
serving for his amusement.
(292) The greedy honey bee, poor fool, forsakes
blossoming lotuses in pools free of perils,
and goes for the trickling rut of majestic tuskers,
not counting the risks of flattening blows of winnowing elephant-ears.
It is in the nature of those in hot pursuit of something,
not to pause and reflect upon the final outcome.
‘I see now that by entering the sphere of power where base villainy operates, I have placed my life at risk… totally. How excellently is it said that:
(293) How many there are among the sharp-witted,
who, corrupt, earn their living by fraud;
who do good as well as ill, as in the tale
of the camel and the crow and others.’
‘Really,’ asked Wily, ‘and how did that happen?’ Then Lively began the tale of The Camel, the Crow and Others.
Once upon a time, there lived in a certain city, a rich merchant, named Seafarer.39 He set out in a certain direction, leading a caravan of a hundred camels, each laden with textiles of great value. One of his camels, named Disdain, buckled under the heavy load and powerless, with all his limbs drooping, fell down. The merchant seeing that he could not possibly break journey and camp in the forest full of dangers, had Disdain’s load distributed among the other camels and continued on his way, abandoning poor Disdain.
When the caravan had departed, Disdain slowly got up and hobbling around began to crop the tips of the lush foliage. Thus, in a very few days, he regained his strength.
In the same forest there lived a lion named Lusty,40 with a panther, a crow and a jackal as his attendants. As Lusty was roaming in the forest accompanied by his attendants, he came upon the camel who had been abandoned by the merchants. Seeing this extraordinary creature, never seen before, who was rather comical in appearance, the lion observed, ‘Look, here is a strange animal that has entered our forest. Ask him who he is.’
The crow at once Went up to Disdain and having enquired and ascertained the facts, informed his master: ‘This is known in the world as a camel.’
Lusty then called out to Disdain: ‘Hey there! How did you come here?’ Thus addressed. Disdain told the whole story in all its details, of how he had been abandoned there in the forest. Taking pity on the camel and wishing to help him, Lusty offered Disdain his protection.
As the days passed, it happened one day that Lusty who had been in a fight with a bull-elephant and was severely gored by his enemy’s tusks, had to keep to his lair in the cave. Five or six days passed; the lion and his attendants were in perishing distress for want of food. Noticing that his retinue was languishing, famished, Lusty addressed them: ‘Being injured badly, I am unable to hunt and forage, and provide you with food as I used to. So, you fellows had better forage for yourselves somehow and manage.’ To this the lion’s attendants replied, ‘While Your Lordship is in this condition, why should we attempt to sustain our lives?’
Pleased, the lion observed, ‘Well said, fellows; you exhibit the proper devotion and conduct expected of attendants. Since I am in this disabled condition, pray go out and bring me some food.’ They remained silent. But their faces showed quite plainly what was going on in their minds.
‘Come, come,’ admonished the lion, ‘don’t hang back and look so shamefaced. Go, round up some animal or other and bring it to me. Even in the state that I am, I shall slay it and make food for all of you and for myself.’
So the three of them started roaming the woods looking for prey. But when they were unable to rustle up any creature, the crow and the jackal started consulting with each other. The jackal spoke first, ‘Friend Crow,’ he said, ‘Why are we wandering in the forest in this manner, when we see before us, Disdain, who trusts our master…? Why not kill him so that our lives can be sustained?’
‘A good suggestion, undoubtedly,’ answered the crow, ‘except for one thing… he cannot be killed because our lord has taken Disdain under his protection.’
‘Ah! Yes, that is true,’ replied the jackal, ‘Let me talk to our lord and see if I can put the idea of despatching Disdain into his mind. You wait right here, while I run home and return soon with our master’s orders.’
So saying, the jackal hastened to Lusty’s lair and presenting himself to the lion began, ‘My lord, we have roamed over the whole forest; we have now reached the point where hunger is so overpowering that we can hardly take one further step. Not only that, Your Lordship too is in a weakened condition and needs a wholesome diet. That being the case, if Your Lordship orders, a wholesome diet can be furnished today by Disdain’s flesh.’
The lion was furious when he heard these cruel words; he exclaimed angrily, ‘Shame! Shame upon you! Vilest of sinners! You say that again and I’ll strike you dead instantly. When I have taken Disdain under my protection and given him sanctuary, how can I slay him myself? As the proverb goes:
(294) No gift of cows, no gift of land,
nor any gift of food holds pre-eminence;
of all the gifts in the world, say the wise,
the foremost is the gift of safety of life.’
The jackal listened attentively and responded thus, ‘My lord, if having guaranteed Disdain the safety of his life, Your Lordship slays him, I grant that Your Lordship will certainly incur blame. But on the other hand, if Disdain out of devotion and of his own accord, lays his life at your feet, then no blame can attach to His Lordship. If he himself freely commits himself to slaughter, then he may be slain. Otherwise… one of us has to offer himself as Your Lordship’s food, the reason being that His Lordship is in great need of a wholesome diet, so that his condition may not take a turn for the worse on account of the inroads that extreme hunger can make. And if that were to happen what do we have to live for? If we cannot offer our lives in the service of our lord, what use are we? If something undesirable happens to our lord, what is left to us but to follow him and enter the funeral pyre with him? For it is said:
(295) At all times and at all costs
the chief of the clan must be protected.
If he falls the clan is lost;
the wheel cannot turn if the nave does not hold.’
Lusty needed what his retainer, the jackal, advised and said, ‘All right; if this is so, then do what is best.’
No sooner had the jackal heard these words than he hastened to the others and addressed them, ‘Alas! Our master’s condition is extreme; the breath is even now in his nostrils about to fly away. Once he is gone, who is there in the forest to be our protector? When through privation, he is at the point of starting his journey to the other world, we should now go and offer our
bodies to him. By so doing we shall free ourselves of the debt we owe our lord for his graciousness to us. For it is said:
(296) As long as there is life in him
a servant who simply looks on
while his master’s life is endangered,
will surely find himself in hell.’
Then they all went, their eyes brimming with tears, bowed low to Lusty and sat around him.
Lusty glanced around and asked, ‘Hey, fellows, did you catch something or see anything?’
The crow replied, ‘Lord, we have tramped the whole forest; but we have found no prey or seen any. So, let our lord make his meal off me today to sustain his life. For our lord my body will serve to sustain his life for one day; for me it will be the means to attain the celestial world.41 For it is said:
(297) The man who in a spirit of devotion
offers his life for his master’s life
will be freed from old age and death
and attain Final Beatitude.’
The jackal who had been listening now interjected, ‘You, sir, have such a tiny body that it will hardly serve the purpose of sustaining our master’s life. There is also another objection here; for it is stated:
(298) Meagre is the flesh of crows, lacking
nourishment; and so are leavings.
Where no satisfaction is found,
why dine on such things?
‘You have shown proof of your devotion to our master, sir; thereby you have won a reputation for virtuous conduct in both worlds. Now step aside so that I may address our lord.’
The crow stepped to one side. The jackal bowing low with respect, spoke, ‘My lord, pray grant me the favour of using my body to sustain your life today so that I may inherit both worlds. For it is clearly stated:
(299) Servants’ lives are with their masters pledged
in return for the wealth they earn by serving:
if for some reason their lives are forfeit,
the master is not guilty of sinning.’
The leopard who had been listening to the jackal’s words, now made his pitch, ‘Oho! sir, you have spoken wisely, sir, yes, hm. But isn’t your body also not… rather… insignificant? Besides, you cannot serve as food for our lord, because you belong to the same family of creatures… meaning those who have claws for weapons. Therefore your flesh is taboo. For it is wisely said: