You should understand your limitations

You should understand your limitations before others find them and use them to your detriment

Another revelation from Vishnu Sharma's Panchatantram. 

As usual in a forest, there lived a lion and his missus. The lady lion had just delivered two cubs and was recovering to her normal wont gradually. The doting husband rummaged the forest to catch the choicest prey for the nursing mother of his children. 

One day, in spite of his best efforts , he could not find any animal suitable to satisfy his stomach or the hunger of his nursing wife. 

Ultimately while returning home he saw a newborn baby fox, which had unfortunately lost his mother. Even the hungry lion did not have the heart to eat such a small child. But he knew that his nursing wife was starving and so took the tiny fox softly between his jaws and presented it to his lady love. " Darling, I could not find anything for food today except this miserable creature. I could not bring myself to the thought of eating this tiny fellow . However I have brought it for you.. 

The lioness said, " You say you could not eat this child. Look, my love, I am the mother of two sons. How can I eat such a little fellow. I am overcome with pity and even a little love for this tiny thing. Let him grow with my own two boys.. I will nurse him too treating him as my eldest son." 

Thus the fox grew up along with the young lion cubs. The two younger ones were always told that the fox was their elder brother and in the innocence of their adolescence, they had no reason to disbelieve their mother. 

Even otherwise, all living beings have implicit faith in their mothers-- perhaps human beings are an exception. 

One day a rowdy elephant in rut crossed the path of the three brothers while they were just wandering in the forest. For the lions the elephant was a natural adversary and their instinct was always to match strength with him. But by the same instinct, the fox was always afraid of the elephant. When the lion cubs were readying themselves to jump at the forehead of the elephant, the fox warned them, " My beloved brothers, the elephant is a very dangerous animal. Please do not try to fight with him." 

Seeing the reluctance and timidity of the elder brother the youngsters lost interest in the fight and withdrew. 

But the elder brother's view carried a discordant note for them. When they came back to their mother, they were laughing at the timidity of the elder brother fox. 

" Mom, see how timid our elder brother is? We wanted a nice fight with the elephant but our brother developed cold feet. It was disappointing." 

When the fox heard this, he was angry and the anger was visible in his arched eyebrows and the series of bad words he started uttering against the lion cubs. 

The mother lioness called the fox aside and told him, "Darling. You should not rave in rage like this. Are these two your younger brothers?" 

The fox retorted." In what way am I inferior to them? Have I not the beauty? Have I not the knowledge? Have I not the courage? Have I not the beautiful tail?" 

The lioness laughed within herself. She knew that if the poor fox took cudgels against the young lions, the encounter would be fatal for the fox. In her motherly love she wanted to prevent such a tragedy. 

She told the young fox candidly. " Son, you are attractive. You have knowledge. But you are the son of a fox. I had just adopted you. People of your clan can never muster enough courage to kill an elephant. My own children are too young. So they have not yet understood that you are only a fox. Once they realize that even God cannot stand guarantee for your life. So take the advice of this mother and run away from here and join animals of your own clan. I am telling you because I have lots and lots of love for you because you have also grown up consuming my own milk. “ 

The realization dawned quickly on the fox. He simply sneaked away from the scene and joined his own clan.

The wheel landed upon my head years ago in the same manner

The wheel landed upon my head years ago in the same manner.

A lesson from Vishnusharma's Panchatantram.

Four Brahmin youths lived in a town. They were very close friends. As is usual with Brahmins, poverty was a nagging problem for them. They were unanimous in their view that it would be better to live in forests infested with wild animals, wearing tree bark as dress rather than living in a town where some relatives lived in comparative affluence and looked down upon the poor cousins as beggars who are bringing discredit to their clan as a whole. 

So they decided to leave the town in search of wealth. There is nothing surprising about it. When people are obsessed with earning money alone, they will abandon truth, they will abandon their kin, they will abandon their motherland and would not hesitate to desert their own mothers. In their greed thy look up on the foreign land as almost equal to heaven. 

After covering a long distance, they reached the city of Avanti.. Avanti was one of the most popular cities of that time along with Ayodhya, Kanchi, Puri, Dhaaraa , Mathura etc,. They had a free bath in the river Sipra, and also had the Darshan of Lord Mahakala. On their way out of the temple they met a learned yogi by name Bhairavananda. When they paid him respects in the appropriate brahmanical manner, he was pleased and took them to his residence..

After feeding them, he asked, "Who are you? What brought you here? Where are you proceeding to? It would seem that you have travelled a lot. What is the purpose such a long travel?". 

They replied almost in unison. " We are indigent Brahmins. We are fed up with the abject poverty we suffer. We have left our motherland in search someone who can teach us some great powers of miracle though which we can become very rich. Our watchword now is, ''Earn huge wealth and live comfortably, or simply wander and die in search of wealth". We have no going back . We expect some windfall for sure. It is said, sometimes, we get water spontaneously as rain from the sky. Sometimes we have to dig a little to get water. Sometimes we may have to dig on and on till to great depths perhaps till we reach the other side of the earth to see some water. But we are prepared for anything. We will search for money till there is life in us. We are not worried even if we perish in that process. Vishnu could get Lakshmi only after working hard as a member of the team which churned the milky ocean. But even for Him Lakshmi is fickle. When He sleeps on his serpent bed in the milky ocean for four months, She simply leaves him and flirts with others. She is not to be blamed for that. Who will care for a fellow who is sleeping continuously for four months? . So dear Sir, please teach us some miracle trick to enable us to earn immense wealth. We are ready to sit in caves for years together and learn Samadhi, or propitiate evil deities or devils haunting the burial grounds, or turn ourselves into kapalikas or cannibals to earn money. We know that you are a capable guru and sorcerer. You must help us. You alone can make our lives meaningful."

Prodded like this for days and nights Bharavananda invoked some tantric deities and prepared a lamp with four wicks and assigned special powers on the wicks and distributed them amongst the four with the following direction. " You proceed in the direction of Himalayas each one of you keeping a wicd in his hand. Where a wick falls down all by itself on the ground, you dig there. You will get some treasure underneath. 

The four Brahmin youths set out to Himalayas without any delay. After they had covered some distance the wick held by one of the fellows fell down. He dug the earth there and found that the landscape was full of copper. He told others. " Here we have abundance of copper.. All of us can share it, market it, and be rich. Let us collect all the copper and return to our motherland." 

The other three laughed. “You fool. We have no use for your copper. You can do what you want.”

They walked away, but the youth with the copper mine returned to his native place carrying loads of copper and lived well reasonably.

Before long the second wick fell and they hit silver there. The two Brahmins with wicks in hand scoffed at the idea of sharing the silver, and proceeded further. The second Brahmin made himself rich with silver and lived in comfort.

Within a few days of walk the third wick also fell. Here the find was gold. The third Brahmin was jubilant and offered to the fourth one holding the remaining wick that it was time for the two of them to share the gold and go back to their native land.

The fourth fellow was avaricious. He hit back point-blank. " You have his gold and you are jealous of me that I am going to find the ultimate treasure of gems and precious stones. You are offering me gold only because of that. Let us part ways at this moment. I am proceeding further to take possession of the riches of Kubera himself. " 

The fourth Brahmin started walking ahead all alone. It was hot in the day. He could not find even some water to quench his thirst. But he prodded on. He lost his way and wandered in hunger and thirst for days and days, always holding on to the wick. 

Finally he saw a person standing in the scorching sun with a huge wheel rotating fast on his head with the axle embedded deep on the top of his head. He was bleeding profusely. 

The Brahmin asked him. "Who are you? Where can I get some water? Why are you having a wheel rotating like this on your head?"

Just as the fourth Brahmin was uttering these words, the wheel disengaged itself from the head of the bleeding man and anchored itself right at the centre of the head of the brahmin and continued its speedy rotations. 

He asked , " Hey, what is this"

The former victim replied. " The wheel landed upon my head years ago in the same manner. Once upon a time when Sri Rama was the king of India, I set out in search of wealth with a wick given by a yogi, and when I reached here I saw someone adorned with the same wheel rotating atop his skull, and he had also the same story to tell me. Seeing that I have landed up here with unquenchable avarice for wealth, the wheel shifted and flew away from his head and started doing its rounds on the top of my head. Now you have landed up here with greater avarice, and, if I am to reckon from your talk that king Veenavatsa is ruling now I have had the wheel atop my skull for more than three thousand years. Now it is your turn to have the wheel on your head. Let me run away from here. Hopefully someone who is greedier than you may land up here, maybe, after a few thousand years, and he will take the wheel off your head. 

Till then, good bye and best wishes'

wish you a happy deepavali

न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं 

नैवा विध्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः।

तमेव भान्तं अनुभान्ति सर्वं

तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति॥
कठोपनिषद्

na tatra sūryo bhāti na candratārakaṁ 

... naivā vidhyuto bhānti kuto'yamagniḥ|

tameva bhāntaṁ anubhānti sarvaṁ

tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṁ vibhāti||
katopanishad 

the sun does not shine there, 

nor the moon or the stars, 

no thunderbolts can spark or roar there

 and fire has not power there, 

but there stands the One Supreme Being..

and He is shining for spontaneously

and all things reflect that lustre... 

may that shining Almighty (Krishna) brighten our lives.

Wish you all a happy Deepavali.

--

Even the proximity to great wealth makes one absolutely powerful

Even the proximity to great wealth makes one absolutely powerful

Another episode from Vishnu Sharma's Panchatantram.

There was a shrine of Lord Shiva in the city of Mahliaropya. A mendicant by name Tamrachuda was residing near the temple performing the daily worship of the Lord. Every day, he would go round the town begging alms, as it was his duty as a sannyasin, and in the evening he would eat whatever was necessary for him from his alms-bowl and would place the balance of food in the bowl tying it on a peg just out of reach of rodents and pests. This food was meant for his servants. 

The rats who were residing in the temple were watching this. They thought that the balance of the food available after the mendicant's meal was rightfully theirs especially when they were languishing for food and starving almost to death. They approached their leader, Hiranyaka the wise rat, and said.. " Sir, you know we are all roaming around aimlessly in constant fear in search of some food. But the mendicant at the temple is getting a lot of food daily and after eating to his heart's content, he is tying his bowl with a lot of food left, on a tall peg out of our reach. You are our leader and a very wise person. If you can help us, we can get hold of that food and we all can eat well. " 

Hearing this, Hiranyaka with his followers rushed to the temple. Being bigger and more acrobatic, he jumped up and reached the contents of the alms-bowl, snatched all the food and divided it amongst his followers. He also ate good food that day.. Then onwards, this became the daily routine and the rats were all happy. The mendicant tried his level best to prevent the rats from stealing his food but all such attempts proved futile. 

Then he found a novel method. He procured a sturdy stick and periodically he would hit the bowl, even during his sleep, and the terrible noise would keep the rats at bay. 

The repeated beating of the bowl this became almost the second nature of the mendicant, and he never failed to do it whatever else his occupation was. The routine became something like this. The rat comes stealthily for food, approaches the bowl, and then the stick hits the bowl with a thud, and the rodent flees in fright.. 

But Hiranayaka was persistent. He would come back again and again. The enterprising Hirnyaka was managing to thwart the designs of Tamrachuda and steal his food.

One day another mendicant with a longer beard and clad in more colourful robes came as a guest to our poor stick-rattling Tamrachuda. Brihalspik was the name of the guest. The guest was received with due respects was and provided food and bed of grass. The host and the guest were in animated conversation about temporal and spiritual matters. Even though the guest was telling many great stories, the host was distracted and at short intervals he was going and hitting his begging bowl with a stick. 

Brihalspik, the guest, got annoyed. " You Tamrachuda, I understand everything now. You think that I am not your friend any longer. You are not talking with interest to me. I would like to leave this place immediately. One should go to the houses of hosts who are ready to receive you with pleasure. If the host is looking sideways and fidgeting and keeps down his face at the sight of a guest, it is evident that the guest is unwelcome. You are beating your alms bowl in addition. To visit such a host is even more shameful that a vagrant bull entering an unguarded field. You are rich and you have a temple in your occupation and so you are arrogant and you are treating me thus. You are not realizing the fact that by holding on to this abode you have already ensured a permanent place in hell. If one wants to get a permanent Visa to hell one can select between two professions.. Be a priest for one year or be the head of a matam or monastery for three days. Both are sure paths to hell. You miserable fool, I am leaving just now."

The host Tamrachuda was filled with remorse. He replied. " My Lord and friend, I never meant any disrespect for you. There is no better friend for me than you. But a wily rat here had made me half mad. He is stealing my food even if I keep my alms bowl pegged to any tall hooks. This wily rat could jump heights which would be a dream for a cat or even a monkey. It is in mortal fear of this rodent that I am hanging my bowl on a tall peg and beating it with a long stick all the time to scare him away . I do that even when I am asleep. It has become an obsession with me."

The guest Brihalspik was very wise. He asked. " Can you show me the hole where the rat resides?"

They found out the hole. Brihaspik said. "There must be some huge treasure lying underneath this hole. The inhabitants of the hole gets radiations from that wealth and becomes bold, and performs heroic acts" . 

The two mendicants, with the help of the servants dug up and razed the hole. The wily rat Hiranyaka fled the fortress and true to the prediction of Brihalspik, they could discover a huge treasure of gold and precious stones hidden underneath.

From that day the begging bowl and the contents were very safe for the mendicant.

The moral of the story is, “Even the proximity to great wealth makes one absolutely powerful”.

tears can be most deceptive

Tears can be deceptive

Another story from Panchatantram of Vishnu Sharma

In a jungle area there was a huge pond which housed lots and lots of aquatic creatures. There were Fish of all hues, frogs, and crabs.

One fine day an old wizened crane landed up on the banks of the pond. Due to old age, his eyes were clouded with cataracts, and he found it difficult to move his neck at reasonable speed to catch even a slow fish. Besides, his once sharp and hammer- like beak had now become almost a liability for him. In desperation he began to shed tears..

Tears are the the most potent deceivers you know. The tears of this grandfather crane flooded down in abundance and even seeped into the pond. The fish and other creatures, though utterly foolish, were of golden heart. They were themselves moved to tears when they saw the grandfather crane shedding tears. It was a galore of tears, a symphony in mukhari ragam.

Finally, a small fish asked, " Uncle, uncle, why are you crying? You are sighing also. What happened to you, uncle"

" Nothing has happened to me, child", replied the crane. 

I was only thinking of my bloodstained past. How many of your elders and siblings have been eaten away by me in my long career? Now it is time for me to think of my welfare in the next world. With huge amount of sin already credited to my account, how can I face my Maker? So, to expiate my sins, I have decided to shed tears of remorse in your presence, and also sit here without any movement and without eating anything, and in the process, I would wriggle out of my mortal coils as an expiated and purified being."

"However.." he continued, “I have a bad news to convey to you all. I have heard that there will not be any rain in this area for the coming twelve years. You all know I was also born and brought up around here. When I hear that my pond and my dearest friends living in the pond are all going to disappear due to failure of rains, my heart is so heavy and is reaching almost the point of a huge and sudden explosion. I really do not know what to do. I have nothing to gain or lose for myself.. But when I think of you all, my beloved children... " the grandfather crane's voice failed and he broke into a loud wail. 

The tidings spread like wildfire. The tortoises, fish and crabs were all worried. Someone approached the crane and asked. " Uncle, you are wise, can you find a way out for us.?" . 

" I am very old and lack physical prowess. My brain is also not as active as it used to be. Still let me think. Is it not the duty of an old Uncle to save his children?" 

He posed himself as if sitting in a very contemplative mood for a long time. Then he jumped up suddenly as if great gyan had dawned upon him . 

He said. " About twelve miles away from here, there is a huge pond which has huge natural springs of water from the earth itself and that pond can never go dry . I can do one thing. You children can come to me one by one. I will carry you on my beak and fly at least once for twelve miles and back every day and deliver you one by one in that beautiful pond.” 

The fish, crabs and tortoises were jubilant. One fish volunteered for the first flight.. He was taken on the beak of the crane, carried straight to the nearby huge rock, killed and made supper of by the crane. The crane came back and described at great length the jubilation of the fish which had reached safely, the heaven-like safety, of the new pond. 

Day by day, the fish and the tortoises ascended the beak of the crane and were sent to the abode of death with the huge rock standing mute witness to the cruel deed. The bones of the hapless creatures were bleaching white on the surface of the black rock. 

Sure, there were doubting Thomases in the pond and one tiny crab was especially so. He was not exactly taken in by the tears of the pious crane.

One day, it was the turn of our clever and inquisitive crab. The crab preferred to hold on to the neck of the crane with its four strong hands. The crane started the flight with the crab clutching his long neck, and when the crab looked down, he saw the black rock with huge number of white shining bones of his colleagues lying all around . He was quick and sharp enough to grasp the ominous significance.

Quietly he asked the crafty crane " Uncle, how are my cousins doing in the new pond? Are they happy?"..

Now that the crane felt that the crab was going to be his feast, he replied teasingly, " Happy in the other pond? You fool, you can see whatever that is left of them over the rock there, You are also going there in a jiffy. Enjoy yourself" 

The sharp clutches of the forearms of the crab started plunging into the long neck of the crane. The crab said. " I was smelling something foul from the day one. Now I know what a cruel hypocrite you are, you my dirty Uncle crane. This is the end of you".

Saying this he pressed his sharp nails on the neck of the crane and ensured that the uncle fell dead on the ground. The crab walked back to his old pond and informed the remaining inhabitants about the great deeds and sacrifice of their great uncle crane.

Tears can be deceptive. Indeed, very deceptive.

It is not our own intelligence but the foolishness of others that save us quite often.

It is not our own intelligence but the foolishness of others that save us quite often.

A story from Panchatantram of Vishnu Sharma

In a forest there lived a lion who was more than middle-aged and would prefer to sit at ease somewhere and catch hold of any prey who came nearby by applying whatever physical prowess and ingenuity that was left in him. Of course he had, as usual with people of this age, an inflated estimate of his own talents and wisdom.. What else is left there for old guys than to ruminate and brag about their glorious 

( and often imaginary) past? 

One day, our hero could not find any food in his usual way. When the midday also slipped away as a memory, the acute pangs of hunger started gnawing at his stomach and the digestive juices started eating the fine linings of his innards, he could wait no more, and with reluctance, started walking along in search of food. He really covered a distance which would have fetched him a medal in any solo marathon race, but still no living beings except trees, shrub and grass were in sight. Finally as the sun was withdrawing to his celestial abode after a strenuous day’s duty, the lion saw an isolated cave at the foot of a hill.

The wise lion thought. " The cave may not be occupied now, but surely some animal who owns the cave will return here for its nocturnal repose. I will now enter and take rest in the cave, and the owner can come at his leisure and can have his final rest inside my stomach.. Heavenly it would be, great food and good rest."

Accordingly he occupied the cave and waited for his prey to show up. Indeed the prey came that way. It was a wily jackal named Dadipuchcha.. The jackal was always circumspect and safety of self invariably was his first priority.

How could a jackal like him stay alive if he is not circumspect? He never opened his mouth except to tell a lie(or of course to eat something) . So every time he talked, he has to rewind all his memory of a lifetime, unwind all the yarn he had woven, if he had to survive. This happens to all who thrive on deceit.

Now he saw some unusual disturbances in the flora and fauna of the area surrounding his abode. He could also find some faint pug-marks of a lion. He was sharp enough to see through the plans of the old idiotic lion.

He talked to himself in a loud voice. 

" What is happening today? Why is my beloved cave not happy about my return for the night? Every evening when I come back, she would welcome me in her endearing voice.. Is she sick or angry? Anyway I shall ask her." 

Then he addressed the cave, " My darling cave, why are you so silent? If you do not like my presence, I would immediately leave your lovely company and take rest for the night somewhere else. I always put your happiness ahead of my own.. So, I am just leaving." 

Leave he did not. But the genius of a lion was listening to the jackal’s soliloquy and was really taken in by the latter’s endearing address to the cave. 

He thought.." This treacherous cave is not answering since she knows that her lover is in danger. Let it be so. She cannot beat me, nor this jackal." 

The lion did not lose even a split second. He tried in vain to bring softness to his gruff voice and said.."Do not ever leave my company, my love, I was just engaged in some domestic chores. I did not notice your arrival. You please come in.. I am waiting here eager to embrace you.”

The jackal could now know fully well who was inside the cave and what would have awaited him had he entered the cave without taking precautions . He simply walked off a few feet, then hastened his gait and bolted , deciding not to return that way at least for a few days to come..

The old lion waited, waited and waited

It is not our own intelligence but the foolishness of others that save us quite often

Our eyes become blind when fate is ready to strike its blow

Our eyes become blind when fate is ready to strike its blow.

A story from Panchatantra of Vishnu Sharma

There was a city named Mahilaaropya in the Southern Region. Not far away from the centre of the city there grew a huge banyan tree and the grand old tree was a virtual city by itself for various kinds of birds who built their comfortable nests in the various branches. The fruits of the tree and the worms that hid in the holes between branches provided sumptuous food for the birds. 

It is wisely stated. "A tree is worth its existence only if worms live in their crevices, birds built their nests in the foliage, the wayfarers and animals rested in their shadows, monkeys jumped from branch to branch and beetles drank honey from its flowers. Other trees are only waste loads for the mother earth." 

A crow by name Laghupatanaka stayed in the tree. Once when he was on his foray for food, he saw the fearful figure of a fowler with hair tied up, pitch dark in colour with flat feet, holding a trap for the birds in his huge hand and walking along the jungle path. He feared that the fellow was making a beeline towards their tree and immediately flew home, called a conference of the birds and informed them that there was a Fowler on the prowl, and the inhabitants should not get hoodwinked by the antics of the fellow. It was warned that the fowler would come near the tree, spread his invisible net with many catches on the ground and spread fulsome grains of rice and corn in plenty to attract and ensnare the birds. 

" My dear friends, even if you see the entire ground filled with rice and other grains, you should not move from your nests. Stay close to your kin and confine yourself to the safety of your nests." The crow warned. 

The birds who had heard this from the wise crow obeyed his advise in letter and spirit. The fowler spread the net and the grains and waited in vain.

As luck would have it, the king of doves, Chitragreeva with his subjects numbering one thousand flew that way. All of them had been in flight for quite some time and were tired. They saw the grains spread over the ground but could not see the net spread with so much of cunning by the fowler. Laghupatanaka sitting in the banyan tree was shouting warning words to the doves not to come to ground to eat the grains. But greedy were the doves, and they were tired too. They suspected that the crow was trying to drive them away because he wanted to have all the grain for himself. And hunger took the upper hand.

Even otherwise who can answer the questions like, why did Ravana who knew that it was a sin to steal the wife of someone else commit the sin? Why did the most knowledgeable Rama believe that there could be a deer made of gold? How did Dharmaputra, fully knowing the dangers and evil consequences of playing dice, perform so many bids opposed even to dharma and got defeated and went to forest in disgrace? The only answer could be that when one is about to fall prey to the wiles of cruel fate, his good senses will take leave of him, and he will do silly and foolhardy things. Once bound by the rope of fate even the greatest of people will lose their good sense. Such fate befell Chitragreeva and his team. 

With competitive avarice and greed the descended upon the ground to gobble up all the grain and the wily fowler released the catch of his net and every dove was trapped with iron fetters. The fowler was quick on his heels running towards the trapped birds with a huge stick to beat them all to death. The ingenuity in Chitragreeva started working. He told his colleagues."We are trapped, and that man is going to beat us to death. Let us all work together and fly in unison carrying the net along with us." The doves flew away with carrying the net along in their flight. The fowler cursed his fate. 

Chirtagreeva was telling his friends.

" Let us fly as far away from the fowler as we could. We can land in some safe ground and try to untie the traps on our legs and fly to liberty. When our destruction is almost sure, we should not lose our heart. We should do our best in us to survive. If we die meekly, we will have no peace even in the netherworld." 

Once out of the eye-range of the fowler, Chitragreeva said.. "Friends, in the town of Mahilaropya, I have a dear friend, a rat named Hiranyaka. He is very wise. He will definitely find some method to release us.” So the doves flew toward Mahilaropya and landed before the wide living hole of Hiranyaka the wise rat.

Hiranyaka was always extremely 

conscious of his own safety. He would take extra care to avoid cats and snakes. So his hole was a virtual fortress with hundred doors for exit. He could escape through any one of the holes if there was sign of any danger. 

He lived upto the dictum, " A snake without its poison fangs, an elephant without rut, and a leader without a fortress can be defeated by anyone." So he was careful. 

Chritrgreevaa knocked at one of the doors of the fortress and shouted, " My friend, come out and help us. Hiranyaka, this is your friend Chitragreeva the king of doves facing utter danger". 

Hiranyaka recognized his friend through his voice, and came out eager to help. He said. " A dear friend is always welcome to my house. My existence has found its meaning by the visit of my bosom friend and his companions." Chitragreeva explained to his friend his predicament. 

The rat came out and started to cut the knot at the feet of Chitragreeva first with his sharp teeth. Chitragreeva did not agree. " If you are a true friend, you should release all my dependents first and then alone I will think of my liberty. If you start cutting my trap and your teeth get broken, then the fate of all who are dependent on me would be miserable". 

Hiranyaka was pleased beyond measure. " You are a real king and a real friend. The welfare of others are more important to you than that of your own. An ideal king should be like that."

Saying this, he gradually cut the traps of all the doves and gave them a sumptuous feast in honour of his friend. 

However, the rat could not help wondering to himself, " A bird sees its food from hundreds of feet away but does see the trap which is very near it. The sun and moon get eclipsed. The cunning elephants, snakes and other animals fall into traps. How does it happen?'

Chitragreeva replied, "It is fate that is at work. Our eyes become blind when fate is ready to 

strike its blow."

Sooner or later, the class shows.

Sooner or later, the class shows.

A story again from Vishnu Sharma's Panchatantram

A fox named Chandarava lived in an isolated jungle. The area was very arid and he could find no food or water to keep his body and soul together. He strayed into a nearby town..

The Lords of the town, the stray dogs, did not miss even a second to jump at him with huge howls and the fox was on the run for his life. He reached a weaver's house. There, a huge drum of blue dye was kept ready for colouring some clothes. 

To hide from his city cousins the fox jumped into the drum. The bloodthirsty cousins (cousins are always so) were persistent. They were going round the drum expecting the fox to emerge at any moment. 

Yes, emerge he did, but as a different being. Coloured all over uninterruptedly in aquamarine blue, he looked like a being which was never created by God any time before. Seeing this apparition, it was now the turn of the stray dogs to flee. 

The fox dismissed them with disdain. He was clever enough to divine that there was something special in him now. He tried to see his form reflected in still waters and ensured that his appearance was something really special. 

In his new avatar, christening himself as Kakudruma the great, he made a ceremonial entry into the forest. The king lion was holding court there with other animals and chamchas. Kakudruma the great walked into the conclave with a flourish and declared,

" Ye silly earthly animals. God has understood how useless and inefficient you all are and has sent me as his special representative to take over the reins of this forest kingdom. Better you obey the God's order and also do my bidding. Destruction on you if you demur" . 

The curious shape of Kakudruma had already drained all the courage out of the animals in the forest with the regal lion in the lead. They gave way to the new being to be appointed as king. 

Gracefully, Kakudruma appointed the lion as the prime minister. The role of the tiger was to guard the harem. The leopard had the honour of carrying the suitcase of the King. With great alacrity Kakudruma avoided the presence of any fox in his retinue. He knew very well that the danger to one's welfare always comes from one's own kin. All others were assigned posts according to their capacity as deemed fit by Kakudruma the great. 

Every day the animals would kill their prey and bring the flesh to the king. The king would eat to his heart's content and then distribute whatever was remaining to the cabinet colleagues and employees according to their status. 

The entire arrangement was to the greatest satisfaction of the blue fox, Kakudruma the great.

But time plays wily tricks. The fox was getting more and more lovelorn without the company of the females of his own species. He could not tell this openly because then his identity would be betrayed and the consequences would not be pleasant. He was keeping a stoic silence and bearing the pangs of love with all the manly valour and stoicism. 

But on a night of full moon, from far away in the woods, he did hear the howls of males and females of his own clan. He could no longer resist the love-calls of females of his own species. Unable to control himself he let out a huge foxy howl..

Lion the prime minister heard it first, as also the other members of the cabinet and the group of menials were not far behind in hearing the same . They huddled together in an emergency meeting to study and evaluate the meaning of the royal howl. The inevitable conclusion they could reach was that Kakudruma the great had betrayed himself and revealed his foxy identity . 

The cabinet was quick in execution of their action plan. With the lion, leopard and the tiger striking in unison, nothing worth the mention was left of Kakudruma the Great, the blue fox.

Sooner or later, the class shows.

The devotee has now left the ball completely in Krishna's court.

किमुक्तैर्भूयोभिस्तव हि करुणा यावदुदियाद्
अहम् तावद्देवप्रहितविविदार्त्तप्रलपितः।
पुरः क्ळिप्ते पादे तव वरद नेष्यामि दिवसान्
यथशक्ति व्यक्तं नतिनुतिनिषेवा विरचयन्॥ १०
श्रीमन्नारयणीयं दशकं॥३॥

prose order
भूयः अपि  उक्तैः किम्? वरद! देव! तव करुणा यावत् उदीयात् तावत् अहं प्रहित विविधार्त्त प्रलपितः
पुरः क्ळिप्ते तव पादे  यथा शक्थि नति नुति निषेवा विरचयन् दिवसान् नेष्यामि व्यक्तं॥

kimuktairbhuuyobhistava hi karuNaa yaavadudiyaad
aham taavaddevaprahitavividaarttapralapitaH.
puraH kLipte paade tava varada neSyaami divasaan
yathashakti vyaktaM natinutiniSevaa virachayan.. 10
shriimannaarayaNiiyaM dashakaM ..3..

bhuuyaH api  uktaiH kim? varada! deva tava karuNaa yaavat udiiyaat taavat ahaM prahita vividhaartta pralapitaH puraH kLipte tava paade  yathaa shakthi nati nuti niShevaa virachayan divasaan neSyaami vyaktaM..

Now Bhattathiri is reconciled to wait and wait till the mercy of Guruvayurappan is showered on him and he is restored to full health
" Guruvayurappa,  I have nothing more to tell again and again.  You, the source of all boons, until your flow of mercy manifests in me I am  going to remain at your lotus feet which is shining before me, giving up the habit of uttering numerous complaining entreaties ( caused by mental turmoil arising out of pain) and am going to spend, for sure, my days prostrating before you, praising you and meditating upon you to the extent my physical conditions would permit me.

The devotee has now left the ball completely in Krishna's court.

।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan
blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/
त्यजन्तु बान्धवाः सर्वे निन्दन्तु गुरवो जनाःI
तदापि परमानन्दो गोविन्दो मम जीवनंII
let all my relatives abandon me, let the great people insult me, still I am in supreme bliss since my life  is GOVINDA alone.
Iकृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"I
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु।
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu|

With a treacherous friend around, one need not have any weapon for suicide

With a treacherous friend around, one need not have any weapon for suicide

another lesson from Panchatantram of Vishnu Sharma.

A king had a cozy, soft bed of which he was very proud. It was so comfortable that even the monarch would have a sound sleep in spite of all his royal worries. Usually his personal servants were very careful in maintaining it spotlessly clean.. 

But servants are, after all, servants, and in time a lice could cling on to the sheet .. may be the birth of the lice occurred in the hair of the king. Anyway it was having a swell time there.. the Mandavisarpini, as the lady lice was named.

