by Visnu Sarma
(343) Rather than perform a deed that makes him
fall low in the world’s estimation,
or cause displeasure in his master’s mind,
an estimable servant would choose death.’
Hearing these words the Supreme Lord declared, ‘O, son of Vinatā! How truly you have spoken. In the same way:
(344) The master who will not from his service
dismiss a servant proven base and cruel,
is himself deserving of punishment harsh;
that is the rule without exception.
‘So, come with me; let us recover the eggs and pacify the lapwing and then proceed to Amarāvatī to look after the business of the immortals.’ To this Garuda assented. The Supreme Lord then having reprimanded the Ocean, fitted a fire-arrow to his bow and spoke, ‘Hear me, you evil-hearted one; return his eggs to the lapwing; otherwise I shall reduce you to dry land.’
On hearing these words, the Ocean with his whole retinue, trembling with fear, took up the eggs and as ordered by the Lord restored them to the parent lapwing.
‘Therefore, I say this to you, “Without knowing your enemy’s strength…” and so on,’ concluded Wily.
Now Lively, the bull, who had caught the drift of the jackal’s argument, asked him, ‘Dear friend Wily, now tell me, what would be Tawny’s mode of attack?’
To this, Wily, the jackal, replied, ‘Normally, as you know, it is Tawny’s practice to lie at ease on some flat rock, with all his limbs totally relaxed. However, if today you see him prick-eared, tail tensely drawn in, all four paws held close together tightly and looking straight ahead, watching you warily even from a distance, then you had better understand that Tawny harbours treachery in his mind.’
Having said all this, Wily left to visit Wary, who enquired at once, ‘And what exactly has Your Honour accomplished?’
‘Ah!’ replied Wily, ‘I have succeeded in sowing dissension between the parties.’
‘Really! And is that a fact?’ enquired Wary.
‘Sure, it is,’ answered Wily, ‘and Your Honour will know it from the outcome.’
‘Oh! I guess that is nothing to be surprised at, for is it not said:
(345) As waters full-flowing crack and split mountains
Earth-supporting, firm-built of close-packed rocks,
so too well-devised dissensions will not fail
to undermine even the most steadfast minds.’
Wily agreed, ‘Yes; and having sown dissension a person ought to derive every advantage he can from it. For it is said:
(346) Having studied deeply
every text on policy,
grasped the essential meaning
in its entirety,
but to his advantage not turning
all that vast learning—
what use are texts so demanding.’
And Wary replied, ‘Ah, but in truth personal advantage amounts to little; for:
(347) Worms, ashes, dung; such is the body’s final state—
to pamper this body by another’s pain—
Ah! What sort of statecraft do you call this.’
Wily promptly retorted, ‘O, sir, you are totally ignorant of the ways of statecraft which by its very nature is crooked;’ yet it forms the firm base for the livelihood of the whole breed of politicians. For that very reason, it is shrewdly advised:
(348) Steel your heart till it becomes hard and ruthless,
let your tongue be sweet as sugar-cane juice;
brushing aside indecisions and doubts,
slay him at whose hands you suffered before.
‘And one thing more; this bull Lively, though dead will still come in handy for our nourishment. For:
(349) The shrewd person who accomplishes both
the ruin of another and his own good,
keeps his counsel, gives no hint of his aims,
as Sly, the jackal did, deep in the woods.’
‘Oh! And how did that happen?’ remarked Wary. Then Wily began the tale of The Jackal who outwitted the Lion.
In a certain densely-wooded region there lived a lion named Thunderbolt Fang with his three ministers, a hyena, a jackal and a camel, named Carrion Hog,59 Sly and Spike Ear respectively. At one time Thunderbolt Fang who had got into a furious fight with a rutting elephant and been sorely wounded with his body all rent by the pointed tusks of his enemy, retreated into his lair and remained there in total seclusion. After enduring seven days of bitter fasting, when his frame had become all emaciated, he looked around and saw that his ministers were pale with hunger. He ordered them, ‘Look, fellows, go out into the woods and round up some prey or other, bring it here and even though I am in this disabled condition, I shall kill it and provide food for you.’
