The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
the peculiarities of their master's character. For who would confine
his attention to filling his belly?" When Damanaka said this, the
good Karataka said--"Prying for one's own gratification is not the
duty of a servant." Damanaka, being thus addressed, replied--"Do not
speak thus, every one desires a recompense suited to his character;
the dog is satisfied with a bone only, the lion attacks an elephant."
When Karataka heard this, he said, "And supposing under these
circumstances the master is angry, instead of being pleased, where
is your special advantage? Lords, like mountains, are exceedingly
rough, firm, uneven, difficult of access, and surrounded with noxious
creatures." Then Damanaka said, "This is true, but he who is wise,
gradually gets influence over his master by penetrating his character."
Then Karataka said--"Well, do so," and Damanaka went into the
presence of his master the lion. The lion received him kindly:
so he bowed, and sat down, and immediately said to him; "King, I
am a hereditary useful servant of yours. One useful is to be sought
after, though a stranger, but a mischievous one is to be abandoned;
a cat, being useful, is bought with money, brought from a distance,
and cherished; but a mouse, being harmful, is carefully destroyed,
though it has been nourished up in one's house. And a king, who desires
prosperity, must listen to servants who wish him well, and they must
give their lord at the right time useful counsel, even without being
asked. So, king, if you feel confidence in me, if you are not angry,
and if you do not wish to conceal your feelings from me, and if you
are not disturbed in mind by my boldness, I would ask you a certain
question." When Damanaka said this, the lion Pingalaka answered;
"You are trustworthy, you are attached to me, so speak without fear."
When Pingalaka said this, Damanaka said: "King, being thirsty, you
went to drink water; so why did you return without drinking, like one
despondent?" When the lion heard this speech of his, he reflected--"I
have been discovered by him, so why should I try to hide the truth
from this devoted servant?" Having thus reflected, he said to him,
"Listen, I must not hide anything from you. When I went to drink water,
I heard here a noise which I never heard before, and I think, it is
the terrible roar of some animal superior to myself in strength. For,
as a general rule, the might of creatures is proportionate to the
sound they utter, and it is well known that the infinitely various
animal creation has been made by God in regular gradations. And now
that he has entered here, I cannot call my body nor my wood my own;
so I must depart hence to some other forest." When the lion said this,
Damanaka answered him; "Being valiant, O king, why do you wish to
leave the wood for so slight a reason? Water breaks a bridge, secret
whispering friendship, counsel is ruined by garrulity, cowards only
are routed by a mere noise. There are many noises, such as those of
machines, which are terrible till one knows the real cause. So your
Highness must not fear this. Hear by way of illustration the story
of the jackal and the drum.
Story of the Jackal and the Drum. [24]
Long ago there lived a jackal in a certain forest district. He was
roaming about in search of food, and came upon a plot of ground
where a battle had taken place, and hearing from a certain quarter a
booming sound, he looked in that direction. There he saw a drum lying
on the ground, a thing with which he was not familiar. He thought,
"What kind of animal is this, that makes such a sound?" Then he saw
that it was motionless, and coming up and looking at it, he came to
the conclusion that it was not an animal. And he perceived that the
noise was produced by the parchment being struck by the shaft of an
arrow, which was moved by the wind. So the jackal laid aside his fear,
and he tore open the drum, and went inside, to see if he could get
anything to eat in it, but lo! it was nothing but wood and parchment.
So, king, why do creatures like you fear a mere sound? If you approve,
I will go there to investigate the matter." When Damanaka said this,
the lion answered, "Go there, by all means, if you dare;" so Damanaka
went to the bank of the Yamuná. While he was roaming slowly about
there, guided by the sound, he discovered that bull eating grass. So
he went near him, and made acquaintance with him, and came back,
and told the lion the real state of the ease. The lion Pingalaka was
delighted and said, "If you have really seen that great ox, and made
friends with him, bring him here by some artifice, that I may see what
he is like." So he sent Damanaka back to that bull. Damanaka went to
the bull and said--"Come! our master, the king of beasts is pleased
to summon you," but the bull would not consent to come, for he was
afraid. Then the jackal again returned to the forest, and induced
his master the lion to grant the bull assurance of protection. And
he went and encouraged Sanjívaka with this promise of protection,
and so brought him into the presence of the lion. And when the lion
saw him come and bow before him, he treated him with politeness, and
said--"Remain here now about my person, and entertain no fear." And the
bull consented, and gradually gained such an influence over the lion,
that he turned his back on his other dependents, and was entirely
governed by the bull.
Then Damanaka, being annoyed, said to Karataka in secret: "See! our
master has been taken possession of by Sanjívaka, and does not
trouble his head about us. He eats his flesh alone, and never gives
us a share. And the fool is now taught his duty by this bull. [25] It
was I that caused all this mischief by bringing this bull. So I will
now take steps to have him killed, and to reclaim our master from his
unbecoming infatuation." When Karataka heard this from Damanaka, he
said--"Friend, even you will not be able to do this now." Then Damanaka
said--"I shall certainly be able to accomplish it by prudence. What
can he not do whose prudence does not fail in calamity? As a proof,
hear the story of the makara [26] that killed the crane."
Story of the crane and the Makara. [27]
Of old time there dwelt a crane in a certain tank rich in fish; and
the fish in terror used to flee out of his sight. Then the crane,
not being able to catch the fish, told them a lying tale: "There has
come here a man with a net who kills fish. He will soon catch you with
a net and kill you. So act on my advice, if you repose any confidence
in me. There is in a lonely place a translucent lake, it is unknown to
the fishermen of these parts; I will take you there one by one, and
drop you into it, that you may live there." When those foolish fish
heard that, they said in their fear--"Do so, we all repose confidence
in you." Then the treacherous crane took the fish away one by one,
and, putting them down on a rock, devoured in this way many of them.
Then a certain makara dwelling in that lake, seeing him carrying
off fish, said:--"Whither are you taking the fish?" Then that crane
said to him exactly what he had said to the fish. The makara, [28]
being terrified, said--"Take me there too." The crane's intellect was
blinded with the smell of his flesh, so he took him up, and soaring
aloft carried him towards the slab of rock. But when the makara got
near the rock, he saw the fragments of the bones of the fish that the
crane had eaten, and he perceived that the crane was in the habit of
devouring those who reposed confidence in him. So no sooner was the
sagacious makara put down on the rock, than with complete presence
of mind he cut off the head of the crane. And he returned and told
the occurrence, exactly as it happened, to the other fish, and they
were delighted, and hailed him as their deliverer from death.
"Prudence indeed is power, so what has a man, devoid of prudence,
to do with power? Hear this other story of the lion and the hare."
Story of the lion and the hare. [29]
There was in a certain forest a lion, who was invincible, and sole
champion of it, and whatever creature he saw in it, he killed. Then
all the animals, deer and all, met and deliberated together, and they
made the following petition to that king of beasts--"Why by killing us
all at once do you ruin your own interests? We will send you one animal
every day for your dinner." When the lion heard this, he consented to
their proposal, and as he was in the habit of eating one animal every
day, it happened that it was one day the lot of a hare to present
himself to be eaten. The hare was sent off by the united animals, but
on the way the wise creature reflected--"He is truly brave who does
not become bewildered even in the time of calamity, so, now that Death
stares me in the face, I will devise an expedient." Thus reflecting,
the hare presented himself before the lion late. And when he arrived
after his time, the lion said to him: "Hola! how is this that you
have neglected to arrive at my dinner hour, or what worse penalty than
death can I inflict on you, scoundrel?" When the lion said this, the
hare bowed before him, and said: "It is not my fault, your Highness,
I have not been my own master to-day, for another lion detained me on
the road, and only let me go after a long interval." When the lion
heard that, he lashed his tail, and his eyes became red with anger,
and he said: "Who is that second lion? Shew him me." The hare said:
"Let your Majesty come and see him." The lion consented and followed
him. Thereupon the hare took him away to a distant well. "Here he
lives, behold him," said the hare, and when thus addressed by the hare,
the lion looked into the well, roaring all the while with anger. And
seeing his own reflexion in the clear water, and hearing the echo
of his own roar, thinking that there was a rival lion there roaring
louder than himself, [30] he threw himself in a rage into the well,
in order to kill him, and there the fool was drowned. And the hare,
having himself escaped death by his wisdom, and having delivered all
the animals from it, went and delighted them by telling his adventure.
"So you see that wisdom is the supreme power, not strength, since by
virtue of it even a hare killed a lion. So I will effect my object
by wisdom." When Damanaka said this, Karataka remained silent.
Then Damanaka went and remained in the presence of the king Pingalaka,
in a state of assumed depression. And when Pingalaka asked him the
reason, he said to him in a confidential aside: "I will tell you,
king, for if one knows anything, one ought not to conceal it. And one
should speak too without being commanded to do so, if one desires
the welfare of one's master. So hear this representation of mine,
and do not suspect me. This bull Sanjívaka intends to kill you and
gain possession of the kingdom, for in his position of minister he has
come to the conclusion that you are timid; and longing to slay you,
he is brandishing his two horns, his natural weapons, and he talks
over the animals in the forest, encouraging them with speeches of this
kind--'We will kill by some artifice this flesh-eating king of beasts,
and then you can live in security under me, who am an eater of herbs
only.' So think about this bull; as long as he is alive, there is
no security for you." When Damanaka said this, Pingalaka answered,
"What can that miserable herb-eating bull do against me? But how
can I kill a creature that has sought my protection, and to whom I
have promised immunity from injury." When Damanaka heard this, he
said--"Do not speak so. When a king makes another equal to himself,
Fortune does not proceed as favourably as before. [31] The fickle
goddess, if she places her feet at the same time upon two exalted