by Visnu Sarma
with no thought of the strengths and weaknesses,
his own and those of his enemy
is simply asking for trouble.
“You have cruelly violated the sanctity of Moon Lake, celebrated because it bears my name. And there, you have slaughtered those who belong to the race of the King of Hares who is dear to me because I bear the mark 24 of that animal and hares are for that reason under my special protection. This is unbearable provocation. What! Don’t you know that I am celebrated in the world as the hare-marked divinity? But what good is it to pile charges against you? I warn you; if you do not desist from such acts, you will certainly meet with dire punishment at my hands. However, if from this very day you abstain from such conduct, you will receive a special mark of distinction. Your body shall be nourished by the moonlight that is a part of me and you shall live happily in these woods with your whole retinue roaming at will. But, if you do not heed the warning, by withdrawing my cooling rays, your body and the bodies of your people will be scorched by heat and you will all perish.”’
These words filled the heart of the King of Tuskers with intense agitation. After brooding over it for a long time, he addressed Victory, ‘Good friend; all this is true; I have offended the blessed Lord Moon; and in future I shall not indulge in unfriendly acts against your people. Now quickly show me the way so that I can go to the gracious moon god and ask for forgiveness.’
‘Come with me then, but alone, so that I can reveal the god to you,’ said Victory.
So saying the hare led the way to Moon Lake and showed King Four Tusks, the glittering, lustrous disc of the full moon, a perfect circle, complete with all its digits shedding its enchanting radiance in the dark of night. Surrounded by the planets, the Seven Sages25 and a whole host of stars all gleaming in their splendour in the vast expanse of sky, the moon god shone reflected in all its brilliance in the waters. When Four Tusks beheld it, he said, ‘Let me ritually purify myself and offer worship to the divinity.’ Then he dropped his huge trunk long enough to encircle two men round the waist, into the waters which became agitated by this sudden movement; and as the moon’s disc whirled around here and there in the circling ripples as if mounted on wheels, he saw a thousand moons.
Victory started back as if in great agitation and spoke to the elephant-king, ‘O, lord, misery, a great misery indeed! You have doubly angered Lord Moon.’
‘Why is the blessed Lord Moon angry with me now?’ asked Four Tusks.
‘For touching this water,’ was Victory’s pat reply. Hearing this poor Four Tusks, with drooping ears, bent low down to touch the earth with his forehead and humbly begged the moon for forgiveness. And again addressing Victory he pleaded, ‘My good friend, in all other matters also, request the blessed Lord Moon on my behalf to forgive me and bestow his grace upon me. I swear, I shall never again come here.’ Saying this, Four Tusks returned the way he had come.
‘And this is why I said to you, “By feigning greatly…” and the rest of it.
‘But there is more to it. This fellow, this owl, is a mean, wicked and evil-minded chap; and also quite incapable of protecting his subjects. Not only is the protection of the people beyond his reach, there is the actual danger that you may need protection from him. For you must have heard this:
(82) Engaging a scoundrel for a judge,
what comfort can disputants expect?
You know how both the hare and partridge
perished at the hands of the cat.’
The birds prompted by curiosity asked, ‘Oh! How was that?’ Then the crow began the tale of The Cat’s Judgement.
Once in the past I lived in a certain tree. At the base of the same tree a partridge had its home. From sharing a common residence a firm friendship sprang up between the two of us. Everyday, after having our food and taken our airings, we spent the evening together sharing our diversions such as retailing witty sayings, telling each other tales and legends from old chronicles, setting each other problems to solve, posing riddles and exchanging gifts.
One day the partridge went foraging with other birds to a place where abundant rice grew ripening. But he did not return at the usual time. I was sick with worry wondering what had happened, repeatedly asking myself; ‘Oh, why has my friend, the partridge not returned this evening? Has he been trapped? Has he been killed?’
Many days passed with such thoughts churning in my heart as I grieved in my loneliness, suffering the privation of separation from my friend, until one day a hare named Speedy26 came along and went into the hollow where the partridge had nested. And I did nothing to stop him because I had lost all hope of ever seeing the partridge again.
Then, one day, the partridge, now grown nice and plump after eating a lot of rice, returned, remembering his old home. How wisely is it observed:
(83) Not even in paradise
do living beings find the happiness
they had in their own land, in their own home,
however poor and humble it was.
When the partridge saw the hare now settled comfortably in his old home he chided him bitterly. ‘Hey there, you hare; you have done a mean thing in occupying my home. Come now, get out, leave at once.’ To which the hare replied, ‘You bumbling fool! Don’t you know that a residence belongs to its current occupant?’
‘Is that so?’ retorted the partridge. ‘Let us go and ask our neighbours; for it is stated in the lawbooks:
(84) Where pools, ponds, wells, houses
and groves are concerned,
the neighbour’s testimony holds good:
that is Manu’s dictum.
‘Moreover:
(85) Wherever a dispute arises
over land, house, well, grove or field,
the claim will always be settled
on the testimony of a neighbour.’
‘Oh, you blockhead,’ retorted the hare: ‘And have you not heard what the precedent laid down in memorial law says?
(86) Any place occupied personally
by one for ten years successively
belongs to him, legal texts
and eyewitness, notwithstanding.
‘And further, you fool; you don’t seem to have any knowledge of Nārada’s opinion:
(87) In the case of men
title to possession
is ten years occupation:
in the case of birds
and four-footed creatures,
mere current habitation.
‘So, even if this was your home, the fact is that it was unoccupied when I moved in. Therefore it is mine and mine alone.’
‘Really?’ exclaimed the partridge, ‘So you take the laws of tradition as authoritative, do you? Well, then, come with me and let us go and consult the experts on the laws of tradition. Let them decide as to whether this residence is yours or mine.’
‘Very well,’ said the hare. And both set off to seek adjudication of their claim. I too possessed by eager curiosity followed them, thinking, ‘Now let us see what happens next.’
They had not gone too far when the hare asked the partridge, ‘Listen, my good fellow; tell me who will pass judgement in our dispute?’
‘Certainly,’ replied the partridge, ‘On the sandy banks of the sacred river Gangā whose waters murmur melodiously with the sound of waves jostling and clashing as her waters are swept by strong breezes, there dwells a cat named Curd Ear27 who sits there unshaken in the observance of strict vows of penance and self-restraint. He is one possessed of great compassion for all living things. We shall go to him.’
However, when the hare saw the cat his innermost being shrank in fear and he blurted out, ‘Oh! no, no; let us have nothing to do with this scurvy knave. You know the proverb:
(88) Never trust the rogue who sits pretending
to be absorbed in severe penance;
you see them around in places of pilgrimage
fake-ascetics gorging themselves with food.’
When he heard these words, Curd Ear, who was dissembling only to follow an ea
sy way of making a livelihood, prepared to instil confidence in the minds of his visitors. Standing upon his hindlegs with his forelegs raised up to the sky and eyes closed, he faced the sun directly and steadfastly; and the better to deceive the visitors with a display of a holy and virtuous cast of mind, he delivered the following moral discourse: ‘Alas! Alas! How vain and unprofitable are the things of this world! How fragile and transitory is life! Like dreams are our relationships with those who are dear to us. Illusory like a magician’s tricks are family and possessions. No way of escape there is except the path of the Law.28 As the saying goes:
(89) The man whose days come and go
undistinguished by righteousness
is like a blacksmith’s bellows:
he breathes but does not live.
‘Moreover:
(90) Learning divested of righteousness
is as useful as the tail of a cur
that neither covers his nakedness
nor serves to whisk off fleas and gnats.
(91) As chaff among grain
and bat among birds;
as gnat among mortal things
are those who do not perceive
the Law as the Prime Cause.
(92) Better than a tree are its flowers and fruit;
better than curds is butter held to be;
better than the oilcake is the oil indeed;
better than worldly concerns is the Law.
(93) Firmness in all deeds is extolled
by experts on right policy;
many are the hurdles that beset
the rapid course of the Law.
(94) Why drag it out at great length
when the Law is stated concisely as follows:
virtue lies in helping others;
evil in injuring them.’
Having listened to the cat’s moral discourse, the hare exclaimed, ‘Hey! Friend Partridge; on this river-bank stands a holy person expounding the Law; let us ask him.’
‘Don’t forget that he is our natural enemy,’ replied the partridge. ‘Let us stand at a distance and question him.’
So they both began to question the cat. ‘O, learned ascetic and instructor in the Law,’ they began, ‘There is a dispute between us; so give us your judgement based on your knowledge of the Law. Whichever of us is speaking falsely can be your food.’
‘Perish the thought,’ replied the cat, ‘Pray, don’t say such things. The very thought of cruelty to others makes me shrink in abhorrence; for it leads straight to perdition. As it has been said:
(95) As kindness is the Law’s prior command,
be devoted to universal good;
protect even stinging insects
such as the gad-fly, louse and bug.
(96) He who injures even beasts of prey
he too is deemed merciless
and plunges into a terrible hell:
what to speak of those who harm the harmless!
‘As for those who slay animals in sacrificial rites, they are indeed misguided for they do not understand the true meaning of the sacred texts. When a text says “Sacrifice goats—ajah—” what is really meant in that context is rice grains seven years old, grain that is not gone—a-jah—not used up. It is not “goats” that are meant; the etymology of the word makes that quite clear. And how apt is the saying:
(97) By cutting trees and slaying animals,
by fighting wars that create bloody slime,
if this is the way men go to Heaven,
who in that case goes to Hell?
‘Therefore, I shall eat nobody. However as I am rather old I cannot tell the difference between your voices quite clearly from a distance. In that case how can I declare who wins and who loses? In view of this, please do come closer to me and ask me for my judgement, so that I can understand the facts in dispute and pronounce a judgement that will not obstruct my gaining the other world. As the saying goes:
(98) If a man decides unjustly
through pride or through greed,
through anger or through fear
he goes straight to hell.
(99) A wrong judgement over a goat
is like killing five;
a wrong judgement over a cow
is like killing ten;
a wrong judgement over a maiden
is like killing a hundred;
a wrong judgement over a man
is like killing a thousand.
‘Therefore have complete trust in me and explain everything clearly, standing close to my ear.’
To cut the story short that knave of a cat succeeded in thoroughly bamboozling those two creatures. And then, when the hare and the partridge drew close to him, he seized them both simultaneously, one with his paw and the other in his saw-toothed jaws. And so were both creatures killed and eaten.
‘And therefore I say to you, “Having engaged a knave for a judge…” and so on. Similarly, you too, sirs, who are blind by night, by making this knave your ruler will go the same way as the hare and the partridge. Reflect on it and then do whatever you think is right.’
The birds after listening to the words of the crow, talked among themselves, ‘yes, he does speak wisely; so let us meet again some other time and hold consultations on the matter of choosing a king.’ So saying they dispersed and each went his own way. Only the owl who was blind by day was left sitting on the throne with his consort, awaiting his coronation. He called out, ‘Hey there, hallo! Who is out there? Why has the coronation ceremony not begun as yet?’ At this his consort spoke: ‘Dear lord! This crow here has found a way to obstruct your coronation. The birds are all gone, flown in all directions as they pleased. Only the crow is hanging around for some reason or other. Now rise quickly and let me take you home.’
Hearing his wife’s words, the owl, filled with deep disappointment, addressed the crow, ‘O, you black-hearted fiend! What harm have I done you that you have prevented my coronation? Because of this action of yours, from this moment there shall be enmity between us. As the saying goes:
(100) Pierced by arrows
cut down by the hatchet,
a forest heals and again grows.
But what words cruelly hew,
cutting, abhorrent,
never heals to put forth shoots anew.’
While the owl and his wife went home, the crow, wise after the event, reflected: ‘Alas! Alas! By speaking in this manner I have incurred great enmity for no good reason. For as we have heard:
(101) Words spoken without a reason,
without due regard to place and time
and benefit in the future;
words unpleasant that serve to lower
one’s own self in others’ estimation
are not words but simply poison.
‘Therefore:
(102) Though endowed with strength and power,
if he is wise, a man will not on his own
make an enemy of another.
What man of sense for no reason
goes and swallows poison thinking:
‘Why not, I have a physician’!
(103) A person with sense and good feeling
should never defame others in public
and make statements that cause distress,
even if they happen to be true.
‘Besides:
(104) Wealth and glory dwells with the man
who acts after careful deliberation
more than once with trusted friends;
and after pondering deeply over the actualities.’
Having reflected thus, the crow flew away.
‘So, my son,’ resumed Live Firm, ‘this is the history of our feud with the owls.’
‘Father, under the circumstances, what do you think we should do?’ asked Cloud Hue.
To which Live Firm answered: ‘Even under such circumstances, there is an alternative other than the six classic expedients. I shall adopt that and myself lead the way to victory. By deceiving the enemy, I shall put them in a vuln
erable position where they could be destroyed easily. As the story goes:
(105) The crafty rogues, quick-witted,
swaggering in their strength, outwitted
the Brāhmana with the goat.’
‘And how did that happen?’ asked Cloud Hue. Then Live Firm began the tale of The Brāhmana and his Goat.
In a certain settlement a Brāhmana named Mitra Śarma lived persevering to keep the Sacred Fire alive. Once, in the month of. February on a day when a light breeze was blowing and the rain fell gently from an overcast sky, he walked to another village to beg for a sacrificial victim. Approaching a certain rich man he said, ‘O, sacrifices29 I am performing a sacrifice this coming new moon: so gift me an animal to offer as sacrifice.’ And the man gifted Mitra Śarma a plump animal as laid down in the ritual texts. Mitra Śarma put the animal through its paces to check that it was healthy and then lifting it on to his shoulders started walking back briskly to his home town. On the way, three dyed-in-the-wool rogues, who were famished, came walking towards him. When they saw the plump animal being carried on the Brāhmana’s shoulders they whispered among themselves, ‘Hey, look; if we could only dine off this plump creature we could stave off today’s biting chill. Come, let’s play a trick on this chap, take his animal and protect ourselves against the cold.’
So one of them stepped off the road, changed his clothes and coming out from a bylane stopped the Brāhmana30 and addressed him thus, ‘Oh, sir! Keeper of the Holy Fire! What is this ridiculous and unconventional thing you are doing? Why are you carrying a dog, an unclean creature on your shoulders? Surely you are familiar with the saying:
(106) A dog, a cock, a hangman, all three
are equally defiling, so it is held;
a camel especially and an ass;
therefore avoid any contact with them.’
This made the Brāhmana furious. ‘What?’ he burst out, ‘Is Your Honour blind that you call this animal a dog?’
‘Pray do not lose your temper, sir; go in peace,’ said the rogue and walked off.
When Mitra Śarma had gone a little further, the second rogue came up to him and exclaimed ‘Oh! Misery, misery! What is this, Your Holiness. This dead calf may have been the apple of your eye; still, isn’t it highly improper to carry it on your shoulders? We all know what the purification rites for such defilement are: