THE BLIND VULTURE

THE BLIND VULTURE

There is the story of a blind vulture Jardgaba in Hitopadesham

A vulture who had become old and blind and was struggling for food, landed up in a tree where many birds were living..

The birds took pity on the vulture and its advanced age and accommodated him in a hole in the tree.. They gave him some food too..

The vulture was grateful and he wanted to return such gratitude..So, during daytime, when the birds were all away looking for food, the vulture would guard and take care of the little birds left in their nests.

Once a cat came that way..

The little birds, on seeing the cat were restless.

They made a lot of noise.

The blind vulture got the signal and enquired about the encroacher..

The cat knew that if the Vulture got scent of the intention of the cat to eat up the little birds, then he would be killed..

So he approached the vulture with great show of reverence, and informed him that he was not a usual cat..

The cat told the vulture that , being fed up with eating meat of rats and birds and having become spiritually oriented, he had left his abode far off and had come to this tree because he had heard that an old saintly vulture was lodging there and that it would be worthwhile to receive godly instructions from him

The vulture was taken in by the sugar coated flattery of the cat.

The cat was permitted to stay.

The cat started eating the nestlings of the birds one by one because the Vulture was blind and could not see the tragedy.

The cat did not stop there.

The bones of the little birds that were eaten by the cat were all laid at the entrance of the hole where the vulture lived.

The parents of the young birds returned and found many of their offspring missing.

On search, they found the bones of the little one's stacked in fron the hole occupied by the vulture.

The natural inference was that the old vulture had eaten away their children

The birds were enraged..

They did not lose much time..

They all joined together, attacked the blind vulture and pecked him to death

Meanwhile the wily cat had already sneaked out of the scene.

The moral of the story is that one should not place trust on strangers..

and that one should not fall prey to flattery..