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Stories From Hitopadesha
Stories From Hitopadesha
Contents
1. Introduction 2. A hunter, trapped doves and a mouse 3. An old tiger and a greedy traveller 4. A crow, a deer and a jackal 5. A blind vulture, birds and a cat 6. A rich mouse and a Holy man 7. A hunder, a deer, a pig, a snake and a jackal 8. An Elephant and an old jackal 9. A monkey who pulled out a wedge 10. A washerman, a donkey and a dog 11. A lion, a mouse and a cat 12. Group of monkeys, a bell and a brave woman 13. A family of crows and a wicked cobra 14. A lion and a hare 15. Tittibha birds and ocean 16. The birds and the shivering monkeys 17. The washerman and the unlucky donkey 18. The hares, a lake and the moon god 19. A kind hearted heron and a wicked crow 20. A cunning crow and a stupid quail 21. A jackal who fell into an indigo vet
22. Two swans and a tortoise 23. The three fishes 24. A foolish heron, a black serpent and a mongoose. 25. A sage and a mouse 26. Greedy crane and a clever crab 27. A Brahmin and three rogues 28. A Lion, A crow, a tiger, a jackal and a camel 29. A wicked snake and the stupid king of frogs 30. The hasty Brahmin and a faithful mongoose
Introduction
Hitopadesha is a collection of Sanskrit fables in prose and verse written in the 12 century C.E. The author of the tales is said to be Narayan, a pandit who worked in the court of King Dhavalachandra and was a shaivite. The work has been translated into most of the major languages of the world. After Sir William Jones, who had encountered it in 1786, announced his "discovery", it was translated into English by Charles Wilkins, who had made the earliest English translation of the Bhagavad Gita. An English translation by Sir Edwin Arnold, then Principal of Puna College, Pune, India, was published in London in 1861. Hitopadesha has been derived from two words, hita and upadea . It basically means to counsel or advice with benevolence. The author of Hitopadesha, Narayana says that the main purpose of creating the Hitopadesha is to instruct young minds in a way that they learn the philosophy of life and are able to grow into responsible adults. The stories are very interesting and youngsters not only find it interesting, but also accept it easily. One of the most widely read Sanskrit books in India, Hitopadesha tales are short stories that have the priceless treasure of morality and knowledge. After Bhagavad Gita, Hitopadesha is considered to be the most sold religious text in India. The tales from Hitopadesha are written in a very logical and clear way and one does not have to make much effort to figure out what moral a particular story is implying. The stories feature animals and birds as main characters. The Hitopadesha has been translated into many languages and has been circulated all around the world. It is very popular in many countries and is one of the most widely read children's book. Even in today's world, it continues to amaze people with its simple but meaningful stories and many people are still inspired by the tales of Hitopadesha. Its simplicity and logic is what makes it a favorite among children and their parents.
.A Hunter,
On the banks of the river Godavari, there was a large silk cotton tree where resided a huge fleet of doves with their king. A hunter who had spotted the large flock of birds thought to himself If only I had a few of these birds, I can make good money selling them in cage. Thus thinking he hit upon a plan and left. The other day he came with some grains of rice, scattered them on the ground and then spread out his net over the grains. Having had done this, he hid himself behind the tree. Just then, the king of doves with his courtiers was flying around in search of food. He saw the grains of rice and said to his followers, "How strange! Grains of rice in an uninhabited forest? Let's see what this is all about. I smell a rat! But being hungry, the doves didn't listen to their king and flew down to pick up the grains of rice. Whoops! In a trice, they were all caught in the net. A terrific commotion broke out amongst the trapped doves. Then the king cried out, "Friends, we are in great danger. Unless we pull ourselves together immediately and think of a way to get out, there's no doubt that we shall all be dead. Now I propose that we all catch hold of the net at the same time and fly upwards together. The birds agreed. They caught hold of the net and together flew away with it. When the hunter saw this, he was spellbound and didn't know what to do. But he soon came to himself and began to run after them, thinking, "These birds have managed the escape because they are united. But when they come down, I'll have them in my power! However, the doves flew very fast and were soon out of sight. They then asked their king," What shall we do now?" "I have a very dear friend," he said, "a mouse who lives on the banks of the river Godavari. We'll go to him. I know he will find a way to free us! So, they all flew to the place where the mouse lived. When the mouse saw the birds flying down towards him, he got frightened and ran inside his hole at the root of a tree. But the king of doves called out, "My friend! Don't you know me? Come and set us free. When the mouse heard this, he recognized his friend's voice and came out quickly. The king of doves told him all that had happened and the mouse immediately started nibbling at the strings of the net and set the birds free. Moral: A friend in need is a friend indeed.
In this way, some time went by. One day, the jackal took the deer aside and said to him, "Friend! In another part of the forest, there's a field full of corn. I'II takes you there and shows it to you." The jackal took the deer along and showed him the field. The deer began to go there every day and eat to his heart's content. When the owner of the field noticed that someone was eating his corn, he set a trap and the deer was caught. "Oh no! I must now count on my friend He will surely free me from this trap," the deer thought to himself. Meanwhile, the jackal arrived on the scene and thought to himself, "This is what I have been waiting for. When he is killed by the owner of the field, his flesh will last me many, many days." When the deer caught sight of the jackal, he shouted, "Oh friend! Please help me out! Only a friend like you can save me from such a dreadful plight!" "But buddy," said the jackal, "the noose is made of skin, so how can I touch it today, on my day of fasting? Please don't misunderstand me! I will bite it off first thing tomorrow morning!" At sunset, when the deer had not returned home, the crow got worried. He set out looking for him until he reached the corn field. Suddenly he spotted him. "my Friend ! What has happened to you?" said the crow in anguish. "This is what happens when you don't listen to a friend's advice," replied the deer. And then he told the crow how the jackal had shown the corn field to him to get him trapped. "Where is this villain?" asked the crow angrily. "He's hiding somewhere in the vicinity, waiting for an opportunity to kill me for his food," answered the deer. "I had warned you never to trust strangers but you took no notice!" said the crow. Then the crow sighed and shouted, "Jackal! Cheat! Rascal! What have you done? How could you trick someone who trusted you? The crow decided to stay on to keep his friend company. In the morning, the farmer returned with a stick in his hand. When the crow saw him coming, he said to the deer, "Quick! Do as I tell you! Lie still without moving
and pretend to be dead. When I caw, jump up and run for your life." The deer lay down motionless on the ground and pretended to be dead. When the farmer came very close to the deer, his face lit up with joy and said to himself," How nice! The deer is already dead." Then, he set him free and started picking up the noose. At this moment, the crow signaled to the deer who jumped up and ran away as fast as he could. The farmer taken by surprise, immediately aimed the stick at the deer but missed him. Instead, it hit the jackal who was hiding close by and killed him on the spot. Moral: It is better to have an open enemy than a false friend.
books and learnt that's wrong to kill. The entire forest is full of herbs and vegetables. So why should I sin by killing birds?" Thus the cat won the confidence of the old blind vulture and the latter allowed her to stay in the hollow of the tree. As the days passed, the cunning cat started eating the young birds one by one and the vulture did not know what was happening. But the birds saw that their young ones were missing and started looking for them. When the cat saw that her game was up, she quietly slipped away. After a few days, the birds found the bones of their young ones not far away from the tree. "Ha!" said the birds, "the blind, old vulture has eaten our dear young children." The birds got together and killed the vulture. Moral: Once a rascal, always a rascal.
Moral: We should not give advice to others that was unasked for.
Moral: That's what happens when people pretend to be something they are not."
They have been protected by me for a long time. By killing them, you anger me. So beware and go away from here." After Vijay, the old hare had said this, the king of elephants who was now afraid said, "Ah, that was done in ignorance. It won't happen again, I promise you." "Well, if that's the case," said the old hare, "then you can go in peace, but only after you've paid your respects to the Moon God who lives in the lake and is now trembling with fury!" At night, the old hare led the king of the elephants to the lake. The king looked into the water and saw the swaying reflecting of the moon. When he saw this, he thought that the Moon God was indeed angry with him. He bowed to him in fear. Vijay, the old hare, said tactfully, "Oh Lord, Moon God! The king of the elephants, in ignorance, has done wrong in bringing his herd to this lake. Please forgive him. He is taking away all the elephants with him right now and will never come back here again." As soon as the old hare had finished talking, the king of the elephants led his herd away. And the hares lived happily ever after. Moral: A weak person with a bit of wit can overpower the strongest of enemies.
That evening, the jackals got together and began to howl. True to his inborn nature, the blue-coloured jackal also started howling and his game was up. Immediately, the lion, the tiger and the other animals knew that they had been taken for a ride.
ashes." The moment she opened her mouth, she lost her grip and came hurtling down. She was pounced upon and killed by the cow-herds.
Moral: It's a mistake to leave things to chance. At the first hint of danger, one must act quickly."
As foreseen, the mongoose followed the fish trail, happened to see the serpent and killed him. However, the mongoose also heard the cries of the heron's newly-born young ones. He quickly clambered up the tree and ate them all. The neighbouring heron felt miserable and guilty for giving advice unthinkingly.
Moral: When one thinks of a plan, one should also think of its consequences.
The crab noticed a heap of bones of the dead fish. In a flash, he realized what the crane had been up to. He sighed and said to himself, "Oh dear, a bit of bad luck! It looks as though I'm a goner. Anyway, I'll be as brave as I can and see what I can do." The crab put his claws around the crane's neck and strangled him. The crane fell down on the ground, dead.
Moral : We can't get away with our wicked deeds. Someday they are bound to catch up with us.
When the lion heard this, he remained silent. The crow thought it over. He hatched a plot. At the right time, the crow, the tiger and the jackal went up to the lion. "Master! We haven't succeeded in getting any food, and even you have been starving. So please eat me," said the crow. "Friend, it's better to die than to perform such a sinful deed,' replied the lion. "Your Highness! Why don't you eat my flesh so that you can stay alive?" requested the jackal. "Certainly not!" replied the lion. "Oh king! Please sustain yourself on my flesh," pleaded the tiger. "It will never be right for me to do so," replied the lion. The camel, who had been listening to their talk, felt reassured of the king's promise about his safety and said earnestly, "Your Majesty! Please allow me to offer you my body." No sooner had the camel said this, than the tiger sprang on him, ripped open his body and tore him to pieces. The three followers and their king had a hearty meal, feasting on the poor camel.
In due course of time, the snake ate up all the frogs one by one and in the end, the king of the frogs as well. When his turn had come, the king of the frogs thought bitterly, "What a fool I was to have been taken in by such a rascal!"