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co

CO

305
Ay
iHBiB

a
GEORGE
T.

ARTOLA

A7

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

In
his

detailed

analysis

of the contents

of Bhoja's

Srngaraprakasa, Professor
tion of nidarsana in

Raghavan discusses the definithe Madras MS. 1 He observes that

parable)

nidarsana refers not only to didactic story (such as a

fable,

allegory or

but also to the literary

works which contain them.

In other words, nidarsana

is both fabula and fabularium, exemplum and exemplarium. Bhoja emphasizes the didactic nature of a nidarsana by

the

expression

karyakdryanirupanaparam.

Professor

Raghavan, augmenting the list of literary nidarsana-s mentioned by Bhoja, alludes also to the Mahdbharata as a source of fables, each one of which may be called, according to Bhoja's description, a nidarsana. However,
it is

noteworthy that when a fable

is

introduced into

the expository sections of the Mahabharata the usual

terms employed are either samvdda,

the fable
itihdsa, i.e.
is

i.e.

dialogue,

when

itself

is

presented as a dialogue, or purdtana

old story.
it

In one instance the term nidarsana

introduces the fable of the hanisa
atas tvdm kathaye. karna,

actually used:

and the crow with these words, nidarsanam i dam puna h (VIII. 28.

8b).
least three successive

In the history of nidarsana-s at

periods of development are observable, each of

them

conditioned by the function which the fables perform

1

V. Raghavan, Bhoja's Srngara Prakdsa, Madras, 1963, pp. 620-1

282

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

works where they are found. 1
the

in the literary
earliest

In the

period,

age of the oldest parts of the

It is in this

Mahabharata, they are told only incidentally and with

reference to a specific situation.

way

that

the

nidarsana

finds a place in
literary text.

literature,

within the

framework of a

In the second period

period belong the

they are gathered together by compilators for the sake

of religious propaganda.
jataka-s

To

this

and other texts of stories of the Buddhists and Jaina-s and also the akhyayikadhydya of the Brahmanic sects teaching Samkhya. Perhaps to this period should be assigned the two nidarsana-s, Mayiira and Marjara, which are quoted only by Bhoja and of which we have no further knowledge. It was not until the third period that fable-writers came to regard their works as literature in their own right, as something to be read by the general public for instruction and entertainment.

The

fabulist of this period

succeeded in transforming a
artistic

series

of separate fables into a unified and

work.

The production

of such a work was only possible after

It
is

the fable attained status as literature.

to this

period that Bhoja refers

etc.

when he mentions

Pancatantra,

by which he probably means the Pancatantra, the Hitopadesa and the Tantropakhyana The other works he quotes, namely Dhurtavita and
[pancatantradi),
.

In the history of Sanskrit fable literature, with the possible

to

doubtful exception of the Jdtakamald of Aryasura, there are no

anthologies of separate fables comparable
the ancient literatures of Greece and the

compilations

(such as those of Aesop, Pha^drus and Babrius) that

we

find in

Rome.

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

Kuttanimata,

283

of nidarsana

show that he has extended the meaning beyond that of the didactic fable which
nidarsana-s

concerns us here.

The
found, as

oldest

of Sanskrit literature are

we have

indicated, in the earliest Parvan-s

of the Mahdbhdrata, in the epic narrative proper, and

doubtlessly they are of sufficient interest to warrant
special treatment here because of the important role

they have in the development of

this

type of literature.

Moreover, among the

many

stories

which are narrated

nidarsana-s in

throughout the vast Mahdbhdrata, a distinction should

be made between those which are truly

or
updkhydna-s.

Bhoja's definition and those which are merely dkhydna-s

Heretofore

no such

distinction

has

been made, with the

in the Mahdbhdrata
as fables,

result that several illustrative tales

have been categorically designated

fables.

whether or not they are

Professor

As
animal

Raghavan

correctly

remarks,

all
fulfil

stories are

not nidarsana-s.

tale

must

certain requirements in order to be considered a fable.

The
by

salient features of a literary fable

1

have been noted

Thompson, and more recently and by Professor Ben Edwin Perry. 2 The fables of the oldest portion of the Mahdbhdrata which are cited and analyzed below in their relation to a specific context are characterized by the following
Professor Stith
in greater detail
traits
1

Stith Thompson, The Folktale, New York, 1946, pp. 10; 218 Ben Edwin Perry, 'Fable', in Studium Generate, 12 (1959).

pp. 17-37.

384
1.

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

Structural
pattern.

single

story

relating

particular action or series of actions that took

place in the past through the agency of particular characters.

2.

Ethico-didactic

nature.

It

is

narrated for

the

obvious purpose of teaching an ethical truth, worldly wisdom or shrewdness.

3.

Flexible structural form.

The

narrative

contained in one short sentence or

sentences.
It

may be in many

may

be in verse or in prose, or
All of the fables in

a combination of both.

the Mahabharata are in verse.

4.

Additions

to the

narrative itself.

It

may be accom-

panied by a promythium or an epimythium, or

both.
the

In the case of the Mahabharata fables,

generalized
or
particularized

moral

is

expressed in prefaced promythia and in recapitulating epimythia. 1

It should be noted here that the fables of the Pancatantra

and of the Sanskrit texts which are based on it have these same characteristics and they do not become, as Ben Perry suggests, animal tales, novelle and Mdrchen. 2
1

On

the origin of the

epimythium according

to Perry, see

TAPA,
2

71 (1940), pp. 391-419.

Unless he means that certain fables from the Pancatantra

cf.
'

entered the oral tradition of the Indian people as Mdrchen;

W. Norman Brown, The Pancatantra in Modern Indian Folklore JAOS, 39 (1919), pp. 1-54. In the Sanskrit texts of the known recensions of the Pancatantra^ excepting the story of King
',

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

285

The
bharata

publication of the critical edition of the

for the

Mahaof the

makes available now

the
earlier

major Parvan-s,
texts

especially for

ones,

reliable

nidarsana-s so that they

may

be studied in their most

correct form.

We

are thus able to distinguish between

those fables which always formed an integral part of

the epic and those which were added at a later date

to one or

more of the

recensions.

Fables which once

appeared in the Adiparvan and in the Udyogaparvan

are considered later insertions and are relegated to the

appendices of the

BORI

edition.

Consequently,

it

is

now

possible to ascertain exactly

It
is

which were the

oldest

literary fables in Sanskrit.

also possible to assign

an approximate date to several of them, a date which indicates more or less the terminus ad quern for the earliest inclusion of them in the epic. Four animal tales are narrated in the Sabhaparvan and they have all of the features which designate them Two of them are told by Sisupala, and the as fables. other pair by the wise Vidura by way of opposing the civil war in which the Kuru leaders wish to engage. These nidarsana-s represent the oldest literary fables in
the corpus of Sanskrit literature.
editor of the

Franklin Edgerton,

BORI
is

Sabhaparvan, was fortunate enough

to discover a valuable clue to the dating of the text.

In

II. 28.

49

found the Sanskrit equivalent of the

name

of the city of
his

Roma

(Roma) as well as a word

Kathamukha, each of
is

Amarasakti and

wayward

sons in the

the stories, including the lengthy frame-stories,

a bonafide fable

according to Perry's

own

definition of a fable.

286

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

easily indicate the

which could
Antioch.

name

of the city of

as the earliest

According to him, these must be recognized mention in India of these names and

Sabhaparvan could not have been composed before these names became known in
therefore the text of the

India, that
this

is,

not before the

first

century b.c. 1

From

we may conclude

that the four nidarsana-s of the

this period.

Sabhaparvan were already current by

The Fables Told by Sisupala

The Case of the Hypocritical Hamsa
(II. 38. 30-7)

In the Sisupalavadha episode

is

found a

series

of

verbal attacks on Bhisma by Sisupala, the raja of Cedi.

The
by

latter accuses the

warrior of being an expounder

of false dharma and he warns

his

him that he

will

be killed

the other birds

own kinsmen just as the old hamsa was killed by who trusted him. This warning is
promythium
(verse 28b)

expressed in the

The same admonition is similarly mythium (verse 38), where andaja

the hamsa:

stated in the epi-

(egg-born) refers to

Cf.

JAOS, 58

(1938), pp. 262-5.

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

For convenience 1 the
here:
text

287

of the fable

is

reproduced

*$

^3

Rl^ftS a^I TO

fe

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VZ?W]^: SS^Rlftq:

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ii

fl fl:

SR*mHm^: ^^Pl
*zjft\
SST

||

\*

||

^m^ ^wm$
33:
fl

ill

^
I

ii

W>WWW

TO ftf^W

ihf q^:^T^f:
33:
f

s q#

s%%m^ n
I

R^3t Sf <#JR% flJTITO tog*3 ^3CT Iff ft?ll^ f$gg

hamsa
1

II

II

Preaching dharma but not practising

is

it,

an old

fed

by other

birds

and into

his care

they leave

one containing the Bhagavadgita, the fascicules of the Mahdbharata are not sold separately. Consequently, the texts of the fables under discussion are reproduced here for the convenience of those who do not have easy access to libraries where all the fascicules are located.
for the

Except

of the

critical edition

288
their eggs.

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

In their absence he eats their eggs until a
evil actions

very wise (mahaprajna) bird witnesses his

and informs the others,

based on a gdtha, which
is

who

then

kill

him.

We

are

informed at the end of the adhyaya that

this nidarsana is

cited as follows (verse 40)

3*^W?5jf% % wA IFWfawfc
This fable
is,

II

Vo

||

in fact, the

first

of a series attacking the

cf.

hypocrisy of religious ascetics;

(1924), pp.
role

Bloomfield,

JAOS, 44

202-42.

In other

tales
is

of this type the

of the

hypocritical ascetic

played by a jackal
(I,

or a feline (tiger or cat).

In the B'dara-jataka
T

128),

a jackal similarly pretends asceticism to beguile a troop

of

rats.

In the Dhammaddhaja-jataka
wickedness

takes the part of the old ham a of the

V, 384) a crow
ihabharata fable

and when

his

is

discovered the leader of

his

the other birds strikes

him on the head with

'

beak
'

and he

dies; cf.

Richard Morris,

Folk-Tales of India

in the Folk-lore Journal, 2 (1884), p. 304.

Oi

the basis

of this version was composed the sixth story of the

Thai Pisacaprakarana, with a slightly d'ffirent denouement: A crow saw a flock of ham*, as nesting in a large banyan tree and he schemed to eat all the young ones. Binding up his beak with a cloth he faced east and pretended to pray. H~ told the ham as that he was While fasting in the way of sages who eat only air. the hamsa-s were away searching for food, the crow wou d remove the cloth and eat the young birds and

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

the eggs.

289

The

chief of the hamsa-s dispatched four

on the crow and they detected him eating and the young birds. After having been berated by them, the crow flew away; cf. Nithan Iran Rachatham, Bangkok (1962-3), I, pp. 155-7. For additional bibliography on the Mahdbhdrata version, consult Laurits B<Mker, Indian Animal Tales', FFC, 170, Helsinki (1957), no. 443, p. 53, where reference is made to motif numbers K931 and K2285 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk Literature, 6 vols., Bloomington (1955-8).
birds to spy

the

eggs

'

The Bird Called Bhulinga In

his

(II. 41.

19-22a)
tirade

long and

brutal
(II.

against Bhisma,
19-22a)

Sisupala quotes twice

38.

17b; II. 41.

the example of a bird called Bhulinga

who

obtains

her food by picking the teeth of a

living

lion.

Although

the bird advises others not to act rashly, she herself,

on the pleasure of the

Bhisma,

lion, rashly

exposes herself
Sisupala,
is

to

destruction.

according

to

likewise dependent on the

whims of

princes and with

the incautious advice he gives them he runs the risk

of causing

his

own

destruction.

The

text

of this

nidarsana in the

BORI

edition

is

as follows

m w&M&i
19

*tt

tot

m^m

fes
II

%m ^IWKfa =^cft iH3Wfcl

\o

||

290

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

ft

mm
ST ft

*ft?

5^1^

m& 3133:
II

4*dH<R<Mi ^<KK*!*|dil

R{
I

II

f^T:

fel

tffa

#R2Rt^W,

The

moral, specifically applied to Bhisma,

18 (promythium)

is

expressed

in verse

and

verses 22b-23 (epimy-

thium).

The
op.
cit.,
it

fable
p. 106

is

indexed as no.

1076 by B<Mker,

on

to

and he refers for additional information Johannes Hertel, Ausgewdhlte Erz&hlungen aus
is

Hemacandras Parisistaparvan, Leipzig (1908), p. 139.

In the Tantropakhydna there

a fable which

is

only slightly similar, that of the woodpecker and tiger.

The woodpecker expects to receive food from the tiger, but he is told how lucky he is to have escaped death
at the

hands of the

tiger (cf. Tantropakhyana,

Trivandrum

Sanskrit Series no. 132, p. 27).

The Fables Told by Vidura

Birds with Golden

Dung

(II. 55. 12

and

13)

In the assembly

hall,

during the course of gambling,

Vidura addresses the leader of the Kuru-s, Dhrtarastra, advising him not to take advantage of the Pandava-s
for the sake of material gain.

