by Visnu Sarma
(405) Where mice may eat up an iron balance,
solid, of a thousand weights,
there, a hawk too may carry off an elephant;
small wonder then if it carries off a boy!’
The judges asked eagerly, ‘What do you mean, Naduka?’ Nāduka at once told them the whole story of his balance. They listened and then laughing, ordered that the one should have his balance restored and the other his son.
‘Which is why I quoted the verse to you, “Where mice may eat up an iron balance…” and the rest of it,’ concluded the jackal, Wary.
And he continued admonishing Wily. ‘You blockhead! You have done what you did because you could not bear to see Lord Tawny’s favour bestowed so freely on Lively. What’s more, there is much wisdom in the proverb:
(406) Rascals revile men of noble birth;
rejected suitors sneer at lovers women adore;
cowards condemn men of shining courage,
and misers munificent donors;
the destitute despise the prosperous,
and the crooked the upright;
those with deformities cursed ridicule
men with great beauty blest;
fools censure men proficient in diverse fields:
this is the rule of the world!
‘Also:
(407) The wise are hated by the ignorant,
the immensely wealthy by the indigent;
the pious of strict vows by men of sinful ways;
chaste wives by women of easy virtue.
‘Or else, consider:
(408) All beings follow the bent of their natures;
men of discernment even, they only act
as their own nature directs them to do:
this being so, what can chastisement effect?
‘The person who grasps what is said once, only he can be instructed properly; whereas you are like a stone, mindless, inert. Why try to instruct you? And further, you fool, even associating with you is not right. From close contact with you, Wily, who knows what misfortune might not come upon me. How wisely is it observed:
(409) Merely to live beside a blockhead
in country, village, city or homestead,
even if one has no dealings with him,
is simply a way of inviting misfortune.
(410) Better plunge in the ocean or blazing fire,
in deepest pit or underworld abyss,
than keep company with a wretched fool
who has parted company with his judgement.
(411) As breezes wandering over many lands
come laden with odours foul or fragrant
so do men consorting with good or bad
have virtues or vices clinging to them.
‘And this tale contains the wisdom that teaches a lesson:
(412) Two birds were we, I and he,
with selfsame mother, with selfsame father,
Well brought up by hermits was I,
and he by eaters of cattle flesh.
(413) He hears the speech of beef-eaters, O, King!
I of hermits continually,
Association fosters vice or virtue;
and this Your Honour has seen for yourself.’
‘And was that so?’ quizzed Wily, the jackal. Then Wary began the tale of The Twin Parrots.
In a certain part of a mountainous region, a hen-parrot gave birth to two chicks. Once, while she had left the nest to go foraging, a fowler trapped her two sons. However, one of them, watched over by a kind fate, got away, while the other was kept in a cage by the fowler who trained him to speak. The chick who got away was found by a wandering hermit who picked him up, took him to the hermitage and tended him with care.
As time went by in this manner, one day, a king whose horse had bolted with him thus separating him from his army, came galloping into that wooded region where the band of fowlers lived. No sooner had the fowler’s parrot in the cage seen the king approaching on horseback than he started twittering melodiously, ‘Come, come, O my masters; here comes some fellow riding a horse; quick, seize him, bind him; kill him, kill him.’
As soon as the king heard this parrot-talk, he spurred his horse on and sped away. He rode on and on until he approached another forest, distant, where he saw a hermitage in which a company of hermits resided. There too, a parrot in a cage seeing the king, addressed him affably, twittering: ‘Come, O, King; come and rest yourself here. Taste our cool waters and our sweet fruit.’ Then he turned and called out, ‘Hey there! O, holy hermits! Honour this guest who has come to our hermitage; welcome him with the guest-offering,94 here under the cool shade of this tree.’
Listening to the words of welcome spoken by this parrot, the king was lost in amazement. His eyes widening with wonder, he reflected, ‘How strange all this is!’ Then he questioned the parrot, ‘Sir, I am amazed, for, a while ago, a great distance from this place, I saw another parrot in another forest who looked exactly like you: except that he displayed a cruel nature. He kept repeating, “Seize him, bind him, kill him, kill him.”
When the virtuous parrot heard what the king said, he narrated all the events of his life in detail.
‘Therefore I say to you, Sir Wily, “Association fosters vice or virtue…” and so on. And let me add, Sir Wily, that even casual acquaintance with you is not salutary. As the moral in the tale clearly says:
(414) Better a wise, learned man for a foe,
than an ignorant blockhead for a friend,
The robber for his victims gave his life;
the monkey killed the king.’
‘Oh! Sir Wary, tell me, tell me how that happened,’ exclaimed Wily. Then Wary, the jackal, began the tales of The Three Friends and the Noble Robber and Faithful but Foolish.
There was a certain prince who had formed close friendships with a merchant’s son and the son of a scholar. Everyday the three friends went out together to the public square, to the pleasure gardens and recreation-grounds, to enjoy themselves in various sports and amusements; and in amorous pastimes. The prince was averse to the science and practice of archery, to elephant and horse-riding and to other kingly sports such as hunting and chariot-racing.
