This is for you, this is for you

This is for you, this is for you

They were a middle-aged couple, reasonably fond of each other.. The man was hard-working and caring.  But even in the early years of his life, he has been bitten by the bug of spirituality..

From dawn to dusk, apart from the time he spent to earn his daily bread, it was prayers at home, visits to temples and song and dance in praise of the lord.  Of course all these activities, so long as they did not cost much money was tolerable to the lady of the house.   But the man would  not stop there.  He considered all the babas and bhaktas whom he met in the streets as the embodiment of God himself, and it somehow got into head that his bounden duty in life was to bring all such people home for  free lunch..

Naturally the duty to prepare food for all these visitors fell to the lot of the lady.  And the number was increasing day by day.

The lady was not cruel and not at all blasphemous.  But she was a realist to the core.  She told herself

“ Songs and Bhajans are okey.  I can even bear this forced celibacy.   But this reckless  spending all we have in  feeding  for free so many persons,( who should have engaged themselves in some proper work and earned their food )is not a good idea at all.   Both of us would go paupers, if this continued,  and then  I am sure no one will be there to  invite us daily for free food”

“I should find a way out.  The husband is obsessed with  his own spiritual practices and nothing else would enter his head. So reasoning with him is ruled out.   Something really drastic should be planned to get out of this situation”… thought she..

Like every middle-class Indian housewife, she was very intelligent and possessed a lot of practical wisdom.   So she kept quiet, not exhibiting any resentment to the way of her husband, and the procession of  free-eaters to their house continued, and the number swelled day by day.  It is quite natural  because when a fellow finds a source for free meals, invariable he shares the information with his idle colleagues.

Usually  the man brought his revered guest along with him on his way back from visits to local temples.  It so happened that it was a special day of festivities in the temple and the man was held up there with manthrams and bhajans even beyond the mid-day.

During that morning,  the bhakta had met a person in the street  and had stuck a deal that the latter would visit his house for food in the afternoon.   Accordingly, the man presented himself at the house of the bhakta,  eagerly looking forward for a sumptuous meal.

The lady of the house duly received the guest with great reverence, as she was well-aware that  a guest was equal to or more that God himself by our standards.

The meals could start only after the man of the house arrived.   So the lady started a small conversation with the guest to fill the time.

“  Sir,  I am sure my husband sent you here promising a full meal.. but what am to say, and how will I say that to you,?  I feel really sorry for you.  I believe you have been taken in by his pious appearance with  a tuft,  religious marks all over his body and his chants and songs.  But as his wife, only I know his real nature.  I am sorry to inform you that even though he would look very normal and pious he has a little madness hidden in his brain.  You see the  wooden pillar here.  You also see the  thick rope for tying cattle and the  long ulakkai (pestle) kept at the far corner.  “

The guest looked around, and saw all the things listed by her.

“Now listen to me sir, my husband brings guests to this house luring them with promise of free meals. But  one the guest is  here, true to his madness, he forcibly ties  the  poor hungry man to the pillar with that rope and then gives him a heavy blow with the ulakkai ( long wooden pestle made of some hard wood).   In fact my heart bleeds daily seeing some poor man running away for his life, with a deep wound on his head..”

As the conversation progressed, a dark fear took possession of the guest and  he had started his flight away from the home even before the lady had  finished her words.

The man of the house made his entry  just as the guest was making his exist by way of sprint.  After the function in the temple, there was a feast and so he could not get any more guests whom he could invite  to his house for food.

On arrival, he asked his wife, “ Did anyone come for food today?”

The wife replied.  “  Yes, one man came here and we were waiting for you to arrive.  He looked very normal.  But he was looking around the house and saw that rope and ulakkai (club-like pestle), and I do not know why, he was repeatedly asking me that he wanted these two as a gift.   As you know, we have only one ulakkai around here and I could not prepare our daily food without it as I have to pound grains every day.  I told him that we could spare the rope but not the pestle.  But he was insistent that he should have both.   When I politely refused to spare the ulakkai, he was very angry and has walked out in a huff.  I think  you would have met him going out as you entered.”

The man was very upset.  “ You wretched woman.. Our guest is our God.. What is there is sparing an ulakkai for him.  We will incur the wrath of god for having sent away a hungry guest. “  Saying this, he held up the ulakkai in his right hand and the rope in the left and ran after the guest, who was already sprinting away on the street. He was shouting at the top of his voice..”This is for you, this is for you”

The guest looked back, and saw the man and  also heard the shouts.   He was convinced that the man was chasing him and if he were caught he would become the victim of the daily ritual of the mad host.

The word spread, and from then there were no guests for free meals .. and the lady had found a solution for a serious domestic problem.
(a tale from Kerala)

the danger that befell the dancer

A  crow was flying around collecting crumbs of food for the  day.. It so happened that he came across a group of peacocks near a green bush..

 The weather was fine and there were some clouds gathering afar. The peacocks were very happy.. and they spread their colourful feathers and started to dance. 

It is not known whether it was jealousy or feeling of inferiority that caught up with  the crow..

 He said to himself.  “ How beautiful those peacocks are..What a dress  and dance!   Let me also take my chance at such fun and frolicking”..

So when the royal birds left the scene, the crow could see that some worn feathers of the attractive birds were lying where they had been dancing.  He picked up these colourful pieces carefully and tucked them among his own dark ugly feathers.. He thought to himself that with these new pieces in place, he had become very beautiful and that  he was now ready for  a ballet.

 First, he made his own funny noises for music and danced alone to gain confidence.. Then he chased around the group of peacocks who  had found another locale for their dance. 

 He tried to join the troupe and  was trying to sway and swirl along with those beautiful birds..  First he was ignored as an insignificant interference.. But as the crow persisted with his stellar performance, he was noticed and  the bigger birds lost no time in just driving away the intruder with stern warnings.

.Justifiably they felt that the ugly crow was bringing disrepute to them by donning their feathers and imitating their steps so clumsily.

The crow was not a fellow who was ready to give up.. He thought..

 “ Maybe, I am  not rehearsed properly to join the troupe of peacocks.  But my colourful new  feathers and the experience I have gained in the company of the peacocks,  my talents  as a beautiful bird who can also dance should bring pride to my kinsmen, the crows. 

So he came back to his group..with new feathers and all.. He lost no time in flaunting his histrionic talents.  He started crowing and dancing.. Other crows saw him.. “ What happened to this fellow?   New feathers and dance?  Has he gone mad?”

First they laughed and teased.. But when the nuisance persisted  crow  the dancer was driven out of his own family group.

(This is an adaptation of  an Aesop’s story)

Athiripaatcha kozhukkattai story..

A son-in-law visits his mother in law and the latter in all affection prepares and feeds him with a lot of kozhukkattai (a very delicious food item..a deshi pancake).. Enamoured about the taste but ignorant of the name of the delicacy, the son in law asks for the name and is planning to go over to his place memorizing the name of Kozhakkattai so that he could mention the name to his wife and ask her to prepare the dish in plenty..He chants the word kozhukkattai enthusiastically all the way and travels from the place of MIL to his own wife's abode.. En route, he had to pass a bridge and an instant storm comes by.. He is chanting Kozhakkattai again and again but some people were warning that an ahiripaatcha storm ( an unexpected storm?) has overtaken them. In confusion, the littany of Kozhakkattai tuns into " Athiripatcha" and when the storm clears and the man reaches home the word Athirpatcha had replaced kozhukkattai.. and he hurriedly demands his wife to prepare Athiripatcha in the same style as her mother would do.. The lady is flabbergasted. She could not divine what her man was telling. She pleads ignorance and is beaten up and develops swellings over her body the size of kozhakkattai.. Later on the Mother In Law visits them to see her daughter and witnessing her miserable plight, demands the Son In Law why he has beaten up her daughter and caused swellings of the size of Kozhakkattai.. The word strike a chord in his mind and he tells his wife that what he wanted was "kozhakkattai".. Obviously not athiripaatcha.. Rest is left to imagination..

had I not jumped out in time..

Had I not jumped out in time..

A story from panchatantram..

There was a donkey living under the tutelage of an old washer-man, the master and the beast both always hungry and miserable. Once in desperation for food the donkey ran to the outskirts of the village he was sharing with his master, and there he found a fox standing on the border adjoining the jungle. The fox was pondering seriously of entering the hamlet because lack of food was an equally acute issue in the jungle. 

The two partners in woe stuck a friendship and on that day, while the donkey was toiling for his master, the fox wandered around and discovered a field full of ripe watermelons. Though the area was fenced well, there was a breach and the cunning fox did not fail to divine it..

In the evening, the fox invited the donkey to share their dinner in the melon fields and both visited the field of operation late in night and had their bellies overfull with watermelons.. 

When hunger was no more an issue, the donkey could not control his itch for producing music with his attractive vocal chords ( though humans and others call it braying).. 

So he told his friend the fox, “mon ami, I cannot help singing a melodious song now”. 

The fox tried to reason with the donkey but when it was sure that the divine music will erupt at any moment, the fox jumped out of the field and ran to safety. 

The donkey started his Raga Vistaaram and the owner of the field was supposed to came in to watch and enjoy the concert.. But the results were not entirely to the liking of either the farmer or the donkey..

The donkey was beaten out of his shape..

The fox, watching from a distance was thinking...

" had I not jumped out at the right moment....”

All that was left was the bell and the string tied to it.

another episode from Panchatantram of Vishnusharma

In a town there lived a carpenter by name Ujjwalaka. He was very indigent.. He was feeling sad that everyone in the city did some productive work and earned money and respect. But his labour with timber earned him neither. So he left his town and went away to another city.

En route, he saw a female camel in labour pain. With his help she delivered a calf and the carpenter came back to his house leading the lady camel and her newborn camel boy. He fed the camels with great care. The camel-calf in time ate a lot of fodder and grew into a fully grown strong camel. The carpenter was in turn doing well financially selling the milk of the female camel. The carpenter thought that the camel boy was the harbinger of good luck for him and so he was very proud of him. He tied a bell around the neck of this camel boy, and the calf was ecstatic when he heard the ringing sound whenever he moved his neck.

In course of time the carpenter purchased some more camels and they begat many a foal, and now the carpenter was a successful dealer in camels, and their products. He groomed and sold many camels in the process and was immensely prosperous. But he never could think of selling off his first find, the camel with a bell tied around his neck.

One day all the camels of the household went to a nearby forest for grazing and having water. They had tummy-full of grass and tender plants and bellyfuls of clean cool water. In the evening they returned home very jubilant. Our camel with the bell was, as usual, in the lead. Being the pet of the group he was arrogant, and he was shaking his neck and the bell attached to it with flourish giving out loud noise, attracting all around including predators. Other camels were very disturbed.

" This foolish fellow is showing off with his bell. And he is coming far behind separated from the group.. We pray that he may not fall into the mouth of some wild predator."

While the procession was on, one lion happened to hear the chime of bells and came out to see what the mess was . Seeing the lion all the camels who were walking ahead of the young camel with the bell bolted and escaped to the town. The camel with the bell was far behind and he could not divine the approach of the lion till it was too late to escape.

Finally,…….

All that was left was the bell and the string tied to it. And maybe a few pieces of bones left-over.

For the fowler the meaning of sacrifice was alien

For the fowler the meaning of sacrifice was alien

Another episode from Panhatantram of Vishnu Sharma

In a city there lived an erudite brahmin by name Jeernadhana. As if by a quirk of fate he became a thief and he took up cheating others as his means of livelihood. With his great knowledge he was quite successful in this field also. It is a fact of life that t most of the people with great knowledge also possess the capacity to cheat but usually they practice the deceit discreetly. Maybe, only in old parables that one can see the professions like burglary and steling being listed as a practical means of livelihood. But in reality, in the present context burglary seems to be a not so hidden part of any profession.

Once it came to his knowledge that four brahmins from another town had reached the city as traders and that they had amassed substantial wealth in very little time by selling their merchandise. Our Brahmin the thief was now eager to apply his own professional skills to divest them of their wealth by hook or crook. So he cultivated their friendship meticulously, taking out his extraordinary charm and gift of the gab and applying them to good use. The four traders fell flat to his friendly overtures. 