Her timings were immaculate. Like a yakshi, she would know when the king was in deep sleep, and then , and then alone, she would descend upon the royal body and with her very soft straw would drink just a little blood.. extremely delicious was the blood because the king ate very rich food.. which would keep her hale and healthy for the day.. She was thus living comfortably for ever . 

One day, as if sent by fate to put an end to her dream-life, a bedbug, with whom she was already acquainted paid a visit to the royal bed. The lice was terrified at the hungry looks and emaciated body of Agnimukha, the bug. She knew that the fellow knew no propriety and his presence could cause detriment to her also. But just like all glib adventurers, the bug was an adept in wagging his tongue. When the lady lice expressed fear about his presence, he gave a big lecture.

" My dear young lady, do you not know the dharmas? I have come as a guest to your abode. I am a thick friend of yours. I am of the considered opinion that you should have invited me long ago to this place. Is it not the duty of a good friend to share his fortune with his bosom friends?. Anyway, I have come to you. Now it is your turn to follow the duties of a sincere and dutiful host."

The lady lice had little choice now. She knew the terrible bug will not leave. He had had the taste of many species of nasty blood samples and of late he was starving. He had come coveting the sweet blood of the king and he would not leave without having his share of it. So, though reluctantly, the lice allowed the bug to stay on.

"You please hide yourself in a remote crevice of the wooden cot and you should come out only when the king is in deep sleep.. Then again you should have your dinner in a way befitting a gentleman. You should not use your forks and knives to create painful gashes." 

The bug agreed heartily.

The night came, the Royal occupant of the bed also arrived ready for his ten winks. The aroma of a human body did a million things to the gastronomically acute instincts of the bug.. He could not wait long enough to ensure that the king was asleep. He came out, descended on the body of the king who was fully awake and pressed his sharp and extended tooth of a straw on the soft body of the king and started to draw and drink blood. The king felt the painful prick and stirred up creating a ruckus. The servants were called to search the bed. The bug was fast on his feet and hid safely in a remote crevice of the wooden bed. No amount of search could betray him.

Meanwhile, not exactly knowing what all was happening Mandavisarpini, the lice was hiding in the fold of a bedsheet and she was discovered by the servants without much ado.. She was simply crushed between the fingernails of a servant and her dream run of a life met an untimely end.

At the time of dying, she must have cursed herself for having cultivated the friendship of such a garrulous idiot of a bug.

With a treacherous friend around, one need not have any weapon for suicide.

Krishna loves to listen to the mild rebuke of His loved devotee

मरुद्गेहाधीश त्वयि खलु पराञ्चोपि सुखिनो
भवत्स्नेही सोऽहं परितप्ये च किमिदं।
अकीर्तिस्ते मा भूः वरद गदभारं प्रशमयण्
भवत्भक्तोत्तंसं झटिति कुरु मां कंसदमन॥९॥
श्रीमन्नारायणीयं दशकं॥३॥
marudgehādhīśa tvayi khalu parāñcopi sukhino
bhavatsnehī so'haṁ paritapye ca kimidaṁ|
akīrtiste mā bhūḥ varada gadabhāraṁ praśamayaṇ
bhavatbhaktottaṁsaṁ jhaṭiti kuru māṁ kaṁsadamana||9||
śrīmannārāyaṇīyaṁ daśakaṁ ||3||

Now  Bhattathiri is delivering a note of warning to Guruvayurappan.

"My Guruvayurappa, even persons who show little interes in you are moving around in this world happily and  without any discomfort.  I am, by any yardstick a staunch devotee of yours and still am undergoing severe suffering caused by the ailments like rheumatism.. My Lord, should you not be more careful.?  The very fact that a steadfast devotee of yours is suffering like this whle others are living happily will made a dent in your otherwise blemishless lore.  So may my Lord, the slayer of Kamsa,  be pleased not to invite infamy for himself by leaving me in the clutches of diseases.
Gradually, the love and intimacy for the Lord is overtaking Bhattathiri and he is even forgetting to consider whether it is proper to chide the Lord.  This is a sign of progress in every beings progress towards communion with the Lord's Lotus feet.  Arjuna chided the Lord.. you are confusing me with words mixed in meaning...vyaamishrenaiva vaakyean budhdhim mohayaseeva me (Gita), Gopi's and Radha and Yasodha all quarrelled with the naughty boy out of great love.. It would appear that Krishna  loves to listen to the mild rebuke of His loved devotee.

--

।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan
blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/
त्यजन्तु बान्धवाः सर्वे निन्दन्तु गुरवो जनाःI
तदापि परमानन्दो गोविन्दो मम जीवनंII
let all my relatives abandon me, let the great people insult me, still I am in supreme bliss since my life  is GOVINDA alone.
Iकृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"I
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु।
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu|