by Visnu Sarma
(12) What and wherefore? How and when?
Because of? By whom and where?—
And one’s action? Was it well or ill?
That and for that reason, then,
and thus, by him, therefore, there—
So it comes: it is all the Will of Fate.
‘And again:
(13) With glances brilliant
as blue-lotuses unfurling,
the peacock looks at the world
out of his thousand eyes, indeed:
But when Death yawning wide
stares him in the face, poor bird,
like one born blind
he sinks down dispirited.
(14) From a hundred yojanas4 and twenty-five
how an eagle descries a piece of flesh!
But he too, when Fate wills it to be so,
fails to see the deadly snare near his feet.
‘Then again:
(15) I see Sun and Moon afflicted by eclipses;
elephant, snake, bird, imprisoned in cages;
the intelligent and thoughtful sunk in penury:
And my creed is: Alas! all-powerful is Destiny.
‘What’s more:
(16) Even birds that soar secure in the sky meet with calamities,
while fishes are netted by skilled men who scour the fathomless seas.
Why speak of wrong policy or of virtuous conduct, here, in this world?
What avails position, what advantage?
It is Time who inevitably stretches forth
a calamitous arm that arrests even at a distance.’
As Goldy started to gnaw through Sheenneck’s bonds who was lamenting after this fashion, the Lord of Doves stopped him to say, ‘No, no, my friend; this is wrong: not my bonds first; the bonds of my flock should be cut first.’
Goldy took umbrage at this and reproved his friend, ‘Your Honour has not spoken well, nor out of decorum, sir. For servants come after the master.’
To this Sheenneck’s reply was, ‘O, no, don’t speak like this, dear friend; these poor fellows, all of them, abandoned others to attach themselves to me. How can I not show them this modicum of honour? As the wise saying points out:
(17) When a monarch heaps honours on retainers
constantly and far beyond their due,
they, replete with happiness do not forsake him
even if he lacks resources; not even then.
‘And then:
(18) Trust is at the root of honour and success;
by that a tusker becomes lord of the herd.
Though sovereignty over beasts is the lion’s,
yet deer do not wait upon him.
‘Besides, after gnawing through my bonds you might get a tooth ache; or that evil-minded fowler might come upon us here. In that case I shall be doomed to perdition. As the saying teaches:
(19) The king who watches his retainers,
all men of virtuous conduct
sunk in misery,
and yet remains at ease, unaffected,
sinks down in this world and in the other—
doomed.’
Goldy listened and then responded saying, ‘Ah! My friend, I know well what your duties as a ruler are. I said what I did only to test you. And now I shall gnaw through everyone’s bonds. And in no time will have your whole retinue around you. As the proverb observes pertinently:
(20) The Protector of the Earth who at all times
displays compassion for his retainers,
and duly shares with them, is worthy to be
no less than the Triple-World’s Protector.’
After making these wise observations, Godly cut the bonds of all the birds and said to Sheenneck, ‘Dear friend, now you are free and can return to your own residence.’ Accompanied by his retinue the King of Doves went home. Mark you, there is much wisdom in the saying:
(21) A job however difficult to do
may be carried through with the aid of friends;
therefore, a person ought to find friends, and
finding, regard them as his good fortune.
Lightwing, the crow, who had witnessed the whole matter of Sheenneck’s capture and subsequent release, reflected in astonishment. ‘See, how admirable it all is! The intelligence of this mole, Goldy! His skill! And this whole idea of his fortress! It’d be wise indeed on my part to strike up a friendship with Goldy. Granted that I, who am rather capricious of nature, never place my trust in anyone; granted too that I cannot be easily fooled by anyone: still, I should have a trusted friend. As it has been wisely observed:
(22) Though self-sufficient; a person should still
have friends if he desires to raise his standing.
The ocean ever full yet waits eager
for the waters bright Svāti’s5 bounty brings.
Having arrived at this conclusion, the crow flew down from the tree and stationing himself at the entrance to the mole’s burrow, called out to him by the name he had previously heard, ‘O, friend, Goldy; pray come out.’
At this Goldy reflected, a bit uncertain, ‘Is this one of the doves still somewhat entangled in the cords of the net, standing at my door and calling for help?’ And he enquired, ‘Sir? Who are you?’
‘I am the crow named Lightwing,’ came the reply. At once Goldy scurried off to a far corner of his den and called out, ‘Begone, sir; leave this neighbourhood.’
‘I have come to you, sir, on some grave business; so kindly grant me an interview,’ replied Lightwing.
‘I see no particular need to make your acquaintance, sir,’ replied the mole.
‘Listen to me; having witnessed the release of Lord Sheenneck from his bonds through your exertions, I feel great confidence in you, Sir Mole. And, if sometime I get similarly caught, my deliverance too could be effected through your kind exertions,’ explained Lightwing.
To this Goldy retorted, ‘Sir, you are the eater; I am the food. What kind of friendship can exist between us? You know the saying:
(23) One who is fool enough to make friends
with a person not his equal,
be he inferior or superior,
merely becomes the world’s butt of ridicule.