It would appear to be a fact of life that when the circumstances suit her even a prostitute will feign shyness. The arrogant will exhibit good sense and feign humility and even the garrulous rogue will hover around you with sweet words.

Time passed, and the brahmins has sold all their merchandise, and with the profit, they purchased some valuable gems and started their journey back to their own town. 

Our Brahmin the thief who was clinging to their doing odd works for them and awaiting a chance to cheat them and steal away their wealth, was now desperate. 

" Fie, on me, these fellows are ready to leave with all their money converted to precious stones. Had I been good and true to my profession, the gems should have been mine by now. I have allowed a golden chance to slip away. Now the choice left with me is that, I have to join their company by hook or crook when they travel to their native town, and en route I can try my hands in poisoning them and then the gems can be mine. "

Having chalked out his action plan, he presented himself before the four brahmins with effusive cordiality manifesting itself as tears in the eyes flowing as if out of pangs of imminent separation. 

" My venerable friends, are you going away leaving me alone? I have developed very great affection for you in the course of the last few months of jubilant company with you and a separation from you four is unthinkable for me. It breaks my heart So pray, have kindness on me and take me also with you on your journey. I shall justify my company with you by any service that you may deem fit to expect and order."

The brahmin traders were very kind and magnanimous by nature. The pleas of the glib thief offering them his company was irresistible for them. They permitted him to join them in their journey homewards.

While they were travelling through a village inhabited by wild fowlers, the crows in the trees of the locality started crowing, 

"People who are owning lakhs in money are coming.. fowlers can come running and rob them" 

The group of fowlers believed in the signals given by the crows and duly accosted the five travelers and having beat them to pulp removed their clothes to see where the money was hidden securely . Their search proved futile. They could not find any cash or valuables. Apparently the four brahmins had swallowed the gems. ( to be taken out when they reached safe locations.. we see smugglers do that even these days)

The leader of the fowlers guessed this and ordered that the five brahmins be killed and their stomach cut up to get the gems.

At this juncture, as if by miracle, the power of knowledge and the greatness of the sastras came to the mind of the brahmin who had been a thief all his life . He thought, " By my activities till day I have lost all the virtues of a brahmin. It would seem that I have already secured my firm berth in hell by my sinful life. However, If I could be of some service to these poor brahmins, there would be some expiation and my existence in the nether world at least will be less miserable. I have to do something about it. "

Thinking so, he addressed the chief of fowlers. “You say you are going to kill all of us to find the gems. In truth we do not have anything with us or within us. Those crows should be mad. But to satisfy your doubt I offer myself to be killed, cut up and searched. If you find nothing inside me it should be sufficient proof for you that all the five of us have nothing with us. “

The king of fowlers agreed. They cut up the brahmin who even though he was a thief throughout his lifetime has through his noble gesture of trying to save his four friends from sure death by offering the supreme sacrifice, had atoned for all his sins and started his journey towards heaven. 

The other four brahmins were saved because the leader of the fowlers was sure that no one would have given up his life if the group really carried such wealth . 

For the fowler life meant only money and loot and the meaning of sacrifice was alien and strange to him. 

He could never imagine that a man could give up his life just to save others.

Apparently, even the worst persons have some magnificent streaks of greatness left in their character. The knowledge, nobility of birth and the background of life ultimately shows.

Saying thus, Gangadatta, the King of frogs bolted

Saying thus, Gangadatta, the King of frogs bolted.

Another episode from Panchatantra of Vishnusharma.

In a well there lived a king of frogs named Gangadatta. Most of his relatives were inimical to him and in spite of all his attempts to conciliate them, the enmity was growing and he was impatient and was eager to wreak vengeance on them. Once when someone had put a wick basket into the well for some purpose and was dragging it back to the mainland, he jumped in and reached the surface of the earth. 

While sighing with relief for having escaped from the relatives who were finding fault with him always, he thought. "I want to get even with the kinsmen who have tormented me. It is akin to gain a second life for oneself if one is able to retaliate for the insults heaped on him when his time was bad." 

While he was engrossed in such thoughts , he saw a cobra entering his hole nearby. One idea stuck him like a flash. " If this cobra is infiltrated into our well, he will do the needful and finish off all my offending relatives. It is always a good idea to turn one stronger enemy against another. One can ensure the destruction of at least one of the enemies, without any personal exertion. If a thorn has stuck into one's leg, the thorn can be removed only using another thorn. "

He slowly approached the entrance of the hole, and respectfully addressed the cobra.. "My dear beautiful black cobra, please come out. I am calling you to offer you a favour." 

The cobra thought, "Who is calling me? It is definite that the caller is not one from my own race. What I hear is not the sound of a snake. If it is from human race, it is always dangerous. I am now settled in a hole which is strong and safe. It is already taught by Brihaspati that one should not keep company with a person whose character, nativity and clan are not known. If it is some sorcerer who is having some spell or herb to capture the snakes, then I have to play absolutely safe. Maybe someone who is having an enemy is inviting me and prompting me to bite one of his sworn enemies.

After protracted deliberation, the snake called back, "Who are you?". 

The frog replied, " I am Gangadatta, the king of frogs. I have come all the way to the entrance of your abode with a view to establish permanent friendship with you."

The cobra was wonderstruck. " Oh my goodness, what is this? It is indeed incredible. Is it possible that the dried grass will come seeking the friendship of fire? By nature, you are my food. How come that you are rambling incoherently like this?'

The frog replied, " It is true, Sir. Judging by species you are a natural enemy for me. But I have come to you after incurring insufferable insult at the hands of some people of my own clan. When I am faced with destruction and humiliation, is it not right on my part to approach even an enemy for friendship, offering some quid pro quo in return?"

"Tell me who caused you insult?" asked the cobra.

" It is my own kinsmen", replied the frog.

The snake asked, " Where do your relatives reside? Is it in a pond, or a well or a ravine ? “

"They are in a well with stones paved as steps”.

The snake replied, "How unfortunate, I cannot enter a well. We snakes do not have legs. And even if I manage to reach there I cannot come out so easily. Where can I reside inside the well? So you please get out of here. I am interested in my own welfare. So I will try to eat only things which can be digested inside my stomach with comfort." 

The frog replied." Do not despair, Sir. I have already found ways and means to introduce you into the well. There is a beautiful hole along the stone paving of the well and it can be an ideal residence for you. Sitting there, without any physical effort, you can eat away all my relatives one by one."

The snake thought. " I have already grown old. I am just keeping my body and soul together by catching some lean dry rat once in a while. This wretched frog who is the enemy of his own clan has now shown me a way to live in comfort with breakfast, lunch and dinner readily provided in the shape of fat frogs, that too without any exertion on my part."

So he told the frog king, " Friend, go ahead and show me the way"

" I have one request, Sir," said the frog, 

" some persons who are very close to me are living in that well. Please promise me that you will not trouble them."

The Cobra replied in mock anger, " What is this? You are my friend and benefactor and all those who are close to you are like my own life. How can I think of giving trouble to them. You just identify them. I will never cross their way."

The snake came out of the hole and gave a friendly hug to the frog. Both set out to the place where the well was situated. Both of them occupied the wick basket placed near the well, and reached the residence of the king of frogs well in time and in good shape. From there Gangadatta led the snake to the comfortable abode inside the well premises. He identified his enemies-cum-kinsmen very meticulously and true to his words, the Cobra made breakfast, lunch or dinner of them one by one with constant regularity.

Finally, all the enemies-cum-kinsmen of Ganagadatta the king of frogs existed merely in memory alone. And when Gangadatta felt that the mission was successfully completed, he called upon his friend the snake, and after thanking him profusely for the meritorious services rendered, told him. " Now my sweet friend, you can go back to your old hole. I shall inform you when the wick basket comes down the next time." 

The cobra could not conceal his displeasure. 

" Gangadatta my friend, I cannot endorse your views. How can I go back to my old hole? It would have been already occupied by now by someone else during my fairly long absence. So I suggest that you just identify your close relatives one by one so that I can have my food at regular intervals. If you are not agreeable to this proposition, I shall be left with no choice other than eating all of you in a single bunch, and proceed further as I may deem appropriate" ( Please listen to ring of the voice of the bureaucratic boss for the first time)

Poor Ganagdatta thought, " It was foolish on my part to invite the nuisance of a snake to punish my relatives. But he is very powerful.. If I try to defy him, he will eat all of us together with immediate effect. So it is better to offer him for food my dear relatives one by one, like paying installments to a taxman. This way I may be able to save at least my closest kin.. I do hope the snake will not try to eat me or my wife and children as he is a close friend of mine. If the destruction of everything is in sight and there is no way to defend all, it is better to offer some sops and try to get away with least damage."

Accordingly, he identified his brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and in-laws (that is nice anyway) one by one for the breakfast, lunch and dinner of the long lean friend. And the snake would eat the relative offered for dinner with a flourish and then as if taking some bonus, would eat away a few other relatives in the sly. There is no wonder about this. Only a person wearing clean clothes has to worry about the cleanliness of the table and chair he occupies. For a fellow mired in muck everything around is according to law and everything is law. A man with no character is the most care-free person in this world. He need not worry about anything. How can one make a chimney covere with oily soot dirtier in any way? 

And finally, after gobbling up all the relatives of Gangadatta the king of frogs, the snake made a breakfast of young Yamunadatta, the darling son of the Royal frog. When the senior frog learnt about this, he started beating his head and crying. He could not control his tears. 

Before long, the snake ate up the queen frog as well as the other frog princes also. All that was left was the old man Gangadatta. Quite unlike humans and especially bureaucrats some trace of sense of propriety and fair-play was left in the snake. Even he could not think of eating his own long-time friend, the elderly frog Ganagadatta. However, he sent a note of warning to the frog. " I am now really hungry and no food is left. You may do the needful, or may face the consequences.”

Now some good sense dawned upon the frog. He replied with a lot of diplomacy. " Sir, it is quite unthinkable that you should starve when I am alive. I will explore and find some ways and means. I think the proper action to be taken by me in this case is that I should visit some other well, and talk to the frog occupants there and persuade them to visit this well and then you can finish the story by affixing proper dots and dashes in the script wherever necessary. " 

Saying this, the frog alighted the wick basket when it came down the next time. He never looked back. 

It was a period of very hungry wait for the snake. Days converted themselves into months but nothing was to be heard from the frog. The anxiety coupled with hunger made the snake desperate. But the snake was now weak and he did not have any means of getting out of the well. So he approached the lady iguana (udumbu) which was residing in the same well in the next apartment hole. He requested her to go out in search of the frog and deliver to him an urgent summons from his dear old friend, requesting the king of frogs to come back immediately with his contingent of fresh frogs. After a lot of persuasion and entreaties from the snake, the lady went out and found the frog somewhere and delivered the message from the snake.

The frog replied, " My fair lady, please pay my best compliments to my dear old friend, Priyadarsana, the snake, and tell him that I am constrained not to pay a visit to him as my life will be in peril. Please tell him that a desperate person like the snake who is in hunger and penury will not hesitate to do anything, and therefore I am not in a position to accept his hospitality in inviting me back to the well."

Saying thus, Gangadatta, the King of frogs bolted.

The laws of the jungle are different from those of the village or are they?

The laws of the jungle are different from those of the village

Are they?

A Story from Panchatantram of Vishnu Sharma

In a forest there lived a lion called Madotkata. His constant companions and stooges were one tiger, one crow and as always, a fox

Once when the daada lion was having his rounds with his chamchas, the saw a Camel names Kadhanaka who had strayed into the forest having run away from the caravan of a trader and was loitering around aimlessly in the forest.

It was perhaps for the first time that the lion was seeing a camel.. He was taken aback by the size and carriage of the animal.

"Oh God, this is not an ordinary beast. Do you know whether he is of the forest or of the village?" .

"My lord, he is a domesticated fellow. He has packed his body fat with flesh eating all sorts of grass and vegetables. His flesh is so delicious. He is eminently suitable for you dinner" chimed in the crow.

In his apparent grace and magnanimity, the lion said.

" This animal has come to my house with full trust. That too without any fear of danger. It is improper to kill him. Mind you, if one kills somebody who has come as a guest to his house, then the host incurs the ultimate sin of killing a Brahmin. Hence I am going to grant him refuge. Please escort him to my presence with all honour."

Accordingly the three chamchas approached the camel, delivered to him the message of their master and brought him to the lion's presence.

" You Kadhanaka ! you need not go back to the village and toil there carrying the heavy loads of merchandise for your master. You can wander in this forest without fear, eating all the grass and other shrubs which grow here aplenty. We can have your nice company also."

Ordered the lion.

The camel believed it and without any fear he continued to live on in the forest under the tutelage of the lion.

Meanwhile it so happened that the lion had to engage himself in a huge battle with a ferocious wild elephant. The elephant was more than a match to the elderly lion and the latter sustained heavy injuries in the encounter and was rendered practically immobile. Suffice to say that only a streak of fortune had just spared his life.

With the leader not fighting fit and weather also not very friends, it was hunger time not only for the lion but also for the three lieutenants. The lion ordered his followers to go and search for some food which was easily available.

The three fellows , however, could not take off their eyes from huge bundle of food in the shape of the poor camel, always present in their company.

The camel and the three others were wandering in the forest in the futile search of food for the master.

The fox told the crow beyond the earshot of the camel.

" You crow, this fat camel is strutting around.. why don't we arrange him as the food for our master and ..er..ourselves?"

The crow remonstrated.

" Our master is very old fashioned. He has promised protection for the camel. He will not hear of any idea of killing the camel"

"Do not worry, you silly crow. I will contrive things in such a way that the master will have no reservations against killing the camel without any prick of conscience. You just remain here and watch."

The fox approached the lion. "Master, we have wandered all around the forest for days together and could not find any animal of prey. We are about to lose our lives for hunger. Your case is also not far different.. Sir,. why don’t we finish off the camel and have some relief from hunger?"

The response was as expected,

" You wretch, you sinner, damn you, if you utter such word any more I will kill you first. I have given him refuge. How can I kill him? The gift of refuge is more noble than gift of land, gift of cows, gift of food and even gift of a daughter."

The fox was persistent. " My lord, you can call it a sin if you kill a person to whom you have offered refuge. But if the person offers himself as food out of devotion to you, can you refuse it?. The camel offers his flesh for you, If you do not want to kill him, you can kill one of the three of us. If you do not eat one of us, you will die of hunger and bereft of our dear master, we will be left with no choice but to commit suicide by entering fire. The great lore says that the important leader of the clan should be protected at any cost. If he is gone, the clan will be a chariot whose axle is shattered. "

The lion said. " If you feel so, you people decide what to do."

The fox returned to the other three and announced to them. " Our master is dangerously ill because of starvation. There will be no one left to protect us if he is gone. So to protect his life, it is our bounden duty to offer our own bodies as his food."

After this all the four of them went near the master and sat around him, in tears. The lion asked, "Could you find some food?"

The crow came forward. " My lord and master, we have searched every inch of this forest but we could not catch hold of any animal suitable for your food. So I am offering my own body as your food. Please eat me and be relived of your hunger."

The fox said. " You tiny crow. Your body is very small. It is not going to make any difference for the lord. Anyway it befits you eminently that you have exhibited your faithfulness to the master.

Now the fox offered his body as the food of the lion.

But the tiger chimed in. " Your words are appropriate. But you are also tiny. And the scriptures say one should not eat animals which have their nails as weapons. So a fox should not be eaten by a lion even if it is a question of life and death. So, I shall offer my body as the food for the master...

But the lion was not interested in killing the tiger either.

So the fat but fatheaded camel thought. " The lion is so noble. He did not accept the idea of killing his faithful servants. And now they have added themselves to his good books by uttering sweet words. I will also say some nice words, and endear the master to me. Sure, he will not kill me" .

And the follish the camel said, " it is rightly said by the tiger.. the animals using nails as its weapons should not be killed. But the tiger also uses his sharp nails in his paw to catch his prey. So he is also does not deserve death. Master, I am here, I have no such disqualifications. May you be pleased to eat this my body and be happy."

The other three were just waiting for these words, They jumped on the body of the camel and within seconds, a sumptuous dinner was ready for the lion and his three stooges.

The laws of the jungle are different from those of the village. If this is not properly understood, one will meet the fate of this camel.

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'