One day when his royal father had roundly reprimanded him for not displaying any aptitude for or interest in princely pursuits, the prince opened his heart to his two friends, conveying to them his bitterness at the deep hurt to his self-esteem. They too responded in kind, saying, ‘Our fathers also berate us in like manner for not showing any interest in the pursuit of our family professions; not a day goes by without their confronting us with the same charges, babbling on and on incoherently. But up to now we have paid scant attention to their complaints, happy and secure in our friendship with you, sir. But now, seeing you in the same plight, hurting from a similar grievance, we are even more miserable than before.’
Then the prince spoke with determination, ‘Having been humiliated thus it is wholly unbefitting for us to remain here. Therefore let us three depart sharing a common resentment, and go elsewhere. For:
(415) Courage and resoluteness, character and strength,
virtue and knowledge; of self-respecting men
such qualities are tested and known from results,
when fired by pride they abandon their native lands.’
Having determined on this, the question of which place was best to travel to was next on their minds. The merchant’s son then made a suggestion, ‘Since it is undeniable that no success that one wishes for is possible without wealth, I think we should set out towards Mount Ascension, where we may find gems that would provide us the means to enjoy all imaginable pleasures.’
Agreeing to this as a most suitable course to pursue, the three friends set out for Mount Ascension, where by a stroke of good luck, they each found a priceless gem. Now they began to deliberate. ‘How shall we protect these gems while travelling by this forest-track which is beset by innumerable dangers,’ they asked each other as they conferred amongst themselves.
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sp; Then the scholar’s son came up with an idea, ‘Look,’ he exclaimed, ‘here I am, a scholar’s son, and a good plan has come into my mind; this is it; let each one of us swallow his gem so that being inside our stomachs it will be safe from other merchants, highway robbers and other such persons.’
Deciding on this as an excellent plan, at dinner-time, each placed his gem in a mouthful of food and swallowed it.
While this was happening a fellow who was resting on the mountain slope without being seen, witnessed it all.
‘Just see my luck,’ he reflected, ‘here I have been wandering around so many days tramping up and down Mount Ascension searching for gems; but being ill-starred I found nothing. Therefore, let me follow these men; sometime or other they will lie down tired out and fall asleep; and then, I shall rip open their bellies and possess myself of all three gems.’ Having determined to carry out his plan, the stranger came down the mountain and started following the three friends as they continued on their journey.
Soon he started talking to them, thus, ‘Hey there! Hey! Worthy gentlemen! I simply cannot think of passing through this terrifying forest all by myself to get to my native land. So, pray allow me to join you and travel in your company.’
Out of friendly feeling, the three friends readily agreed; all four of them journeyed on together. Soon they came to an impenetrable part of the hills, where a settlement of Bhils came into view, hugging the curve of the track. As the travellers passed by on the outskirts of this settlement, one old bird which was part of the aviary of many different species of birds that the Bhil chieftain kept as pets out of interest, began calling from its cage.
Now the Bhil chieftain was conversant with the language of birds; he comprehended the messages conveyed by their calls and songs. Understanding perfectly the meaning of the old bird’s song, he was transported with delight; calling to his attendants, he spoke to them: ‘Listen fellows: listen to what this bird is saying; it says, “Hey! there are priceless gems in the possession of the travellers who are this very minute going along on the forest trail that passes by our settlement. Seize them; seize them.” So, fellows, do as the bird says; go, stop them and bring them before me.’
When his men had followed his orders and brought the travellers before him, the Bhil chieftain himself made a thorough search of the four travellers. He even stripped them and took everything they had; but he found no gems. When the travellers resumed their journey having been released with nothing but a loin-cloth on their person, the same bird again began to sing, saying the same thing again. Listening carefully to the bird’s song, once again the Bhil chieftain had the travellers seized and brought back. Once again, he undertook a most particular and minute inspection of the persons of the travellers; finding nothing he let them go.
As the travellers were again about to continue their journey, the same bird began to sing again, expatiating on the same theme in loud, shrill tones. Once again the Bhil chieftain ordered his men to bring the departing travellers back into his presence and questioned them, ‘Listen, fellows, I have tested this bird time and again; never have I heard him utter a falsehood. Now, the bird says repeatedly that you have gems in your possession. So, where are they?’
The travellers answered, ‘Your Honour, if we do have gems in our possession, as your bird alleges, how is it that even after the thorough search that you worthy gentlemen have subjected us to, you have not found them?’
The Bhil chieftain retorted, ‘If this bird says so and repeats what he says then you must have the gems; it must be that they are inside your bellies. It is now near sunset; but at dawn tomorrow, I shall without fail cut open your bellies; and find the gems I shall.’
Having made his decision, the chieftain had all four travellers thrown into a dungeon underground.
Then the robber among them began to reflect deeply, ‘There is not the slightest doubt that in the morning, when this Bhil chieftain cuts open the bellies of these three men and discovers the gems hidden inside, evil-hearted man that he is and excessively greedy, he is bound to rip open my belly too. So whichever way you look at it, my death is certain. In the circumstances what ought I to do? As has been wisely observed:
(416) At the moment of death of noble souls,
if their last breath, inexorably transient,
serves to render some kindly aid to others,
that death fulfils itself in deathlessness.