‘So make yourself scarce.’
The crow however remonstrated with the mole. ‘Look, sir, here I am, standing at your fortress-gates. If you will not be my friend, I shall go on a hunger-strike.’
‘For god’s sake, man,’ retorted Goldy, ‘how can I build a friendship with you who are my enemy. For is it not said:
(24) Never form an alliance with a foe;
even an alliance well-contracted, approved.
Water though boiling hot
will do no less than put the fire out.’
To this, the crow promptly replied, ‘Listen, Your Honour has not even set eyes on me; where’s the question of enmity? Why speak in a manner so unbecoming?’
Goldy retorted, ‘Look here; enmity is of two kinds; one that is natural and the other, incidental. You are the natural enemy of us moles. The point is:
(25) You may speedily end bad blood
by making due amends.
But enmity in Nature only ends
with the spilling of blood.’
‘Ah, well, if that is so, I wish to learn what the distinctive quality of each of the two kinds of enmity is,’ said the crow.
‘Well, it’s like this,’ the mole replied, ‘the enmity that is incidental springs from some cause. And if and when proper remedial measures are adopted, it ceases to operate. But the other kind of enmity which is inborn, will always exist: for instance, the enmity between snake and mongoose; grass-eating animals and those armed with claws; dogs and cats; fire and water; Gods and Titans; rival wives; lions and elephants; hunter and deer; crows and owls; scholars and dunces; the chaste wife and the harlot; saints and sinners: between these there is perpetual enmity. It is not as if anyone is killed by anyone else all the time; yet they all strive to fight the other to death.’
Now
the crow demurred, ‘There is no reason, no cause for this kind of thing, you know. And, now, sir, pray listen to my words.
(26) A person seeks friendship for a reason;
with reason a person incurs enmity.
So, is it not reasonable for a person
to seek amity rather than enmity.’
In reply all Goldy had to say was this, ‘O, come, come, what sort of fraternization can there be between you and me? Just listen to me while I expound the essence of ethics to you.
(27) Once a friend is faithless
to trust him once again
is to court death, no less,
as the mule who conceived, did.
(28) A lion deprived of his precious life, Pāṇinī
the Father of Grammar;
an elephant suddenly struck and killed Jaimini,
the sage, Mimamsa’s6 author;
Piṅgala,7 treasure-house of knowledge of metres was slain
on the seashore by a sea-monster:
to brutes caught up in fury, their minds wrapped in ignorance,
what meaning does excellence have?’
‘Perfectly true,’ said the crow, ‘but listen to this:
(29) We make friends with people because they help;
with birds and beasts for some special reason
or other; with fools out of fear or greed:
but with the good we make friends at first sight.
‘Moreover:
(30) Alliance with villains is like earthen pots
easily broken, difficult to mend;
alliance with the virtuous, like golden pots
difficult to break, easy to mend.
‘Besides:
(31) Starting from the tip, sugarcane juice
grows sweeter by degrees, node after node;
so does friendship of the upright; the reverse
is true in the case of those perverse.
‘I am upright in all respects,’ continued Lightwing; ‘and further, I shall dispel your fears by binding myself with oaths.’
To this Goldy’s reply was, ‘Confidence in your oaths? I have none; as the proverb points out:
(32) Do not trust a foe though he binds himself
with strongest oaths;
having sworn incredible oaths, Indra
struck down Vṛtra.8
(33) Without first gaining the trust of their foes
the gods themselves cannot win against them.
After instilling trust in Diti’s9 heart
Indra, Lord of Gods, smote her unborn child.
(34) Let him find the smallest chink
and the enemy slips right in;
then working slowly, surely,
he wreaks total ruin,
as water seeps in gradually
filling the raft till it sinks.
(35) If relying on bountiful resources
a man reposes full trust in a foe,
or in wives estranged who love him no more
he might as well bid goodbye to life.’
Having heard Goldy’s sage observations, Lightwing found himself at a loss to reply; he began to reflect with great seriousness; ‘Aha! How admirable is this fellow’s firmness and depth of knowledge in matters of social and moral ethics! This and this alone is my overriding consideration for desiring his friendship.’
And he said:
(36) ‘Wise men have declared this:
comradeship is, when seven words are spoken
(or seven steps10 together taken).
Friendship has been thrust upon you,
O, friend; so listen to my words.
‘Grant me your friendship; otherwise I shall give up my life right here at this spot.’
Goldy, hearing this plea, thought to himself, ‘This fellow is by no means unintelligent; that is plain from his talk. As the saying wisely puts it:
(37) None lacking in polish speaks affably;
none but a lover is fond of finery;
none ambition-free craves for authority;
none frank and open practises chicanery.
‘So, I must certainly extend my friendship to him.’
Having resolved this in his mind, Goldy accosted the crow, ‘Friend; you have gained my trust. I spoke the way I did because it was necessary to test your intelligence first. I now embrace you in affection.’11
Saying this the mole was about to step out when he stopped halfway and stood there. Lightwing queried: ‘Sir, is there still some reason in your mind to mistrust me, that you are hesitant to emerge from your fortress?’
‘Oh, no,’ answered the mole, ‘I have no fear of you because now I know your mind. But by being so trusting I might sometime fall into the clutches of some friend or other of yours and meet my death.’
To this Lightwing replied,
(38) ‘Sacrificing a friend blessed with virtue
to gain another is like planting fields
with coarse millet that overpowers and chokes the rice;
something at all costs to be avoided.’
At these words Goldy hurried out; the two greeted each other warmly and stood for a few moments clasping each other. Then the crow said, ‘Let Your Honour now go inside your mansion, while I go in search of food.’
With these words, Lightwing left Goldy’s presence and flew into the dense woods nearby where he noticed a wild buffalo lying, killed by a tiger. He ate his fill of the animal’s flesh and then pecking out a choice piece of meat crimson as fresh palāaa-flowers, flew back to Goldy’s residence, and called out to his friend, ‘Hey there! Come out, friend Goldy, come and enjoy this nice bit of meat that I have brought you.’
On his part, Goldy had already gathered with diligence a great heap of grains of rice and millet. ‘Pray, eat and enjoy this grain that I have done my best to gather for you, my friend,’ he said.
Each, highly gratified by the other’s efforts, ate the other’s food out of affection; this is truly the seed of friendship as the proverb puts it neatly:
(39) Giving and receiving,
each other’s secrets sharing,
dining, entertaining:
these six are sure signs of affection.
(40) Unless some act of kindness is done,
affection scarcely comes to anyone;
the very gods grant their blessings
when entreated with offerings.
(41) As long as a gift is in the offing
so long will affection be forthcoming;
once the calf sees the udder dry
he bids his mother goodbye.
Why speak at length:
(42) By unfailing affection closely knit
like claw and flesh hard to split,
they celebrated, the crow and mole,
a friendship absolute and sole.
Thus, as time passed, the mole charmed by Lightwing’s attentions grew so trusting that he would snuggle between the crow’s wings and rest there.
Now, one day, Lightwing appeared with tears welling from his eyes and words made indistinct by his sobbing, to announce, ‘O, my dear friend, Goldy, I am so sickened by this place that I intend going elsewhere.’
‘Why, what’s the reason, dearest friend, for your feeling so disgusted with this land?’ asked Goldy anxiously.
And Lightwing explained, ‘Listen, dear friend; such a terrible drought has struck this land that the citizenry, driven by hunger, don’t even leave the most meagre of offerings of food for the birds. And that’s not all. In house after house snares have been set to trap birds. It is only because the thread of my life has still to run some more that I myself have not as yet been caught in one of these traps. That is the situation. I am shedding tears because I have to go to another land.’
‘If that is so, where are you planning to go; tell me that,’ said Goldy.
Then Lightwing answered, ‘In the far south, in the heart of a dense forest, lies a great lake, where my bosom friend, a tortoise named Slowcoach lives, who is dearer to me than even you
are. He will provide me with delicate bits of fish, easy on the stomach; and there, I shall pass my days happily in his company enjoying the delights of his conversation that is liberally spiced with pithy sayings. To tell you the truth, I simply cannot bear to see the kind of decimation of us birds that is going on here. There is wisdom in the saying:
(43) How fortunate indeed are those
who do not have to see the country ravaged,
the family ruined, a dear wife ravished
or a friend on the edge of a precipice.’
‘In the circumstances,’ said Goldy, ‘I think I shall go with you, for I too have great sorrow.’
‘Oh?’ asked Lightwing solicitously, ‘What kind of sorrow?’
To this Goldy’s reply was, ‘Ah, my friend; there is much to tell. After we get there I shall tell you everything.’
‘But, listen,’ interjected the crow, ‘I travel by air and you move on the ground. How can Your Honour accompany me to that place where the lake is?’
Goldy answered, ‘If the protection of my life is at all of any consequence, then Your Honour might let me ride on your back and carry me along, proceeding very gently.’
Hearing the mole’s words, the crow was delighted, ‘If that is how Your Honour feels, I am indeed blest; no one can be more fortunate than I. Then, that’s settled; let us do it this way. I know all the eight kinds of flight of birds, Sampāta12 and the rest and I shall transport you there in utmost comfort.’
‘Eight kinds of flights?’ asked Goldy curiously, ‘I would love to know their names, dear friend.’
Lightwing readily assented and reeled out the names:
(44) ‘You have the easy-even flight
the short, sharp-darting flight
and the long, sustained cruising;
then, the swooping-diving-down flying,
the wide-sweeping-in-curves circling,
and the tortuous, zigzagging flight;
the last is known as the light-quick flight.’
After being enlightened on the subject of aerial flights, Goldy climbed on to the crow’s back and settled himself. Lightwing then took off using the mode of the easy-even flight. Very gently he travelled and brought Goldy to the lake.
In the meantime, Slowcoach, who had been closely watching a crow approaching with a mole riding piggyback, wondered, ‘Who on earth could this be?’ And being a good judge of time and place, he quickly ducked into the water.