Receiving their master’s orders, the three ministers began roaming the woods searching for prey but found nothing. Then Sly started thinking: ‘If only Spike Ear were to be killed we should all have our bellyful of food for several days. But, out of friendship for him, our master will not kill him. However, I daresay by using my wit I can put the idea of slaying him into our master’s mind. For surely:
(350) There is nothing inviolable in this world,
or unobtainable or improper,
if people are shrewd enough to make a try:
And that’s what I shall now set out to do.’
Having reflected upon the matter, Sly trotted up to Spike Ear and said, ‘Hey there! Friend Spike Ear; listen; lacking wholesome food our master is sorely distressed by hunger. If he should die then our deaths will soon follow; that’s for sure. Therefore, I lay this proposition before you; by carrying it out you will benefit yourself and our master as well.’
‘O, dear friend,’ responded Spike Ear, ‘tell me what it is; tell me quickly so that I may do as you say without the least hesitation. Besides, by serving one’s master, a person earns the same merit that is gained by the performance of a hundred good deeds.’
Then Sly outlined his plan: ‘Listen, dear friend, supposing you offer your body, but, at a hundred per cent interest; what you get back is your body twofold; and our master… he too will have his life prolonged.’
Spike Ear, having listened to this proposal, replied, ‘Dear friend, Sly, if this is at all possible, why then, I am no loser. So, let our master be informed accordingly. But, the Ruler of Righteousness60 ought to be entreated to guarantee this pact.’
Having decided thus all three approached the lion and Sly began, ‘Lord, we have not found any prey and the glorious Sun is at the point of setting.’ Hearing this the lion grew deeply dejected. Then Sly continued, ‘Lord, our friend, Spike Ear, here, has however something to convey to His Lordship: that he is ready to offer his own body if the God of Death were to stand surety that in return, he, Spike Ear, would get his body back twofold.’
‘O, what a beautiful offer, my friend,’ observed the lion, ‘and now, let this be done forthwith.’
On the basis of this pact, poor Spike Ear, felled and slain by a blow of the lion’s paw was disembowelled by the hyena and jackal.
Sly began to think once more, ‘Now, how shall I manage it so that I may have all this food to myself.’ With this thought in mind, he addressed the lion whose limbs were blood-spattered, ‘Let His Lordship go down to the river and wash himself and offer prayers to the divinities while I stay here with Carrion Hog to stand guard over the food.’
The lion gave heed to Sly’s words and started for the river. As soon as he had gone, Sly told the hyena, ‘Hey! Friend Carrion Hog, you do look famished; why don’t you eat a little of this camel-meat before our lord returns from the river. Go on; I shall speak up for you before the master and exonerate you from improper behaviour.’61
Grateful, Carrion Hog took a bite of the dead camel. Hardly had he tasted it when Sly cried out, ‘Hey, Carrion Hog, look out; the master is on his way, quick, run away.’
As the hyena was about to make himself scarce, the lion returned and noticed that the camel’s heart was mis
sing. ‘What’s this?’ he roared in anger. ‘Who has dared to turn this camel-meat into leavings?62 I shall kill him straight away.’ Threatened in this manner, Carrion Hog looked at Sly’s face as if to say, ‘For God’s sake, say something to calm him down.’ But Sly only laughed and taunted the hyena, ‘O, sir, come now, you ate the camel’s heart all by yourself and now you look at my face….’
At these words, Carrion Hog, fearing for his life fled as fast as he could to another region. The lion went in hot pursuit of him for some distance and then stopped, thinking: ‘O, no, he too is a claw-armed63 creature; I cannot kill him,’ and turned back.
In the meantime, as Sly’s lucky stars would have it, a great camel caravan was headed that way, heavy-laden with merchandise, and announced by a tremendous jingling of bells tied round the necks of the beasts. Hearing that mighty sound of bells even from the distance, the lion ordered the jackal, ‘My good Sly, go and find out what this dreadful sound is.’
Sly dutifully ran a little way inside the forest and almost immediately darted back crying out in great excitement, ‘Run, master, run; that is if you can run.’
Exasperated, Thunderbolt Fang asked, ‘Look here, my good fellow, why are you making me so nervous? Tell me what it is that you saw.’
‘Oh, my lord,’ replied Sly, ‘It is the God of Death who is approaching in great rage against you for having brought about the untimely death of his own dear camel, and that too after making him stand surety for the safety of the poor beast’s life. “I’ll see that this wretch pays a thousandfold for having harmed my very own camel”—that is what the god is saying,’ submitted Sly. ‘And now the god comes leading a great herd of camels, further determined to make full enquiries about poor Spike Ear’s forefathers. He is coming here towards us, my lord; he is close at hand.’
The lion becoming frightened by this news, abandoned the dead camel and in mortal fear of his life took to his heels and disappeared from sight.
Sly, pleased, consumed the camel’s flesh bit by bit over a very, very long time.
‘Which is why I way to you, Sir Wary, that a shrewd person while inflicting injury on another does himself a favour,’ and Wily concluded his tale.
In the meantime, after Wily had left him, poor Lively being plunged into anxious thought, reflected: ‘Whatever shall I do now? Suppose I decide to go elsewhere, it is quite likely that I might encounter some other savage creature who would kill me; for, this is a wild and inhospitable forest indeed… not to mention that with the master so angry with me, I could not even leave this place. For as we heard the wise say:
(351) Once a man, thoughtless, commits an error
never again can he feel safe
however far he flees;
for the shrewd and conniving have long arms
that stretch far enough to drag the poor man back.
‘And as things are at present, I think it is best to seek out the lion and throw myself at his mercy. Who knows, that looking upon me as a suppliant, he might even spare my life.’
Having settled his thoughts as best as he could, Lively proceeded very slowly towards Tawny’s presence, deeply troubled in spirit. He saw Tawny displaying precisely the stance and demeanour that Wily had led him to expect. Sitting down at some distance he sadly reflected: ‘Alas! This contrary nature of princes; how wisely have the sages commented:
(352) A house full of hidden serpents crawling;
a forest with beasts of prey swarming;64
a pool of crocodiles lurking
beneath clusters of lotuses
in radiant beauty blowing…
a place constantly debased by sneaking knaves
vicious, addicted to slandering;
such is the minds of princes…
O, what tribulation for timid servants
to penetrate there in fear and trembling.’
Now, Tawny, who on his part had been narrowly watching Lively, noted that the stance and demeanour of the bull was exactly as had been described to him by Wily; and he suddenly leaped on the bull. With his body rent and bloodied by the cutting edge of the lion’s thunderbolt claws, Lively rose and charged, goring Tawny’s belly with the sharp points of his horns. Then, disengaging himself from his foe, he stood at bay, ready to charge again and gore the lion.
Wary, watching this bloody drama at a distance, saw the two, Tawny and Lively, stand facing each other with murderous intent. They looked like two palāśa65 trees in full bloom. Turning to his friend Wily, he spoke bitterly, chiding the latter: ‘Oh! You, miserable dunderhead! Is this well what you have done? Causing such enmity between these two who were friends? By your actions, sir, you have brought disorder and confusion into this whole forest-domain. You have further clearly demonstrated your ignorance of statecraft. For as it has been wisely observed:
(353) Resorting to conciliation66
as sole expedient of policy
men well-versed in diplomacy
calm with gentle touch a situation
whose ends have else to be compassed
by crduous efforts undertaken
in the hazardous course served
by the expedient of violence:67
these alone are true ministers.
