Table of Contents
How the old jackal defeated an elephant
Recap
To prove that one should not take a step without a concrete strategy, Hiranyaka started telling his friends the story of Tungabal the prince who had lost his heart to Lavanyavati, a merchant's wife. Unable to control his desire, the prince sent an attendant to bring Lavanyavati to his palace. While Lavanyavati admitted she shared his feelings, she refused to betray her marriage unless her husband explicitly permitted it. When a despairing Tungabal cried, the attendant promised to use deception to secure the husband's consent. To prove that a clever strategy can achieve what force cannot, she began telling a tale about a jackal that successfully outwitted an elephant.
The elephant and the jackal
Somewhere there was a very peaceful forest. It was said to have been created by Brahma himself and thus the forest got a name, Brahmavana. In this forest lived a huge elephant called Karpuratilaka. The elephant had got this name because of a huge white mark on his head. In that forest lived a group of jackals who were forever hungry. Whenever the elephant passed by, they would look at him and wonder when Karpuratilaka would die. If the elephant died, his carcass could feed them for months. All was fine, except they did not have the strength nor the courage to attack the elephant. One such day, when they were discussing this among themselves, an old jackal said he could do this. The others were surprised. They were young yet they did not dare. How could this old one say he could? On asked, the old jackal said he was intelligent, and using his intelligence he would be able to kill the elephant. He said he could go to the elephant. The other jackals did not stop him. If he was successful, that would be wonderful. If not, well – they would come up some ideas.
The old jackal went where the elephant was, prostrated himself before the elephant, and asked for his blessings. Karpuratilaka was surprised. Who was this? He asked the jackal:
Who are you? Where have you come from?
The old jackal said:
I am an old jackal, my lord. I have come here as the representative of all the animals who live in Brahmavana. As you are aware, we live in this jungle without a ruler. We do not have a king. We desperately need one. We have come to the conclusion that only you can be our king. As you know, the king needs to have certain qualities. The king should
- Be from a proper lineage
- Must be powerful
- Be righteous
- Be diplomatic
I have heard that one must look at these things in a certain order – first the ruler, then a spouse and lastly wealth. If there is no ruler, it will be difficult to get a spouse and wealth. Just like we pray to the rain gods for support, we pray to our rulers to support us. Even if it does not rain, we can still manage to survive, but without a king life is very difficult. People generally stay within their proper boundaries only due to the enforcement of law and order. In this world, a naturally virtuous person who needs no external control is rare. Please come quickly. Follow me, Your Majesty, so that the auspicious hour for the coronation does not slip by.
Saying this, the old jackal got up and led the way. Then, lured by the greed of becoming a king, Karpuratilaka began to run behind the jackal. The old jackal ran as fast as he could, luring the elephant towards a swamp. He took a sudden turn. The elephant, unable to control himself, went and fell in the swamp. He began to struggle and the more he struggled, the more he began to sink in the mud. He called out:
What has happened? I have fallen into the swamp and I will die.
The jackal said:
You should not have trusted me. Now that you have, reach out to me, catch hold of my tail and come out. If you cannot, then suffer and die here. Only when you are completely free from the company of untrustworthy people like me, will you live. Else, you will repeatedly fall into the traps of schemers and cheaters.
The elephant died there and the jackals in the forest had a feast.
Tungabal, Charudutta and Lavanyavati
The attendant ended her tale and said:
That is why I said, you can defeat the powerful, using strategy.
Tungabal, acting on the advice of the old attendant, made the merchant, Charudutta, his companion. Tungabal would confide and share all his secrets with Charudutta.
One day, Tungabal got up early in the morning and had an elaborate bath. He then anointed his body with sandalwood and other fragrant pastes. He then sent for Charudutta. When Charudutta came, Tungabal said to him:
My friend, I have decided to worship goddess Parvati for a month. After my daily worship I need a young woman of respectable lineage whom I can worship in the night. I need you to fetch these women for me.
Charudutta agreed. He went outside, spoke to people and got a young woman for Tungabal to worship. Even though he trusted the prince, Charudutta still wanted to see what the prince did with the woman. So, Charudutta hid himself and wanted to see what the prince did. Tungabal, without inappropriately touching the woman, worshipped her, as the living goddess. After worshipping the woman, she was sent away with valuable gifts. This happened for a few days.
Charudutta, convinced that his wife would be safe, fetched her one day. He had also seen the gifts and was greedy for those. Lavanyavati came to the worship on the appointed day. As soon as Lavanyavati came, Tungabal grabbed her and embraced her. He took her to his room and both spent time in each other’s company. Seeing this, Charudatta stood paralyzed in shock, not knowing what to do.
Hiranyaka saves Manthara
Ending this tale, Hiranyaka said:
This is why I said, you need a strategy.
Manthara, who wanted to leave the place had started off for the new destination much before Hiranyaka had finished his story. Hiranyaka and the others, seeing Manthara had walked off, ran to ensure Manthara was safe. They were afraid that a hunter could come and catch Manthara.
And that is exactly what happened. When Manthara was slowly walking, he was spotted by a hunter. The hunter came, caught Manthara and put him in a bag. He then slung the bag on his shoulder and with his bow and arrows in his hand, he began walking towards his house. Hiranyaka and the others decided to follow the hunter.
Hiranyaka on the way, said:
Such is my life. A vast ocean of misery which I am unable to cross. I think I am happy when something else turns up, which upsets my life. Misfortunes rarely come single-handedly; they tend to come when one is already in a tricky situation.
Decay of the body is a biological process and is bound to happen. One needs to have committed many great acts to have good friends. Good friends are dearer than parents, spouse or siblings. A friend is one who saves us when we are in trouble. A true friend is one who is happy when you are happy, and sad when you are sad. And when a good friend is in trouble, we cannot leave that friend behind. We have to do something. Laghupatanaka, Chitranga, we have to do something.
The two said:
You are the clever one. You tell us what needs to be done.
Hiranyaka said:
I see a lake close by. Chitranga, you go near the lake. Lie down and pretend to be dead. Laghupatanaka, you should sit and pretend to poke Chitranga’s eyes. The hunter will think this is a dead deer and leaving Manthara, he will come to grab the deer. As soon as he leaves the bag carrying Manthara down, I will gnaw and help Manthara escape. As soon as the hunter is close by, you should take that opportunity and escape.
The hunter was tired; he had been having a bad day and wanted rest. He found a tree near a lake and sat down below that. He placed the bag, inside which Manthara was, on the ground and began looking around. He could not believe his luck. Nearby was a dead deer. This was his lucky day. He kept his bow and arrows near the bag and got up. He then walked towards the spot where Chitranga was lying. As soon as the hunter had moved, Hiranyaka went cut the strings tying the bag. Manthara came out and Hiranyaka helped him get inside the lake.
Seeing that Manthara was safe, Chitranga suddenly got up and ran. Laghupatanaka flew and sat on a tree. The hunter went back and found his bag empty. He began cursing himself saying:
A greedy person like me deserved nothing better. I had a tortoise in my hand and in my greed, I decided to leave that and run behind the deer. In the process, I lost both.
He then walked home, hungry and frustrated.
The four friends liked the new spot and began living there, helping each other as and when the need arrived.
The sons of king Sudarshana had been hearing this from Vishnu Sharma. When Vishnu Sharma finished his tale, the princes were pleased and said:
We have heard what you have said and understood what you wanted to tell us. We can already feel a change in us. We feel that the purpose of our education has been achieved. We were unable to understand the world, and we feel we have achieved that.
Vishnu Sharma said:
What I have told you is just a small part. I have more to tell you. I am really pleased to see the effect that these have had on you and I can then say that my method of teaching you has been effective.
- May all find true friends.
- May all become prosperous under the blessings of goddess Lakshmi.
- May all become stable in life.
- May the rulers of this land always remain rooted to their duties and responsibilities towards the people.
- May they guard and protect the kingdom properly.
- May you always have the ability to think strategically.
- And may Mahadeva bless all with welfare, safety, and well-being.
With this the first book of Hitopadesha, the winning of friends (Mitralabha) ends.
Analysis
Like most stories from texts like Hitopadesha and Panchatantra, this too is a network of stories.
For example, here it is - Vishnu Sharma telling the princes – Hiranyaka telling his friends – The attendant telling the prince.
Let me walk through this tale.
The thing that this tale starts off with is, do not display rash behaviour. Hiranyaka is trying to prevent Manthara from running off to a new place, without a proper plan.
To explain this Hiranyaka starts the story of prince Tungabal. When the prince is devastated that he will not get Lavanyavati, the old attendant tells the prince to use strategy, the way the old jackal killed the elephant. She then guides the prince and tells him how to trick Charudatta and get Lavanyavati. No force is used. Psychology is exploited.
One could say what happened here was not ethical. True, but these stories were for future kings to learn how they could get manipulated if they let down their guard.
The old jackal flatters the elephant and lured by greed; Karpuratilaka meets his end. At the end the elephant is told something by the jackal, Get rid of bad company. They will pull you down. Trust not everything.
Even when Hiranyaka rescues Manthara, there is strategy in play. The four are individually weak, but when they are together, they defeat the hunter. The hunter later realizes that a bird in hand, is better than two in the bush.
Education is not memorizing texts. It is about understanding the content and applying them. This is what Manthara and Hiranyaka had also spoken about earlier. One needs to know how to understand human psychology, understand politics that is being played and also understand daily crises and tackle them.
There is a statement that the jackal makes - because of a ruler I can get a wife and then wealth. This is something I have been wondering about. I feel it means - Without the ruler to enforce law and order , physical power becomes the only rule. In such a chaotic state, no weaker individual can protect what belongs to them. If there is no king to maintain public safety, security disappears. A stronger neighbor or a passing marauder can simply walk into a home and abduct anyone by force.
The Animals in this tale
Let me look at the animals that are shown here
The Elephant by nature is huge. They need stable ground to move their weight. Because of his size, no animal can kill him directly. The swamp becomes the weapon. His heavy weight, which is normally his strength, becomes his flaw when he sinks into the mud.
The old jackal is small and physically weak, compared to the elephant. Jackals are scavengers who survive because of their wit. A jackal cannot fight an elephant. He must rely entirely on diplomacy and strategy.
The characters here are examples of human behaviour.
| Character | Representation |
|---|---|
| Karpuratilaka (The Elephant) | An individual blinded by vanity and the greed for titles. This is a person who falls for sweet talk without verifying the facts and the credentials of the flatterer. |
| The Old Jackal | Represents the smooth-talking conman. He knows exactly which buttons to press to exploit someone's ego. |
| Charudatta (The Merchant) | Represents the common man who gets blinded by greed and is too simple and gullible to understand what is happening. He ends up going into a state of shock and ruin. |
| The Hunter | Represents greed and short-sightedness. He loses what is assured in his hand while chasing a bigger, shinier illusion. |
Similarities in other texts
Bhishma warns Yudhishthira against flattery in Shanti Parva and Udyoga Parva. He says a king who loves sweet praise can be brought down by political schemers.
Ravana realizes that it would be tough to fight Rama and Lakshmana in Panchavati, so he uses strategy and sends Maricha as a golden deer. The deer tempts Sita and Rama and Lakshmana leave Sita alone, allowing Ravana to abduct Sita.
This tale, as such, is not part of Panchatantra. The four friends appear in a story about winning of friends (book 2) but their sub-stories are different. The last part where Hiranyaka rescues Manthara, is there in Panchatantra.
Conclusion
With this, Book 1 of Hitopadesha ends. Next week, I will start book 2. I am planning to share a summary of Book 1. As soon as I can draft that, I will share that, hopefully before I start Book 2.
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