Panchatantra 0009 - The Fall of the Camel, The Lapwings vs. The Sea, The Foolish Turtle, The Caution of the Three Fishes, and The Sparrow's Fight Against the Elephant
In a jungle lived a lion king. His followers included a jackal and a crow. One day, they came across a camel. That camel had separated from its caravan and had lost its way.
The lion had never seen a camel before in his life. After all, camels did not roam around in the jungle. He asked the jackal and the crow, “What kind of an animal is this? Go find out and let me know.“
The crow said, “It’s a camel. Kill him and eat him.”
The lion said, “He has taken refuge in the forest and is a guest. Tell him to come to me without any fear. I will not harm him.“
The jackal and the crow went and spoke to the camel, then brought him to the lion.
The camel went and met the lion. He told the lion how he had lost his way and had ended up in the jungle.
The lion asked the camel to live there without fear for as long as he wanted.
One day, an elephant came to the forest and started creating havoc. The lion, seeing this, went and fought with the elephant. While he managed to defeat the elephant, he was badly hurt. The elephant had injured the lion using its tusks. He managed to drag himself home but he could not move. As he could not move, he could not hunt. The crow and the jackal relied on the lion’s kill for food. They began to starve.
The lion felt sorry for them. He asked them, “Go, find an animal whom I can kill in this condition. That way, I get food and you also don’t go hungry.“
The crow and the jackal set forth, but they could not find any animal like that. They thought, “Why not kill the camel? We will get good food then.“
The jackal said he would talk to the lion and influence him to kill the camel.
The jackal went to the lion and said, “It was better to kill the camel as there was no other animal there worth killing.“ Hearing these words, the lion was angry. He warned the jackal that if he said this again, he would meet his death.
The jackal said, “While it was a sin to hunt and kill the camel, what if it came and offered itself?”
The lion said he would think about that.
The jackal and the crow spoke amongst themselves. The crow went to the lion and said, “There is no animal that we can eat here. So kill me and eat me.“
To that, the lion said, “You are too small.“
The jackal then said, “Kill and eat me.“
The lion said, “Jackals are not edible,“ and shook his head.
The camel saw this. He thought, “All I have to do is offer myself and speak nice words. The lion will shake his head and say no.“
So he went to the lion and said, “Eat me.“
As soon as he said that, the lion attacked and killed him instantly.
Completing his tale, the bullock said, “Wicked people are mean-minded and will cause harm, just like the jackal and the crow. The lion is surrounded by mean people. Someone is arousing him against me. You are my friend. Tell me, what should I do?“
“Leave this jungle. Go away from here,“ said the jackal.
“What you are saying is true, but if I leave this place, the lion will find me. It is better that I fight with him,“ said the bullock.
This scared the jackal. The bullock was strong, and if he did attack the lion, there was a good chance that the lion would die.
He needed to think of a way to have the bullock leave the place.
He said, “What you are saying is correct, but one should know the strength of the opponent. Even the sea thought so, but was defeated by the birds.“
“How was that?“ asked the bullock.
The jackal began telling the story.
On a seashore lived a pair of lapwing birds. They found a nice place near the seacoast to lay their eggs. The female bird was scared, “Tide could wash off their eggs.“ The male lapwing assured the female, “Nothing like that would happen.“
When the male bird heard this, he laughed and said, “What a thing to say! The sea wouldn’t dare harm my children! Lay your eggs here and stop worrying!“
When the female laid eggs, just as she had said, the sea tide washed off her eggs.
She said to the male bird, “You refused to listen to good advice. Now we have lost our eggs. You acted like the foolish turtle who fell off the stick.“
“What was that?“ asked the male bird.
The female bird began telling the tale.
In a lake lived a turtle who was friends with two swans. They would spend the day in each other’s company.
One year there was a drought. No rain.
The lake began to dry up.
They decided to do something. The turtle said to the swans, “You can fly. Fly and find a lake which is full of water. Also find a strong piece of stick. I will hold on to the stick with my mouth. You hold the two ends and fly with that till you find a lake which is full.“
The swans agreed, but told the turtle, “When we fly with you, ensure that you will not open your mouth.“
The swans began their journey. They flew in the sky.
Below on earth, people were wondering what was going on in the sky. Hearing them, the turtle wanted to ask what the people were talking about. As soon as the turtle opened its mouth, it fell on the ground and died.
Ending this tale, the female bird said, “The ones who do not listen to good advice end up facing problems.“
“Those who foresee problems and act accordingly manage to live. But the one who relies on luck, loses. Just like the fish.“
“What was this?“ asked the male bird.
The female began telling.
In a pond lived three fishes.
Once some fishermen were passing the pond. They had never seen it before. It seemed to be a perfect spot for fishing.
They decided to come prepared and explore the pond the next day.
One of the fishes heard this. He said it was best that they leave the pond before they were caught. The second fish said it was a good idea, but the third fish refused to leave the place, saying it was its home.
Hearing this, the first fish, along with his family, managed to leave the pond and go elsewhere.
The next day, early morning, the second fish heard the fishermen approach the pond. He too left the pond with his family.
Later in the day, the fishermen caught all the fish in the lake, including the third fish, and they all died.
The male bird said, “I am not stupid. I have the power to dry up the lake.“
The female bird said, “You are weak. How can you do that? How can you attack the sea without knowing its strength?“
The male bird said, “I have the power to suck up the sea.“
The female bird said, “Talk sensibly. How can you suck up the sea which is fed by Ganga and other rivers? If you feel you can do it, then do it in a group. Alone you cannot, but in a group, you can. The way a sparrow, a woodpecker, a fly, and a frog got together and killed an elephant.“
“How was that?“ asked the male bird.
The female began telling the story.
In a jungle, a pair of sparrows had made their nest in a tree. One day, an elephant came and started shaking the tree. The branch on which the nest was broke, the nest fell on the ground, and all the eggs were smashed. The female sparrow began crying when she saw this.
A woodpecker went to her and said, “Do not cry over something that is lost.“
The sparrow said, “That is true. But because of this elephant, I lost my eggs. If you are my friend, help me find a way to defeat the elephant.“
The woodpecker said, “A true friend is one who stands by the other friend during trouble. In good times, all will be your friend, but the one who is with you during bad times is a true friend. I have a friend who is a fly. I will ask the fly to help us.“
Along with the female sparrow, the woodpecker went to meet the fly. The fly agreed to help and said it would take the help of its friend, a frog.
The frog agreed to help and came up with a plan.
It asked the fly to buzz around the elephant’s eyes. When the elephant would shut its eyes, the woodpecker would peck at the eyes.
Blinded by pain, the elephant will look for water. The frog would sit on the edge of a precipice and croak there. Thinking there is water, the elephant will jump off the place and die.
This took place as planned.
Ending her tale, the female bird said, “If one works in a group, things will work out.“
The male bird said it would work in a group.
He called the other birds and told them what had happened. The birds said they would not be able to suck the ocean dry. If there was something, they could go to Garuda, their king. “He will tell us what needs to be done,“ they said.
As decided, the birds went to Garuda and told him what had happened. Garuda said he would dry up the sea.
When Garuda was thinking about this, a messenger from Vishnu came to him, asking him to leave immediately for some work.
Garuda said he was busy and told the messenger to tell Vishnu, “that he was sorry, he would not be able to come.“
The messenger was shocked, wondering how could Garuda talk to Vishnu like this.
Garuda said, “Vishnu rests on the sea. That sea has swallowed this bird’s eggs. How can I serve Vishnu if the sea is not forced to return the eggs?“
When Vishnu heard this, he decided to visit Garuda and talk to him. When Garuda saw Vishnu come to him, he felt embarrassed and told him the reason why he was not following Vishnu’s orders.
Vishnu decided to talk to the sea along with Garuda.
Vishnu scolded the sea for stealing the eggs and asked the sea to immediately return the eggs.
The sea did so, and the male bird thanked all, took the eggs, and gave them to the female bird.
Ending the tale of the birds, the jackal said to the bullock, “Know the strength of the enemy before attacking them.“
The bullock said, “How do I know that the lion really wants to harm me?“
The jackal said, “If you see the lion—his eyes red and looking vicious—know for sure that he has evil thoughts in his head. If not, then the lion is relaxed. Also, ensure no one else gets to hear about our conversation. Better leave the jungle and go somewhere safe.“
Saying this, the jackal left the bullock and went to his brother. His brother asked him where he had been busy. The jackal said he had been busy sowing seeds of discord. He told his brother that he had told the lion and bullock contradictory lies. “They will not talk to each other now,“ he said.
His brother said, “It is wrong to separate friends. It would be easier to destroy them.“
The jackal said, “Because of the bullock, the lion does not listen to us. I have secretly planned the death of the bullock. Even if he is not killed, he will certainly run away. Keep this a secret. With the bullock’s death, we get to avenge our father, we become ministers, and we get to feast on the bullock.“
“We need to ensure that we act like the cunning jackal that kept his plans a secret and looked after his own interests only.“
“How was that?“ asked the brother.
Key take-aways
Wicked people are mean-minded and will cause harm. The Jackal and the Crow are malicious, willing to sacrifice the camel for food.
The other jackal deliberately sows discord between the Lion and the Bullock for his own gain.
The company you keep is crucial.
Foresight saves lives. It is best to foresee danger and act immediately, rather than waiting for it to arrive. Like the fishes.
The female Lapwing’s warning about the tide was correct; the male bird’s arrogance and refusal to listen led to the loss of their eggs.
Failure to follow clear instructions (staying silent) due to curiosity can lead to immediate catastrophe, like what happened to the turtle.
Do not rely on luck. The fish who relied on luck was the only one caught by the fishermen.
Working in a group achieves the impossible. An alliance of small, weak creatures can defeat a massive, powerful enemy through coordinated effort and strategy, the way the elephant was defeated.
The Lapwing bird, when uniting with others and appealing to Garuda, forced the Sea to return what it had taken.
The Jackal advises the Bullock to “Know the strength of the opponent” before challenging the Lion.
The cunning Jackal ensured his plan to separate the Lion and Bullock was kept a secret to ensure his success.
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