The Hitopadesa (Penguin Classics) Read online

  He has then all read and heard,

  And put to practice every word.

  ‘Besides,

  (146) Anyone who has no more

  To stand before a patron’s gate,

  Or pain of separation endure,

  Or utter words importunate—

  Consider his a blessed fate.

  ‘For,

  (147) Not far do million miles appear

  To those by cravings driven; and

  One contented does not care

  For even that which is at hand.

  ‘As such it would be better to take a decision about what is to be done in this situation.

  (148) What is wisdom but decision,

  As virtue is for all compassion,

  And good health is the basic feature

  Of happiness in every creature.

  ‘And so,

  (149) Wisdom lies in firm decision

  When misfortunes arise;

  For those who tend to vacillation,

  At every step disaster lies.

  ‘Similarly,

  (150) The tribe comes first, before one man,

  And the village, before the clan.

  Forsake the village for the nation,

  But, for yourself, the whole creation.

  ‘Furthermore,

  (151) To drink plain water at one’s ease,

  Or worrying, to eat delicacies:

  Having thought, I clearly see—

  In contentment lies felicity.

  ‘After considering all this, I came here to this lonely forest. For,

  (152) The forest has preferment:

  Midst tiger wild and elephant,

  To live on fruit and water,

  With only trees for shelter,

  On leaves to sleep or rest,

  In bark alone be dressed;

  But not a life of poverty

  Midst relatives and family.

  ‘Since then it has been my good fortune to be favoured by the love of this friend. That streak of luck has continued and, in Your Honour’s company, I have found heaven itself. For,

  (153) This worldly round, a poison tree,

  Bears of sweet fruit only two:

  The nectar taste of poetry,

  And meeting people good and true.’

  Slow said:

  (154) ‘As dust beneath the foot is wealth,

  Youth races by, a mountain stream,

  A quivering drop, the body’s health,

  And life a fleck of foam does seem.

  Wretched mind, which does not turn

  To dharma, key to heaven’s door;

  In old age it will later burn

  With remorse and grief, for sure.

  ‘You hoarded too much. This is the result. Listen,

  (155) Money earned is better tended

  By using it for charity,

  As water drained and thus expended

  Keeps the tank from foulness free.

  ‘Further,

  (156) Deeper as he digs the pit

  To guard his gold by burying it,

  The miser’s hoard does lead as well

  The way for him to go to hell.

  ‘Further,

  (157) For his happiness not caring,

  One who wants but wealth to earn:

  Others’ burdens he is bearing,

  And only suffering in return.

  ‘Furthermore,

  (158) Is it wealth, not spent nor gifted, which

  Makes people to be counted rich?

  Why, then even I and you

  The selfsame wealth makes wealthy too.

  ‘Further,

  (159) The miser’s money, never spent,

  Could be another’s equally.

  But losing it is such torment,

  That it is his, it’s plain to see.

  (160) These four are a rarity:

  Wisdom with no vanity,

  Valour with magnanimity,

  Wealth joined to renunciation,

  And kindly words to each donation.

  ‘And it is said,

  (161) Some hoarding one should always do,

  But never take it to excess.

  Look at the greedy jackal, who

  By a bow was done to death.’

  ‘How was that?’ asked the other two. Slow recounted

  The Greedy Jackal

  In the district of Kalyāṇa there lived a hunter named Bhairava who once went to the Vindhyā forest looking for game. As he was returning, carrying a deer he had killed, he saw a great wild boar. He shot it with an arrow after putting the deer down on the ground. The boar too struck the hunter in the testicles with a terrible roar like a thunderclap, felling him like a tree. For,

  (162) Water, fire, poison, weapon,

  Hunger, sickness, freaks of nature—

  Encounter with such cause or reason

  Separates life from every creature.

  A snake was also killed by the thrashing of their feet. By and by, a jackal named Dīrgharva or Loudcry came wandering in search of food, and saw the deer and the hunter, the snake and the boar, all lying dead. ‘O what a fine feast is here for me today,’ he thought. ‘Or rather,

  (163) Just as people are inflicted

  With pains unthought of, even so

  They meet with pleasures unexpected:

  This is due to fate, I know.

  ‘So be it. All this meat will last me comfortably for three months.

  (164) For one month will the human last,

  The deer and boar another two,

  The snake will break a single fast,

  But now, I’ll eat the bow’s sinew.

  ‘So for my first meal, I will eat this tasteless cord strung on the bow.’ Saying this, as Loudcry bit the string, the bow shaft leapt up and pierced his heart, killing him there and then.

  ‘That is why I said that hoarding should not be taken to an excess. Similarly,’ continued Slow,

  (165) The rich man’s wealth is that alone

  Which he spends or gives away.

  With the rest, when he is gone,

  And with his wives, will others play.

  ‘What’s more,

  (166) To worthy people what you give,

  And that on which you daily live,

  That alone your wealth I merit:

  The rest you guard, others inherit.

  ‘But let it be, what is the use of talking about the past? For,

  (167) Those with clever minds do not

  Hanker for what can’t be got,

  Nor lament for what is gone,

  Or lose their calm when problems dawn.

  ‘So, you must always persevere, comrade. For,

  (168) People study all of scripture

  But still remain obtuse as ever.

  He alone is learned, who

  Puts learning into practice true.

  Medicine though well made it be

  The suffering patient cannot free

  Of his ailment, just the same,

  By mere taking of its name.

  ‘Further,

  (169) The rules of science give no profit

  To one who shies from application.

  The blind may hold a lamp which is lit,

  But do they have illumination?

  ‘Therefore, comrade, you should come to terms with this particular situation. And you should not consider it too hard. For, it is the coward who says

  (170) Downfall from one’s proper place

  Always leads to loss of grace.

  Of monarchs, specially, this is true,

  Of clerics and ministers too,

  And ladies with patrician air,

  And even things, like teeth and hair,

  Not to mention bosoms fair.

  ‘And, knowing this, a sensible person should never move from where he is. But,

  (171) Leaving their homes, far and near,

  Go lions, elephants, men of station.

  Only cowards, crows and deer


  Stay till death in the same location.

  (172) For men of courage and resolution,

  Which land is home, and which unknown?

  By the prowess of their action,

  Where’er they go, they make their own.

  Like the lion, fanged and rampant,

  The forest when he enters first,

  There itself he slays the elephant

  To drink its blood and quench his thirst.

  ‘Furthermore,

  (173) As frogs to wells and tanks repair,

  And water birds to ample lakes,

  So fortune, helpless as it were,

  Its home in men of diligence makes.

  ‘Further,

  (174) Pleasure, when it comes your way,

  Should be tended, as must pain.

  Like the turning wheel will they

  Come and go and come again.

  ‘Further,

  (175) Prompt, and full of energy,

  In new skills versed and precepts old,

  From vices and addictions free,

  Grateful, firm in friendship, bold:

  Herself the goddess of all riches

  Comes to live with one who such is.

  ‘And, specially,

  (176) A hero touches heights of glory,

  Of wealth though he may have no aid;

  No honour in the miser’s story

  Even though of money made.

  Behold the lion’s inborn glow,

  Of massed merits the domain.

  Can a dog that lustre show,

  Though it wear a golden chain?

  (177) Why so proud you’re rich today,

  And lament when wealth has flown?

  Men are like a ball in play:

  Struck, it bounces up and down.

  ‘Furthermore,

  (178) As the passing cloud’s cool shade,

  Young maids, new rice, false amity,

  Are youth and wealth of such stuff made:

  Their savour is but transitory.

  (179) The Maker also helps you live—

  For this, too hard you need not strive.

  When from the womb a child appears,

  Its milk the mother also bears.

  ‘Indeed, comrade,

  (180) He, by whom were swans created

  White, the parrots emerald green,

  And peacocks’ plumage variegated,

  Your sustenance He will ordain.

  ‘Furthermore, comrade, listen to a secret kept by good people:

  (181) Wealth causes pain in acquisition,

  In troubled times, anxiety,

  In affluence some strange delusion,

  Can it a cause for comfort be?

  ‘Furthermore,

  (182) In seeking wealth for causes good,

  Indifference is the better way.

  Instead of cleaning stains of mud,

  Better far from mud to stay.

  ‘For,

  (183) The prey of beasts is on the land,

  And of birds in realms of air,

  The fish find theirs in water, and

  The rich are preyed on everywhere.

  (184) As with death all living things,

  The wealthy live in constant fear

  Of flood and fire, thieves and kings,

  And even of their kinsmen near.

  ‘Similarly,

  (185) In this life, so full of care,

  There is no greater misery:

  The wealth you yearn for is not there,

  Nor are you from yearnings free.

  ‘And, brother, listen further,

  (186) First, wealth is difficult to obtain,

  Guarding it is then a strain,

  Losing it is like death, a bit,

  Better not to think of it.

  (187) Craving when you set aside,

  Then who are masters, who the poor?

  But to it access once provide,

  And servitude is at your door.

  ‘Furthermore,

  (188) Whatever one longs for, indeed,

  New longings will in turn succeed.

  So, get that by which the need

  Itself of longing will recede.

  ‘What more is there to say? Be my friend, and spend your time here with me. For,

  (189) In great souls, love till death abides,

  And wrath within moments subsides.

  While giving they are always free

  Of thoughts of reciprocity.’

  On hearing this, Quickflight said: ‘Bless you, Slow, your merits deserve to be praised for ever. For,

  (190) The good alone have ability

  To save good men in difficulty.

  bogged in mud do elephants need

  Other elephants to get them freed.

  (191) Of all the people on this earth

  True praise is due to him alone,

  That best, that blessed man of worth

  From whose door not anyone

  Who sought refuge or supplicated

  Was turned away, his hopes frustrated.’

  In this way they lived happily, content with feeding and enjoying themselves as they pleased.

  One day a deer named Ćitrānga or Dapplebody, who had been frightened by someone, came there and met them. Considering that whatever had scared him might be coming after him, Slow went into the water and the mouse entered his burrow. The crow also flew away and perched on top of a tree, from where he looked far and wide but could not see anything to be afraid of. On his word the rest came back and they all sat down together.

  ‘Very well,’ said Slow, ‘deer, you are welcome. Eat and drink as you please, and favour this forest by staying here.’

  Dapplebody replied: ‘hunter scared me. I have come to Your Honours for refuge, and I would like to have your friendship.’

  ‘That you have got even without trying,’ said Golden, ‘for,

  (192) Of friendship, know, four kinds there be:

  Those based on blood, then family,

  And on traditions hereditary,

  Or help in some calamity.

  ‘Your Honour should therefore stay here and regard this place as your own home.’

  The deer was delighted at hearing this and, having eaten and drunk his fill, he sat down in the shade of a tree by the water. ‘Comrade deer,’ said Slow after some time, ‘what frightened you in this desolate forest? Is it that there are hunters moving about?’

  The deer said: ‘In the land of Kalinga there is a monarch named Rukmāngada. He has come in the course of a conquering expedition and is at present encamped with his army on the banks of the river Ćandrabhāgā. A rumour among the hunters has it that he will come here in the morning and is bound to be by the lake Karpūra. As such, considering that our stay here will also be endangered in the morning, we should start taking appropriate steps.’

  On hearing this the tortoise said fearfully: ‘I will go to another lake.’ The crow and the deer said, ‘Very well,’ but Golden observed with a smile: ‘All will be well for Slow once he gets to another lake. But what can he do while moving on land? For,

  (193) In water lies the fish’s power,

  And of beasts in their domain,

  Of castellans in wall and tower,

  Of kings in their ministers main.

  ‘Comrade Quickflight, with such advice, what is bound to happen is,

  (194) To see his young bride’s budding breast

  By another kissed and pressed,

  As the merchant’s son was peeved,

  Even so will you be grieved.

  ‘How did that happen?’ they asked. Golden began a story.

  The Merchant’s Bride

  In the land of Kānyakubja there was a king named Vīrasena. He appointed a prince by the name of Tungabala as the governor of the city of Vīrapura. As this exceedingly wealthy young man was going around his city, he happened to see a merchant’s daughter-in-law named Lāvaṇyavatī, who was in the full bloom of youth. Smitten by desire, he ret
urned to his palace and sent a messenger woman to her. For,

  (195) Till then only man does stay

  On the course of virtue’s way,

  Keep his urges in control,

  Of shame and decorum, know the role:

  Until, from brows drawn to the ear

  The arrow of some wanton glance

  Released, dark-winged, his heart will tear,

  And rob him of his resistance.

  Lāvaṇyavatī too could think of nothing else from the moment she saw him, for her heart had also been struck and shattered by love’s arrows. As it is said:

  (196) Falsehood, wile and reckless daring,

  Greed and envy overbearing,

  No merits, much impurity,

  Are faults innate in femininity.

  After listening to the messenger woman, Lāvaṇyavati said: ‘I am a faithful wife. How can I commit this sin of betraying my husband? For,

  (197) A woman with all skills domestic,

  Who loves her husband as her life.

  In bearing children most prolific,

  And always chaste—such is the wife.

  (198) The name of “wife” should be denied

  To one who can’t her husband please.

  The latter being satisfied,

  The gods with women are at ease.

  ‘Therefore, whatever the lord of my life commands, that I will do without demur.’

  ‘Is that truly so?’ asked the messenger woman. ‘Absolutely,’ Lāvaṇyavati replied. The messenger then went and conveyed all this to Tungabala. ‘How is it possible,’ he cried, ‘that her husband will bring her here and hand her over to me?’ The messenger observed, ‘An expedient must be worked out. As it has been said,

  (199) The jackal, on a muddy course,

  Did slay the mighty elephant.

  What cannot be done by force,

  Needs doing by expedient.’

  ‘How did that happen?’ asked the prince. The messenger woman related

  The Elephant and the Jackal