In support of

his

advice

he quotes the fable of the over-greedy king the wild birds with the golden dung.

who destroyed

The BORI
are given below:

text

and a

literal

English translation

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

291

'

certain person, out of greed,

king, oppressed

wild birds whose excrements were of gold and who had taken up residence in his house and were thus of
lasting benefit;
for the sake of the gold, blinded

greed,

scorcher of foes,

by he destroyed both future and

present gains.'

The epimythium

constitutes the only statement of

the moral contained in the text (verse 14)

%r^T <ro%
Tales

qsffii

q%i

tot

ii

\*

11

of gold-excreting

animals

and

birds are

common

in

Indian folk-lore and they are sometimes

connected with the motif of the killing of the goose

that laid the golden egg (Motif no. D876).

variant

of our nidarsana has been indexed by B^dker as no. 721

(cf.

op.

cit.,

p.

75)

and

in his bibliography

he

refers,

among

other items, to the version contained in the

Pancatantra of Purnabhadra,
as follows:

which may be summarized

lives

A
in

hunter approaches a tree on which

a bird

whose dung gold appears. He immediately sets a trap and the bird, forgetting the danger is caught. Rather than keep the bird in his house, the hunter

292
takes
it

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

to the king,

the gold-giving bird.

is

who is delighted with the gift of One of his counsellors, however,

and urges the king to set the bird free, The since a bird of golden dung is unheard of. liberated bird, perched on the lofty arch of the doorway, excretes his golden dung and declares how foolish were he and the hunter and the king and his counsellor. 1 B<Mker fails to mention another variant, of the fable which appears in the Tantropakhyana and which concerns a king who had leprosy and the jwamjivaka-bird that
sceptical

cured him.
in

The

text of the fable has

been reproduced
translation

ALB, 29

(1965), pp. 47-8,

and an English

follows on pages 69-71.

The Goat and

the

Knife (II. 59. 8)

Duryodhana, Vidura urges him not to make enemies of the Pandava-s by using harsh words that will pierce the very heart of his foes and by being a victim of his own stupidity, as in the case of the goat and the knife (ajakrpanija) For many years this nidarsana has been enigmatic
In
his discourse to
.

because the textual readings of non-critical Mahabharata

editions

have been

faulty.

Now
it is is

on the

basis

of

Edgerton's critical reconstruction

possible to under-

stand the Sanskrit

text,

which

as follows:

The

Sanskrit text of this fable

is

found in
vol. 11,

J. Hertel's edition

of the Pancatantra of Purnabhadra, 1908, pp. 216-17.

HOS,

Cambridge, Mass.,.

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

293

3g^tt
'

IT *Rt:

TI^I:
lost,

II

<i

II

When

a knife was

a certain goat, kicking

up the earth with his feet, dug up the knife [and thereby] a cruel cutting of his own throat. In like manner do
not dig up enmity with the sons of Pandu.'

Although variants of this nidarsana arc found in Greek and Arabic literature (cf. ^DMG, 46 [1892],
pp. 737
ff.),

Edgerton agrees with Pischel

ff.)

(cf.

DMG,

47

[1393], pp. 86
in India.

in believing that the fable originated

The version contained in the Sabhaparvan must be considered the earliest literary form that it assumed. B^dker classifies the fable as no. 1168 in his list (op. cit., p. 114) and he refers to motif nos. N101 and N331 in Thompson's Motif-Index. x\pparently B#dker knew the fable only through the variant in the Takkariya-jataka (XIII, 481), a summary of which For is given by Edgerton (JAOS, 59 [1939], p. 366). bibliographical references on the different misinterpretations of the text of the fable in the Sabhaparvan and on its literary history, consult Edgerton's complete
article, ibid.,

pp. 366-8.

The Birds who Disagreed (V. 62. 6-16)

On
parvan,

several

occasions,

throughout the Udyogato

Vidura

continues

give

advice

to

the

294

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

Kaurava-s, especially to Duryodhana,

who

favours arr

immediate declaration of war. Vidura tries to restrain him by discoursing on the duties of kinsmen, for, he says, kinsmen should eat together and talk together but
they should not quarrel.
leads only to disaster.
fable of the

quarrel

among

relatives

In proof of

this,

he quotes the

two birds who were destroyed because they

disagreed with each other.

Two
catcher
is

birds

who

are caught in a net

escape.

by a bird-

rise

up together and

confident that as soon as

The bird-catcher they quarrel among themwill be able

selves they will fall to the

ground and he

Vidura presents the fable as one which he has previously heard on good authority, without, however, quoting a promythium. The text of
to capture

them.

the fable

is

as follows:

$&h**l$ft*W

^ifaffi UgJT

II

\
i

II

d^

It sr
a'

iii

pq^ *wtetl
11

aijiwi

iist

awi: *PRjg3t

11

aRTO^fiodit

3ft zft

Ji^cT:
1

||

II

m a^^a *&$ ^mm^

viim$\

#:

^fel^^fa

ftflfp;:

11

11

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

295

gWf#

ft

wll "Klfrl^NM^

||

||

qra*fag^<!t sfl^

i#
*T

w\

m I forfc^ ^

q^WT:
|

II

II

f^ 3^

f^ ^ i^t^t Sft^f Pfld& ^

II

II

sq^Tqft^

5W[|

^ ^fm^!s%

W
?I

^13^1

II

II

*r*3f<T firas^

^sfo^wifa
^TIH

5if mfa

$mK
^T^R

It

?H

II

^^rfPf
two
it

ft^T:

||

II

The
B^dker
(I, 33),

last

verses

constitute

the epimythium.

lists

the fable as no. 1056 and mentions also

the version of

contained in the Sammodamana-jdtaka

referring at the
first

same time

to Benfey's discussion to his translation

of it in the

volume of introduction
1

of

the

Paiicatantra.

Benfey recognized immediately

T. Benfey, Pantschatantra, Fiinf Biichcr

I, p.

indischer Fobeln,

Mdrchen

und Erz&hlungen, Leipzig, 1859,

305.

296

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN and the

the
initial

the connection between this nidarsana

episode in the frame-story of the second tantra of the

Pahcatantra.
(kapotardja)

In

the

latter

version

dove-king

together with his retinue of a thousand

into the net of the hunter, while the

doves

falls

crow

Laghupatanaka witnesses their misfortune. In unison they carry off the net and fly into the air to the great amazement of the hunter, who, however, is sure that they will quarrel and then fall into his power. On the
basis

of the twelfth verse above, the author of the

Pahcatantra

composed the following

sloka

wj 3

Rqft^ftf qsFHfa

ii

[II. 2]

The denouement

of the two fables differs.

In the

Pahcatantra the doves

do not quarrel; they are led to Notwithstanding, it would be safety by the dove-king. difficult to deny the indebtedness of the author of the
Pahcatantra to the Mahdbhdrata for the source of his fable.

The

form which the fable has taken in the Udyogaparvan is the earliest one of which we have
literary

knowledge.

For additional variants of the

cit.

tale,

consult

B^dker, op.
Honey on
the

p. 104.

Mountain (V. 62. 21-6)

After relating the nidarsana of the two birds, Vidura

tells

Dhrtarastra what he witnessed on the precipice of

a mountain.

He had gone

to

a mountain in the

some hunters. Together they saw a quantity of honey, guarded by

company

of some

Brahmana-s

and

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

venomous
hunters
killed.

297

snakes,

immortality.

which, when eaten, would assure Heedless of the danger involved, the
to

attempted
will

obtain

the

honey and were

tells

In the same way,

Vidura

Dhrtarastra,

Duryodhana
follows

be killed because he wishes to enjoy

without a rival the whole earth.

The

text of the fable

34 fell: gffer
31S8|?5R5^*1

i^mt ffiftg^
II

feW^lfir%:

II

q**rot[

m ^ tor?#i5^
f^faf

afRn#f ^q*nuf

^^

^ri^t
fft

3#

w&i *ifm ft'N$fi

irs

ii

^ f^fo

ST 5CIIWI

OTSN^f:

II

^
II

II

f^pq*T clftP^^PlR^
The epimythium refers Dhrtarastra, Duryodhana

II

specifically to the son of

A*
*g

era

3^4 sMifr
tfip^swtf

q**?ft

5np^

ii

The
reasons.

fable Honey on the Mountain

First,
it is

is

unique

for

two

narrated as a personal experience

298

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

by Vidura, who generally quotes nidarsana-s as illustrative exempla from ancient sources in order to reinforce the points of niti which he is expounding. Only in one other instance do we find in the Mahdbhdrata an episode concerning animals which is told by a witness of the action and which is easily convertible into a nidarsana. Drona's son, Asvatthaman, witnesses and
relates as a personal experience the destruction of the

crows,
tree,

who were
their

by

on the branches of a banyan natural enemy, a fierce-looking owl.

sleeping
first

This incident forms the

adhydya of the Sauptika-

X. 1. 34-44). On the basis of what he has seen, Asvatthaman learns a lesson in battle-strategy, for he then hits upon the plan of slaying the Pandava-s while they are sleeping. It is this same kdkolukiya-episode which the author of the Pahcatantra
parvan (BORI
ed.,

has turned into the frame-story of the third

tantra,

where

it

functions as a

bona

fide fable.

The technique
is

of presenting a fable as a witnessed event

sively in the Tantropdkhydna.

used exten-

Vasubhaga
the one

is

There a Brahmana named mentioned constantly and consistently as

has seen
(drstva)

who
one

the action of the fable

and

as the

who

cites

the epimythium of each fable.

the

Secondly, the fable Honey on

Mountain appears to

be the source of the following nidarsana entitled The

in the

Man

Well and
in the

told

by Vidura
5.

as

an

allegorical fable.

The

Man
As

Well (XI.

2-22; XI. 6. 4-12)

far as

we can

ascertain,

the version of this

its

nidarsana in the Striparvan represents

earliest literary

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

form, for
it

299

has had a long history, having entered into

both the Kalila and Barlaam traditions.

sake as well as for
its

For

its

own
to-

importance in universal literature

its

the text of the fable in

critical edition deserves

be reproduced here:

*?*IT

tfflRI^

3#T vmw: |R
3cfaffl f|si:

||

^RSft
^R

*lft

fta
||

Spiral

^^Rflf^n

||

^'cii^^Rf^R wmft *fprs

ii

ii

3T*^I *TO I >A.

fl

r%fe?JI

TOq
I

WM
fl

^ ^ RW#^T:
f^5T: *rf:

5R0T

*&ftfct

II

It

?fai

^ ^

f^frl^ 5Rt *RqtT%3: Met I ^t ^ ^ ftffog^

r

ii

^
i

a^iq*^

w m *r^ 3T3*ti^
-^
q

^ifw?f tfqft

fewi

q^^i
I

II

<:

ii

qg^n^^Ki: %lftq

S3i:

TOtiAfal):

ft^ rotpj
3*Uf3:
II
I

II

II

WWA
TO

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3$f^I^lft%lfeSwi3:

^o
I

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fi^fcM ftl% flfesi^

300

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

q?rcw

mi *m

i^^

^n^

s zv\ v*ti

m 3K#qr^ w&m: ^
ii

ii

fNtail^raroqKr
qfr?f $guri3[3

H&im

II

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I

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II

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m
^t
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ai
?!

^
I
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II

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93TM

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I

II

^
||

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=1

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||

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=3I*T

worn: %

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%n
fiww^
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mz ^
II

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#ftarcir

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^
ii

II

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%rai

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1

^
11

ii

zqmi m%ffc$

v^im
11

fnwra

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pfai ^

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q^
11

*J^ni^J TORTgfepR

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11

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

301

Upon comparing
the latter, The
version

the two nidarsana-s

Man

in

of the former,

we note that the Well, is a much expanded Honey on the Mountain. The
become a
well (udapdna;

precipice of the mountain has

kupa)

with more dangers described in greater detail.

of the hunters has been changed into the

The greed
consolation

and pleasure the Brahmana

honey.

gets

from
is

drinking

the

The death
.

of the

hunters

inevitable; the

Brahmana, on the other hand, does not

.
.

nirvedam go to despair (na of sustaining his life. has hope

details in

upagacchati)

but always

The

Man

in

the

The more numerous Well lend themselves to an

that
is,

allegorical interpretation of the samsaracakra,

the wheel of the cycle of rebirths.

Vidura explains

the simile (upamd) in the following verses, the last of

which

is

the epimythium:

m
*r

R^

3ft

TO%3
v&i

*TH3:

II

V
i

||

mg&t wait
gfi ft

mi

us
ft

a:

*xta^

$mm*

II

^
i

II

^ ^ &
3T

^ftar

lift

&m *tm& *$imi: hot*? ^ftfcteRT ^ 1

rt^tt

arais^ 5Rf

^S^Nifirftq

II

II

TO* ft

3&

3'S

fe

3TCtftTI^

302

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

Vim eRRteR3RUfe 513 *&

sffi^:

fl:

*%^f ^if

#|l4Sl

II

vs

||

f?W^
sraft

=3

5IMF

^
*

*m

fl

Jim:

at

aftfoiRrT s&ftftprm

ii

<

II

^r: f

^ OTL
JTIflT:

^^R:

?T:

5^TR ^J%

qjafl

SOT #&U:

II

II

3"

JT^I^ ^mi^
*?RT:

qfaftfe

II

*o
I

||

*?R3 3T ^pft
^f*3
<rt

mfo H^fimK
JFSifo

^FTCfll^fell^^
9?

f^l:
I

II

II

SSR^*? qft#

fag:

I tfflR^q qratfe^fo I pi:

II

R
the

II

Winternitz has discussed The

Man

in

Well at

length in his Geschichte der indischen

(1908),
I,

Litteratur,

Leipzig
it is

pp. 351-2.

From what he

says there
is

evident that the bibliography of this nidarsana

sive.

exten-

Here

it

need be increased by but a few new items

exhaustive study
1

which have appeared since the publication of Kuhn's x and the contributions of Jacobs 2
E.

Kuhn,

'

Der Mann im Brunnen

',

in Festgruss an Otto

von Bohtlingk,

Stuttgart,

1888, pp. 68-76; supplemented by his

bibliographisch-literargeschichtliche

Barlaam and Joasaph. Eine

Studie,

Munich, 1893, pp.

2

76-7.

J. Jacobs,

Barlaam and Josaphat. English Lives of Buddha,

lxx-lxxvii; cxi-cxiii.

London, 1896, Introduction, pp.

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

303
motif
as

and
refers

Chauvin. 1

Thompson

classifies

the

no. J861.1

(Consoled by a drop of honey), and he

only to literary treatments since the fable has

not been found in oral tradition.

text

The

oldest written

(13th century) of a
is

somewhat modified form of

the fable
Kalila

contained in Arabic

MS.
c

no. 4095 of the

wa-Dimna of Ibn al-Muqaffa in the Ayasofya This MS. was published in a deluxe edition in Cairo in 1941. A French translation
Library in Istanbul. 2
of the text
is

that of Andre Miquel, Paris, 1957.

In connection with the appearance of the fable in

the Kalila and
here that
it
is

its

Pahlavi source,

it

is

worth noting
life

preceded by a technical discussion of

aspects of the

the prenatal

and postnatal
is

of man.

Bidpai scholars have failed to see that the source of

this discussion

actually to be found in the Striparvan,

in the adhyaya

which comes immediately before the one

in
the

which contains The Man

slightly the strictly

Well..

By modifying
the author of

Hindu point of view

the Pahlavi translation has adapted the materials of his

Sanskrit source to suit his purposes.

A
The Hamsa and

Fable Told by Salya

Crow (VIII.
28. 9-54)

the

In the Karnaparvan are described the heroic deeds

of

Kama, who
1

at

one point boasts of

his

military

V. Chauvin,

Bibliographic des ouvrages arabes, Liege, 1897-98,

II (Kalilah), p. 85; III (Barlaam), pp. 99-100.

2

The MS.

has been described briefly in ALB, 21 (1957), p. 40.

304

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

His charioteer

superiority over Arjuna.

admonishes him because of his pride nidarsana of the crow who challenged the hamsa to a
flying contest.

named Salya and tells him the

The

fable probably originated as

an

akhyana

and

as such has returned to the folk-literature

of the Indian people.

Pantulu has recorded from the

oral tradition of the Telugu-speaking people at least

one variant;

cf.

IA, 26 (1897), p. 112.

Thompson has
lasts

indexed the fable as no. L394 (Slow flying swan

;

longer than speedy crow in flying) B^dker has classified Neither of them has it as no. 384 (cf. op. cit., p. 85).
referred
to
1

karana,
follows
'

Thai Paksipawhich has been summarized by Crosby as

the version found in the
birds proceeded to put their plan

The assembled

into execution, pitting the

one another and

sea.

quickly setting

swan and the crow against them loose upon the

crow, too, flew over the

The swan

at once soared into the air, like the

is.

bold bird that he

The

eddying flood, seeking to contend against the powerful swan upon the deep where there is no shelter. But
his heart fails
is

him, for he sees no place of refuge.

He

and thither by the whirling wind, far away from any bank upon which to find a footing. The swan descends and floats down the eddying tide. With feathers ruffled, he moves at his ease over the wide expanse of waters. The crow, on the contrary, is
tos;ed hither
1

J.

Crosby,
',

'

Paksi Pakarana,
7-9.

Translation of the Book of

the Birds

JSS, 7 (1910), pp.

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

exhausted by
his efforts

305

and can discover no shelter. Seeing the swan resting upon the deep, he himself alights upon it also. Soon a storm arises and howls around them with dreadful tumult, whilst heaving billows appear upon the raging sea. The swan rides the tempest fearlessly, but the crow is whirled around
until
his

he

is
is

on the point of sinking.

Every feather on
is

body

drenched; almost dead, he

is all

buffeted by

the fierce waves repeatedly; choking, assailed by giddiness

and nausea, he

but drowned.

Then he
this

calls

out to the swan: "

Oh!

excellent

and courageous one,

pray come to
yield to

my

assistance.

you the

victory.

me." To these words of answer: " Since you have ventured on

me,
it is

moment I Have pity on me and help the crow the swan made due
this contest

From

with

and no friend of mine. I should help you to no purpose. I should rather allow you to suffer the death which you merit by your presumption in challenging me. You shall drown here in the ocean." The crow replied: "If your intention is so ruthless and if you
as

though you were It is not meet that

my enemy

commit

the mistake of leaving

me

to

die,

the birds

will all suspect that

will meditate

evil

you have murdered me. They against you and will blame you.

you help me to escape from death, they will you magnanimous and you will, moreover, acquire merit by your act. You will assuredly become chief among the birds, who will raise you to be their wise and prudent head." The words of the crow sounded
But
if

call

agreeably
20

in

the

ears

of the

golden

swan,

who

306

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

considered how,

when an enemy
customary
to

has once acknowledg-

ed

his

fault,

it is

pardon him.

When

he

merit, therefore,

had thus controlled his desire for vengeance, he made by coming to the relief of the crow,
protecting wings outstretched, he saved

whom, with

from drowning.
"

the shore again, puffed himself

But the crow, when he had reached up and said angrily:

You have been

deceived, swan.

Your wisdom

is less

than mine, and you do not understand.

into conducting
really fail

I tricked

you

me

to land, for

my

strength did not

me."
then

'

And
how

this

statement

is

added by Crosby: This

words and boastfully
basis

old story has been related in order to point the moral, the feeble will

deny

their

enter into rivalry with the mighty.

The Thai printed text on the Crosby made his resume is no longer
fable
is

of which

available.

The

Iran Rachatham, Bangkok and there is no reason to pp. suppose that there are any radical differences between the two Thai versions. The nidarsana of the Karnaparvan appears to be a more elaborate one, especially with regard to the

found
I,

in

Mithan

(1962-63),

173-5,

enumeration of the various types of flying-motions to

which the crow

in the

alludes.
is

The

text, as it

has been edited

BORI

edition,

reproduced here:

s^:

frllTO:

fl$Wfr**:

THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

307

PWf

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iflSSRt

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308

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

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THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

309

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310

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

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THE OLDEST SANSKRIT FABLES

311

iffo

^ftra ^i i# *h ^i^t:

ii

<av

ii

and virtuous merchant had many sons who The fed a crow from the remnants of their meals. crow became arrogant and haughty and considered
rich

himself to be superior to other birds.

When
The

a flock

of hamsa-s flew by, the sons of the merchant assured

the crow that he was superior to them.
foolish

crow then challenged the leader of the hamsa-s to a

flying contest, saying that

he could

fly

by displaying

one hundred and one

different kinds of motion.

When
At

the race began, the hamsa flew only in one way, while

the crow attempted to

first

fly

in

many
sea.

fancy ways.

the

hamsa remained

behind but then he flew

steadily

the

westward towards the ocean, he looked around

to
die.

exhausted and about

called

Having crossed and saw the crow When the hamsa was

upon to save the crow he did so without hesitation, and the crow, no longer proud of his might and energy, resolved to lead a life of peace and quiet.

Among

the fables appearing in the oldest parts of

the Mahdbharata, in the epic proper, the nidarsana of

the hamsa and the crow

fable of the jackal

is

the most extensive.

The

and his rivals in the Adiparvan and that of the cat and mouse in the Udyogaparvan, it must be admitted, are of comparable length, but they

312

THE ADYAR LIBRARY BULLETIN

are rightly considered by the editors of the

edition to be later interpolations.

BORI

The

fables of the

Santiparvan, more specifically in the Rajadharmanusasana and

Apaddharma

sections, are likewise lengthy,

with but few exceptions.

Since the Santiparvan does

not, strictly speaking, belong to the epic narrative, the

fables

found there are doubtless of a

later date

and

consequently they have been excluded from the present

discussion.

They

are of sufficient interest, however, to

form the subject of a future study.

Abbreviations

ALB

Adyar Library Bulletin

HOS
JAOS
JSS

Harvard Oriental

Series

Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of the Siam Society Transactions of the American Philological Association
,

TAPA

DMG
BORI
FFC IA

geitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft

Bhandarkar Oriental Research

Folk Fellows Communications
Indian Antiquary

Institute

GR
305 A7

Artola, George Tnomas The oldest Sanskrit fables

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DO NOT REMOVE
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UNIVERSITY

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