‘Therefore, it is most fitting that I offer my own life to preserve the lives of these men, and consequently, bare my own belly first to the knife. Because, in the event that this evil-hearted man finds right at the beginning that the minutest and most thorough search of my ripped-open belly reveals nothing and his surmises about the existence of gems are, as a result, dispelled, he may of his own accord, merciless though he is, desist from cutting open the bellies of the others out of some trace of compassion. Were I to do this, by bestowing the gift of life and of wealth on these men, I shall surely gain the glory consequent upon a generous deed, in this world and in the next, as well as the cleansing of all my sins in this birth. Though this opportunity has presented itself unsought as it were, this, I think, is the right kind of death—the death of one wise and noble.’
The robber passed the night thinking such thoughts. At daybreak when the Bhil chieftain got ready to rip open the bellies of the travellers, the robber folded his hands in respect and humbly pleaded, ‘O, sir! I simply cannot bear to see the bellies of my brothers here ripped open before my very eyes. Therefore, be gracious, sir, and let my own belly be ripped open first.’
Thereupon, the Bhil chieftain mercifully consented to do so and had the robber’s belly slit open; but even after he had looked in and scrutinized the insides with great care and thoroughness, he found no gem; nothing whatsoever. Then he began to bewail his action, ‘Oh! Woe! Woe is me!’ he lamented, ‘What have I done! Going entirely on what I thought was my understanding of a bird’s song, and obsessed by cruel greed, I have done a dastardly deed. I guess I shan’t discover gems in the bellies of the other three travellers any more than I did in this man’s!’ So, the three friends, set free without a scratch on their bodies hastened to cross the forest with the utmost speed and soon reached another kingdom.
‘Therefore, I tell you again, “The robber died for his victims; it is better to have noble men for foes.”’
When they reached this other kingdom, the priceless gems were sold by the merchant’s son who brought the money and laid it at the feet of the prince. The prince appointed the scholar’s son his chief minister and thinking to wrest from the reigning monarch, the sovereignty of the kingdom to which they had come, he put the merchant’s son in charge of the treasury. Next, the prince assembled a great army of picked elephants, horses and infantry by offering twice the usual pay and emoluments; and with the help of his chief minister who was fully conversant with the six measures95 of foreign policy, he started hostilities, killed the reigning monarch and seized the kingdom. Thus the prince became the monarch of that kingdom. Entrusting the heavy burden of care of administering the body politic to his minister, the prince, now king, remained free of all cares, passing his time in the enjoyment of all the luxuries and pleasures in elegant ease.
At one time, as the king was dallying with his queens in the Inner Apartments, he took a fancy to a monkey that often visited the stables close by. Making it a pet, he kept the creature always by his side; for, as we know, kings naturally love to keep as pets, parrots and partridges, ringdoves, rams, monkeys and other creatures.
In the course of time, the monkey, thriving on the variety of dainty foods the king fed him upon, grew to be a hefty fellow. And he also became an object of great respect to the entire court. The king out of tenderness for the creature, as if it were his own offspring, developed such confidence in the monkey that he actually made it his personal sword-bearer.
Adjoining the palace was a pleasure-grove beautifully laid out with copses formed of many different kinds of trees. It was s
pringtime. The king looked out at the charming sight that the grove presented, as if it were celebrating the glory of the God of Love: swarms of black bees humming rapturously; innumerable flowers shedding their fragrances around. In a passion of love, the king entered the grove in the company of his consort, the chief queen, instructing all his attendants to remain at the gate.
After a while having wandered in eager delight all over that beautiful grove and enjoyed its beauties, the king grew tired. Addressing the pet monkey, he charged it saying, ‘Look fellow, I shall spend a little time sleeping here in this flowery bower. You’d better take good care to see that no one drops in here all of a sudden and disturbs my sleep.’ Thus having instructed the monkey, the king fell fast asleep.
In a little while, a bee flew in, drawn by the fragrance of flowers and of musk and other perfumes used by the king, and settled on his head.
Seeing the bee settled comfortably on the royal head, the monkey was perturbed; it thought in raging fury, ‘What! How dare this mean little creature try to bite my king, right before my eyes!’ It began to ward off the bee trying to drive it away. But in spite of all its efforts, the bee repeatedly approached the king, hovering over his head. In a blind rage, the monkey now drew the royal sword and fetched a blow at the offending bee; that blow split the king’s head in two. The queen sleeping beside him, now started up in terror; seeing that good-for-nothing creature, sword in hand, she started screaming, ‘You! You blockhead of a monkey! What’s this that you’ve done! When the king put such implicit trust in you, how could you do such a thing?’ The poor monkey explained what had happened. But everyone gathered there, screaming in rage at the monkey and hurling imprecations at it; they all ostracized him after that.
‘Now you see why the proverb says, “Never make friends with a fool; the monkey killed the king.” And, for this reason, I repeat this verse to you, friend Wily:
(417) Better a wise, learned man for a foe
than an ignorant blockhead for a friend.
The robber for his victims gave his life;