While those hell-bent on violence,
driven by desire for paltry gains
unlawful, and lacking pith, plan actions
impolitic, that leave the fortunes
of the monarch hanging in the balance.
‘Therefore, you bumbling fool:
(354) To men who clearly discern right from wrong
the expedient of conciliation
stands first and foremost.
Lawful are ends wrought by conciliation;
ends that defy frustration.
‘Therefore, O, you misguided fool! You hanker after the post of minister; yet, you do not even know the word, “conciliation”. You only think of one expedient, war. How vain and useless are all your fond imaginings! For it is sagely observed:
(355) Beginning with peace, extending up to war:68
Thus, the Self-Existent enunciated
the guidelines of polity for princes: of these
war most reprehensible is best excluded.
(356) The darkness that breeds in a foeman’s heart
is only through conciliation destroyed:
not by the lustre-rays of a priceless gem,
not by the sun’s heat, not by the fire’s flames.
‘And what’s more:
(357) Where conciliation promises success
why resort to measures of war;
if candied sugar cures the bilious fit,
why prescribe juice of bitter-gourd for it.
‘Then again:
(358) Conciliation, bribes, intrigue, these it’s true
are the doors open for intelligence.69
The fourth expedient, the noble speak of
as that which displays masculine vigour.70
‘Besides:
(359) Intelligence without manly vigour
may be rated as mere womanishness;
while bravery exercised with unfairness
is, doubt not, nothing but sheer brutishness.
(360) Lion, elephant or venomous snake,
Fire, water, air or blessed sun; in them
we witness the might of the mightiest shown—
barren might lacking a purposive plan.
‘Therefore, if from the overweening pride that comes of being a minister’s son, you have exceeded your authority, it is only to court your own downfall. For it is a wise observation:
(361) What is Knowledge,71 if having won her
firm control over passions fails to follow,
or rightful use of Intelligence lost;
if with Righteousness, Knowledge does not dwell,
if She leads not to Serenity or Fame;
if to have Her is to simply bandy
her name in this world—what use is She then?
‘Now, the texts on s
tatecraft enunciate a fivefold counsel, as follows: an initial plan of action; organization of resources, men and material; a clear determination of time and place; counter-measures in case of reverses; and successful action. At this very moment, the master is in grave danger. So, you had better think of proper counter-measures if indeed you have the ability to do so. The test of a minister’s political sagacity is his ability to cement friendships. But, you, O blockhead, you are incapable of doing that because you have a truly perverse nature. How aptly said then:
(362) A scurvy knave is expert in ruining others’ work
but he knows not how to make it prosper.
The mole can cause the mulberry tree to fall;
but to raise it again straight—that he cannot.
‘On the other hand the fault is really not yours; rather, it is the master’s fault who paid close attention to the words of a silly fool like you. For how excellently is it observed:
(363) Good counsel while it aims to cleanse the sluggish mind
fogged by fatuous conceit and other imperfections,
only serves to inflame that mind and madden it
as sight-awakening light only makes owls go blind.
‘And further:
(364) Learning, they say, is the cure for conceit;
but wherè’s the physician to cure the man
that same learning maddens with gross conceit?
When ambrosia itself poisons a man,
where is the physic to heal him be found?’
Seeing his master in a pitiable condition, Wary was plunged into despair. ‘Alas! Alas!’ he lamented, ‘What calamity is this that has befallen our lord… all from listening to evil counsel! Oh! How wisely has it been said:
(365) Ṁonarchs who pursue counsels of base men
and stray from the path enjoined by sages
enter that cage of evils thronged by rivals
from which no door of deliverance can open.
‘Oh! You miserable fool! The whole world beats a path to the door of a master who has a retinue of merit and virtue, to seek his service. How then can our master ever gain that wealth of allies and retainers, all men of merit, when a mere beast like you who knows only to rend and tear and destroy, serves him as his minister? For, as the saying goes: