by Visnu Sarma
And now ends this book entitled Of Crows and Owls, the third in the Texts on Policy dealing with the six expedients in statecraft, such as peace, war and the rest; and the first verse of this is as follows:
(242) Trust not a former enemy
who comes professing amity.
Mark! The cave thronged with owls was burned
by deadly fire the crows kindled.
BOOK IV
Loss of Gains
And now begins the fourth book entitled Loss of Gains; and this is its opening verse:
(1) He who foolishly lets himself be wheedled
into parting with his gains,
is a dolt thoroughly bamboozled,
like the Crocodile by the Ape.
The princes asked eagerly, ‘How did that happen, O venerable sir?’ and Viṣṇu Śarma then began the tale of The Ape and the Crocodile.
By the ocean-strand grew a great rose-apple tree, which was perennially laden with fruit. An ape named Red Face1 lived in it. One day, a crocodile named Hideous Jaws2 swam out of the waters and lay basking on the lovely, soft sands by the strand, right beneath the tree. When Red Face saw him, he accosted him thus: ‘Sir, you are a guest here: as such do me the honour of accepting this divinely delicious fruit of the rose-apple that I offer you. For it is laid down:
(2) Be he pleasant or be he hateful,
be he a scholar or a dunce.
a guest3 at your door at mealtimes4
is your stairway to the Worlds of Light.5
(3) Ask not the lineage or profession,
learning, or country of origin
of the guest at your door at mealtimes
or at rites performed for ancestors—6
so Manu rules.
‘Besides:
(4) By welcoming a guest at the door
who arrives at mealtimes proper,
from far, travel-weary, the householder
attains the state of Final Bliss.
‘But:
(5) If a guest unwelcomed leaves a man’s hȯuse
deeply sighing, gods and anæestors alike
turn their faces away from him.
With these words Red Face offered the crocodile some rose-apple fruit. The crocodile having eaten the fruit sat for a long time conversing with the ape and enjoying his company, after which he went back to his own home.
After this, each day the ape and the crocodile resorting to the shade of the rose-apple tree sat together and passed their time happily in mutual discourse on matters virtuous and edifying. And always the crocodile took home with him some of the rose-apple fruit left over after he had eaten, to give to his wife.
Now one day, the wife said to the crocodile, ‘My dear lord, where do you find such delicious ambrosial fruit?’ And Hideous Jaws replied, ‘Dearest lady, know that I have a bosom friend who provides me with this fruit with the greatest affection, an ape named Red Face.’
‘I see,’ declared the wife, ‘A person who always eats this ambrosial fruit must possess a heart that is all ambrosia. So, my lord, if at all you value your wife, then bring me his heart, so that I may eat it and never be subject to sickness or old age,7 but enjoy life with you for ever and ever.’
‘Ah, my dearest lady,’ objected Hideous Jaws, ‘For one thing the ape is now my sworn brother; and for another, he is the source of this rare fruit. For these reasons, I cannot possibly kill him. So, please, my beloved, do give up this perverse craving. For it is said:
(6) First, we are born brothers of one mother;
then as brothers of the Word8 we are born again.
The bond of the Word is praised as greater
than the natural bond uterine.’
To this the crocodile’s wife retorted, ‘You have never before crossed my wishes. I know this creature is certainly a female ape. And because you are infatuated with this female, you go and spend the whole day there and that is precisely why you will not accede to my wishes. And for the same reason, when you lie with me at night you breathe out great burning sighs that are like the flames of a blazing fire; your kisses and embraces too are cold and passionless. There is no doubt in my mind that another woman has installed herself in your heart.’
Poor Hideous Jaws stood before his wife in utter misery and humbly expostulated with her:
(7) ‘Even as I fall at your feet, dear wife,
your willing slave, Oh! Life of my life!
why go into this tearing rage of passion?
Oh! My Passionate One?’
At these words of her husband, the female crocodile spoke with tears streaming down her face:
(8) ‘The beloved, of whom you dream
with a hundred fond imaginings,
Oh! you clever cheat! She alone
dwells in your heart, ensnaring
with what fascinations of pretended love!
What place have I now in your heart?
Mock me not falling at my feet:
enough of these vain protestations false.
‘Moreover, tell me this; if she is really not your beloved then why won’t you kill her when I am asking you to do so? Again, if the creature is truly a male ape, as you say, what kind of affection is this that you feel for it? But why labour the point; suffice it to say that if you do not bring the creature’s heart for me to eat, I swear I shall sit here and fast to death.’
Realizing how determined his wife was, poor Hideous Jaws, racked by anxious thoughts, said miserably: ‘Aha! How admirably did the ancients put it:
(9) For fools and fishes, woman and crab,
for fresh-mixed lime-mortar and indigo,
and drunks as well, a single grab
suffices: they hold fast and won’t let go.
‘What shall I do now? How can I kill him who is my friend?’
Anxiously revolving these thoughts in his mind, the crocodile went to meet his friend, the ape. Red Face seeing him come after a long time and looking as if he were in great distress, asked, ‘Hello, my friend! Why has it taken all this time for you to come today? And why are you not talking cheerfully? And not repeating wise and witty maxims?’
‘My friend,’ answered Hideous Jaws, ‘I have been soundly berated today by your sister-in-law. “You ungrateful wretch,” she cried, “don’t you show me your face again; for, day after day, you have been living off your friend; and yet you do not show him the simple courtesy of even inviting him to your home in return for his kindness. What amends can you possibly make for this ingratitude of yours? For is it not said:
(10) For a toper or a Brāhmana-slayer,
for a robber or a promise-breaker,
the sages have prescribed rites of expiation,
but for the ingrate none.
“So, my lord, you had better invite my brother-in-law forthwith to our home to repay his kindness to us; otherwise you and I will meet again only in the other world.” Thus enjoined by my wife, I come now to invite you to our home. As it is, much time has been wasted with the two of us, my wife and I, wrangling over you. So, come, let us go. Having decorated the courtyard, arranged all the proper guest-offerings such as fine garments, rubies, emeralds and other precious gems, hung garlands of welcome over the doorway, my wife awaits your arrival with keen and eager excitement.’
‘My friend,’ observed the ape, ‘My brother’s wife has indeed spoken wisely and well, for you know the verse which says:
(11) To give, to receive
to dine, to be dined, as well;
to talk, to listen in secret:
these six are sure signs of affection.
‘But—as you know, we are forest-dwellers, while your home is deep in the waters. So, how can I go there? Instead, why don’t you bring our sister-in-law here, so that I may bow down at her feet and receive her blessings.’
Hideous Jaws countered this observation: ‘Listen, my friend,’ he said, ‘our home is on a lovely stretch of sand on the other side of the ocean; and you can go there quite easily and in comfort riding on my back; there i
s nothing to fear.’
Red Face readily agreed; with great delight he exclaimed, ‘My good fellow; if that is the case, then let us do it; make haste; why delay? Look, here I am, already mounted on your back.’
With Red Face seated on his back, Hideous Jaws started swimming along in the unfathomable waters at a great pace. Seeing this the ape was terrified, ‘Hey, hey, brother, take it easy; go slow, won’t you?’ he cried, ‘My whole body is drenched by the rolling, sounding billows.’
At these words, the crocodile began to reflect, ‘Now, this poor fellow, in case he slips off my back cannot move a hair’s breadth in these unfathomable waters. He is completely in my power. So why not reveal to him my real intentions; he can at least pray to his chosen deity.’
With this idea, Hideous Jaws said to the ape. Red Face, ‘My friend, if you must know, having tricked you I am taking you to your death at my wife’s express bidding. Therefore, you had better say your last prayers to your chosen deity.’
Poor Red Face, thunderstruck, asked piteously, ‘Brother, in what way have I wronged you or your wife that you should gratuitously plan to kill me.’
To this the crocodile replied, ‘It is like this, my friend: my wife after tasting that delicious rose-apple fruit you provided us with, began to show an obsessive craving9 for your heart which she decided must be even more delicious from your constant diet of ambrosially delectable rose-apple fruit. I hit upon this plan for this reason.’
The ape, fortunately, had the presence of mind to cope with this shocking revelation. ‘O, dear, dear! What a pity,’ he remarked, ‘if that were the case, why didn’t you say so before, right at the start? Then I would have brought with me that other wonderfully sweet heart I keep safely tucked away in a hollow in the trunk of the rose-apple tree. Now see what has happened; you have brought me to this point for no useful purpose. For here I am, heartless, lacking my sweet heart.’10
The crocodile’s joy knew no bounds when he heard these words of the ape, Red Face, ‘Dear, dear friend,’ he exclaimed, ‘if that is the case, please let me have your other heart so that after eating it, that wicked wife of mine will be satisfied and desist from starving herself to death. Look, I shall take you back this instant to the rose-apple tree.’
With these words, Hideous Jaws turned around and raced back in the direction of the rose-apple tree, with poor Red Face murmuring a hundred prayers to many a god. The ape could hardly wait to reach his side of the ocean-strand. No sooner were they at the ocean’s edge than Red Face quickly leaped off the crocodile’s back and with swift leaps and bounds went up the rose-apple tree. And when he reached its top he said with great relief, ‘O, all you blessed gods; at last; my life has been restored to me. O, what wisdom is in this advice:
(12) Trust not one unworthy of trust,
nor even one in whom you repose trust;
such trust might breed many a peril
that destroys a person root and all.
‘O, blessed gods! This indeed is the day of a second birth for me.’
Now Hideous Jaws looked up and called out to Red Face, ‘Hey, hey there! My good friend; where is this heart you talked about? Give it to me so that your sister-in-law may eat and break her fast.’
Red Face laughed loudly and mocking the crocodile, cried out, ‘You perfidious villain! You incorrigible idiot! Does any creature in this world possess a second heart? Fool! Go home, and don’t dare come near this rose-apple tree ever again. As it is wisely observed:
(13) Once a friend turns faithless,
to trust him once more,
is to court certain death;
like a she-mule when she conceives.’11
Red Face’s reproachful words made Hideous Jaws feel quite disconcerted. ‘O, what an ass I was to have disclosed my real intentions to this fellow. But if I can somehow regain his trust, I have to be more careful.’
So, Hideous Jaws tried again. ‘Dear friend, listen; think what earthly use can a heart be to my wife. It was all a joke. Whatever I said before was said all in fun; just to test your real feelings for me. So please come to our home as a guest. You cannot imagine how eager your brother’s wife is to meet you: eager beyond all measure,’ he pleaded.
‘You scurvy knave,’ burst out Red Face, ‘go home; go this instant. I am not going with you; as the moral in the tale points out:
(14) What crime will a man famished not commit?
For ruthless indeed are those down and out.
Go, fair lady; tell Sir Handsome12 from me
Gaṅgnādatta13 will never appear at the well again!’
‘What is that tale? Tell me,’ importuned Hideous Jaws. And Red Face then began the tale of
the Frog-king who overreached himself.
Once, in a well somewhere, lived Gangādatta, King of the Frogs, who being pestered day in and day out by various kinsmen, decided he would leave the well. By climbing on to bucket after bucket of the circle of buckets attached to the water-wheel in the well, Gaṅgādatta managed to get out. Then he fell to thinking: ‘Now, how shall I avenge myself on these kinsmen? As we know, there is a saying:
(15) Paying back a person in the same coin,
him who helped during hard times
and him who jeered as well, each one
as he deserves, a man is born again!’
As he sat reflecting in this manner, Gaṇgādatta noticed a black serpent entering his hollow. The serpent was known in the neighbourhood as Sir Handsome.
Watching the serpent, an idea came to the frog-king: ‘What if I lead this deadly black serpent into my well and have him extirpate all those kinsmen of mine who made my life miserable? For we have heard the saying:
(16) The wise root out one fiery foe
by means of another more fiery,
as a sharp thorn by one sharper,
so that pain turns to ease.’
Gaṅgādatta thought this over and then going up to the entrance of the snake-pit, stood there and called out, ‘Come out, Sir Handsome, come here.’
The serpent on being called like this by name, became wary, ‘Who is this?’ he asked himself. ‘Whoever it is who is calling out to me does not seem to be of my race. For this is no serpent-voice. Moreover, I have no connections with any other kind in this world of mortal beings. So, I shall just stay right here until I find out who this person is. For:
(17) Until you possess full information
of someone’s conduct, lineage, strength,
make no alliance with him,
is Bṛhaspati’s14 sage counsel’
‘For who knows if this is not some snake-charmer or someone skilled in preparing medicines who is summoning me, to bind and put me in a cage. Or it may be someone perhaps who has revenge on his mind; who may be summoning me to enlist my aid in the interests of a friend or faction.’
Sir Handsome, the serpent, cautiously called out, ‘Ho, there! who are you?’
‘I am Gaṅgādatta, King of Frogs,’ answered the frog-king, ‘and I have come here seeking your friendship.’
Hearing this statement, Sir Handsome snorted, ‘Friendship? Incredible! Does the grass make friends with the fire? You know the wise saying:
(18) You do not come too close to a foe
if you are made to be his prey;
no; not even in a dream; so,
why talk in this absurd way?’
‘Sir, listen, please; what you say is prefectly true,’ answered Gangādatta, ‘But, I tell you truly; I swear, I swear, I have come to you for help because I am smarting under great humiliation. How wisely it is said:
(19) When you are about to lose all that you own,
and your very life hangs in the beam,
you grovel even at the feet of an enemy
to save your life and property.’
‘All right then, tell me, who has humiliated you?’ asked the serpent.
‘My kinsmen,’ replied, the frog-king.
Sir Handsome next asked: ‘Well, where is your home? A pool
, a pond, a lake or a well?’
‘My home is in a well,’ replied Gaṅgādatta.
‘I cannot enter a well, you know’ remarked the serpent; ‘and even if I could, there would be no space inside where I could lie comfortably and kill your kinsmen. So go away. As the proverb puts it:
(20) Persons mindful of their well-being
Had better eat a mouthful at a time;
eat what is easily digestible;
eat food that is good and nourishing.’
‘Just come with me, sir,’ insisted Gaṅgādatta, ‘and I shall show you the easiest way to get into the well. Further, I shall show you a most comfortable hollow in the well at the water’s level for you to stay. Settled there, it would be mere child’s play for you to finish off my kinsmen.’
The serpent thought this over; he said to himself, ‘It is true I am getting old; now and then with great effort, I am able to catch a mouse; at times not even that. We should learn from the wise saying:
(21) When life is drawing to a close
and a wife and friends are lacking,
the wise man reaches out for ways
to ensure for himself a good living.
Having considered the matter carefully, Sir Handsome said to Gañgadatta, ‘Well, Gaṅgādatta, if it is as you say it is, then lead the way; let us go to your well.’
Gaṅgādatta was delighted, ‘Come, come, Sir Handsome; I shall take you into the well by a very pleasant way and show you the hollow which will be your residence. But…’ he added a cautionary note, ‘but you must not harm my family or my close friends. You should eat only those frogs that I point out to you.’
‘Come, come, dear fellow; have no fear,’ said Sir Handsome, reassuringly, ‘now that we are such good friends, I shall do whatever you say.’
So saying, Sir Handsome slithered out of his hole, and closely embraced the frog-king; and they set off together.
Reaching the well’s edge, the serpent closely followed the frog, entering the well by way of the round of circles on the water-wheel. After settling the black serpent in the hollow at the water’s level, Gaṅgādatta indicated to him who his kinsmen were who were harassing him, all of whom Sir Handsome gradually gobbled up. When no more of the frog-king’s hostile kinsmen were left to eat, Sir Handsome quietly picked a few of the royalty and ate them on the sly.