Thursday 17 February 2022

28 MORAL FABLES FROM SANSKRIT LITERATURE-TALE 17

 

The story of a smart crow

There was a gigantic banyan tree in a certain part of forest.  In a branch of the same tree there lived a crow-couple by making their nest happily.  Whenever she-crow put the eggs, a certain black cobra which lived in a hole of the same tree, entered in the nest of that bird, and ate those eggs.  Sometime, it ate the chicken before they were grown.  Due to this inconvenience, the crow-couple were grief-stricken and unable move from that tree. With the great misery, the she-crow approached its friend Jackal and told thus: Oh! Sir! In this crisis what shall I do?  In this way, the black cobra ate my chicken.  Please tell me an idea by which I can be free from this condition because if any one, in such place where in the bank of river, living with a serpent how can he get the relief?  Sowe are facing many problems.  Then the jackal advised thus: Don’t worry! Listen to my idea.  You may go to the palace of the king who rules this country.  You may steal the golden ornaments from the palace while the soldiers are not watching. Then you may drop the stolen ornament at the entry of the hole of the tree where the black cobra resides.

After listening to this advice, the she-crow responded same.  At first the crow went to the royal pond in which the queen took bath.  Before going to take bath, the queen put down her golden ornaments on the upper part of the bank.  Then the she-crow reached there, took one among them and flew away.  When the she-crow was taking away the ornament and flying towards its place, the soldiers followed it to catch.  The smart she-crow as per the advice of the jackal dropped the ornament at the entrance of the hole of the tree.  Then the she-crow hid in its nest.  Then, the soldiers noticed that the ornament was kept on the hole, they tried to collect the same.  At this juncture, the black cobra came out from the hole.  On seeing the poisonous black cobra, one of the soldier chopped off it with his sword, took away the ornament and marched to the palace along with his fellow soldiers.  Then the crow-couple lived happily without the fear of the black cobra.

Moral of the story:

“Upaayena hi yath kuryaath thath na sakyam paraakramaih l

  Kaakyaa kanaka-soothrena krushna-sarpo nipaathithah ll  

Whatever is succeeded by the power of device that can’t be by the valorousness.  The black cobra was killed by the she-crow through stealing the golden ornament. 

 (This story is taken from the titled Suhrudhbedhah the 2nd volume of the book Hitopadesa which has four volumes viz., Mitralaabhah, Suhrudbedhah, Vigrahah and Sandhi written by Narayana Pandita who lived in later part of the 14th Century A.D.)


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