Classics

"To be useful and effective ancient wisdom must relate to modern conditions".

Ancient classics contain wisdom that transcends time and space.We intend to present here some that are relevant to the present day conditions. To begin with we bring Panchatantra - the famous classic for children. The emphasis here will be on the moral of the stories. Later we shall present stories from Mahabharata and upanishads as well. Occasionally we shall also present wisdom from Tao texts.

In the past issues we completed the stories from Part One of Panchatantra. We will put it as a separate ebook as each part can stand alone. Now we are presenting the stories from Part Two. It is important to reiterate that we give here only those stories that are relevant irrespective of time and environment (and most of them are). Panchatantra - Part One is complete now and the ebook can be viewed online or downloaded using the link Panchatantra-One.

The series Gems from Panchatantrais now complete. In the stories there are words of wisdom that stand alone and are collected in this book. It can be viewed online or downloaded using the link provided on the Ebook page.

The story in this issue is continued from the previous issue and is appended to the one already here. This also completes Part Two of the book. It will soon appear in the Ebook section.

Somlik, the Weaver

There lived a weaver named Somlik in a certain kingdom. He made colorful and fancy garments for high society people that were worthy of princes. Although he was very good at his work he was only able to earn just sufficient to take care of the basic necessities of life. At the same time other weavers who made only coarse cloth and garment for ordinary people were much better off. One day he said to his wife:
"Just see how well-to-do these ordinary weavers are while I am slogging in poverty. This place is no good for me, so I will go to some other town for making money."
She said:
"This is al ordained by fate. You get only what you are destined to. It is all tied to karma from previous lives. What is not to be, will never be yours. Even if you get it, you would never be able to use it or keep it. The person and his karma are tied to each other just like light and shadow."
He countered by saying:
"Just as you cannot clap with one hand destiny cannot bring results unless one works for them. Even the food placed in front cannot get to your stomach unless the hand moves. One has to try; if he is not successful, he should try to figure out what went wrong and try all over again. Therefore I will go somewhere else and try."

Next day he proceeded to a larger town named Vardhamanpur. He stayed there three years and earned three hundred gold coins enough to make him rich for the rest of his life. He started back home. Half way home he was passing through a dense forest when the sun set and it became dark. For the fear of wild animals he climbed a large tree and made himself comfortable to spend the night. Around midnight he had a dream. Two strange looking men were talking to each other. One asked the other:
"O Karman (god in charge of rewarding work) you know that this weaver's destiny does not permit him money beyond that required for sustenance. So why did you give him three hundred gold coins?"
"Fate, I have to reward hard work and cannot do otherwise. It is for you to decide whether he can use it or not If you want you can take it away."

Somlik woke up startled and looked for his bag. It was indeed empty. He had worked so hard to earn that money and now it was gone - vanished just like that. How could he face his wife or friends? So he decided to return to the same city to earn again. In a short time he earned five hundred and was again on journey back home. He came upon the same old tree but this time he decided not to sleep at all. Still he dozed off for a while and again he saw the same two men. Like before one asked the other:
"Why did you do this again - give him five hundred? He is not supposed to have anything beyond food and clothes."
The other gave the same reply:
"I am bound to reward hard work. It is for you to let him have it or not."

The weaver woke up as if jolted and again looked for the gold coins. The bag was empty. Now he was in utter despair. What good was life if he could not get his due even after hard work? He could not bear to live penniless and decided to end it by hanging himself from the tree. As he was preparing to do that he heard the voice again:
"Do not be rash Somlik. I am the one who has taken away your money because It is not in your destiny to be rich and have more than needed for subsistence. SO go home and live as you were. Yet I am very pleased with your courage and will not let your encounter with me go for naught. So ask me anything and I will grant your wish."
"If so give me lots of money" said Somlik.
"What will you do with money that you cannot use since your destiny does not allow anything more than food and clothes?"
"Even so I want to be rich. When one is rich others honor and serve him despite his being miserly and even of low caste. I will just keep the money for the rest of my life hoping for the best."
"All right if that is what you want you go back to Vardhamanpur . You will find two sons of a merchant - one named Guptadhan (who is a miser and does not use his money) the other named Upabhuktadhan (who spends money freely for goodwill). You find their real nature and decide which one you want to be like. If you want to be like the former, I will make you rich like him. On the other hand if you want to be like the other and spend money for goodwill, I will make you rich like Upabhuktadhan. "

Having said that the invisible man disappeared leaving Somlik perplexed , still he started back to the town. He arrived there after sunset and was very tired. After making a few enquiries he found Guptadhan's house but was not welcome. Both the husband and wife tried to push him out but he was already inside the door and just sat there. At dinner time they Guptadhan gave him some food and he slept on the floor. At about midnight he had the same dream of the two men talking. As usual the first complained:
"You made Guptadhan spend more money in feeding the man. How are you going to make it up because he is not destined to spend his money for others?"
"Well, it is for you to figure out. My duty is only to see that a deserving person does not go hungry."
Guptadhan woke up in the morning with a bad case of dysentery. He could not eat anything that day and that compensated his extra spending on the previous night.

Somlik left the house early morning and lwent to the house of Upabhuktadhan who welcomed him as an honored guest. They gave him nice meals and a comfortable bed to sleep at night. He was sleeping soundly but at midnight had the same dream. The first one was again complaining:
"You have made Upabhuktadhan spend too much money in feeding the man. He had to order extra things from outside. He has no money left. How will he manage his usual spending?"
"I let him do things according to his nature. How he will manage later on is for you to figure out."
Next morning two attendants from the King's palace came and gave Upbhuktadhan a large sum. They said that the King had rewarded him for all the good deed that he was doing for people in the kingdom.

Now that he had seen the nature of both sons as suggested by the destiny god Somlik was convinced that it was better to spend money well than horde it like a miser. He invoked the destiny god and asked him to be made like Upabhuktadhan. Money should be put to use for the benefit of self as well as others. It serves no useful purpose sitting in a collection box. Keeping it unused is like not having any.

At this point the story goes back to the conversation between the three friends - Hiranyak the mouse, Laghupatnak the crow, and Mantharak the tortoise. Mantharak said:
"So my friend Hiranyak, do not grieve for the money you lost or the fact that you had to leave your native place. Those running after money can never be happy. The real happiness comes from contentment. In this world there is no treasure like charity, no jewelry like noble conduct, and no wealth like contentment.

The crow then added:
"Yes friend, you should always keep these words in mind even though they may be unpleasant. A true friend is one who gives proper advice even if it is not pleasing."

While the three friends were talking a deer named Chitrang running away from hunters entered the pond. They also sensed a danger. The crow flew into a tree, the mouse hid into a nearby bush, and the tortoise went into the pond. The crow looked around and watching the deer still scared and panting he called out to the tortoise:
"Come out friends, the deer has perhaps entered the pond because of being thirsty. There is nothing to fear."
Mantharak said:
"From what I see this deer is not thirsty. The way he is huffing and puffing it seems that he is scared of hunters. So go a little higher and see if anyone is coming."
The deer heard this and said to Mantharak:
"I am Chitrang. You have correctly guessed the cause of my fear. I have escaped the onslaught of the hunters who have probably killed all others in my herd. Please tell me of some place that is safe from the hunters." "Chitrang, there are two strategies for thwarting a belligerent enemy - to use your weapon effectively or to run away as fast as possible. Therefore run into the thick forest before the enemy gets here."
As he was talking the crow came back and reported that he saw the hunter going home with a big load of kill. So he told Chitrang to have no fear and come out of the water. Thus another friend got added to the group and they started their usual life of getting together regularly for discussion.

One day Chitrang did not turn up for discussion and the other three started worrying about his absence. Could something bad have happened to him? People get apprehensive about the welfare of near and dear ones even in normal conditions; their friend went into the thick forest with dangers lurking all the time. Mantharak addressed Laghupatnak:
"Myself and Hiranyak can walk only slowly and cannot do much to find him. Please go and search for him and see if he is alive."
The crow set off immediately and before long he spotted Chitrang caught in a hunter's net at the river bank. Anguished with the friend's condition he asked how he got trapped. Seeing the friend the deer's grief grew further. One's grief and misery increase at the sight of near and dear ones. Checking tears he said: "I am near death, it is good that I could see you before dying. This is a great consolation to me. If out of affection I have said anything unpleasant during our discussions, please forgive me."
"Friend, great souls do not lose patience in the face of a calamity. I will bring Hiranyak right away to set you free."

Saying that he went back to the two friends and told them about the danger Chitrang was in. Mantharak got on his back and he immediately flew to the spot where Chitrang was. Seeing them back the deer saw the ray of hope and thought: "One should cultivate good friends for escaping a calamity. Without good friends it is impossible to survive."
Hiranyak also asked him how he got into this predicament in spite of being well versed in life strategies. Chitrang reminded him that this was not the time for questions and answers but to free him before the hunter comes. But to answer the question in a few words - destiny paralyzes intelligence and knowledge. While the two were talking, Mantharak also slowly made his way toward the location. Laghupatnak saw him coming and said to Hiranyak:
"This is not good."
"Why? Is the hunter coming?"
"Forget the hunter it is Mantharak. He has acted against commonsense in spite of his being well versed in scriptures. We will all perish because of him. If the hunter comes I will fly away, you will enter some underground shelter, and Chitrang also will run away. But what would this pond dweller do on ground? I am really scared thinking of him."
Meanwhile Mantharak arrived. Hiranyak told him that he should not have come and asked him to turn back immediately. He replied that he could not contain himself as he was constantly thinking of a friend facing death. It is better to die than lose a great friend.

To make the situation worse the crow spotted the incoming hunter. Hiranyak quickly cut the net and freed Chitrang who quickly ran away. Laghupatnak flew into a tree and Hiranyak went underground. Having lost the deer the hunter became very sad but seeing Mantharak he consoled himself that even though the destiny robbed him of the deer at least he had the tortoise for meal. He tied and put him in a bag hanging by his bow and started for home. Seeing the fate of his friend Hiranyak started wailing:
"Before I get out of one calamity another crops up. The destiny took away my wealth it did not matter; I lost my family, and had to leave the native place. But why did it snatch a friend who was my life support? There would be no friend like him."

While he was thus lamenting the crow and the deer came back also weeping. Then Hiranyak said:
"What use is weeping? Let us think of some way to save Mantharak while he is still near by. Just weeping will only aggravate the problem, it will not avert the calamity. That is the only wise thing to do."
The crow had a suggestion for the way out of this horrible situation.
"Let Chitrang go ahead of the hunter and lie down on some place near water in his way pretending to be dead. I will sit at his head and lightly touch him with my beak so that the hunter will be convinced that he is dead. He will put the bag containing Mantharak down on ground and run towards Chitrang. Hiranyak will then run to the bag and cut the grass rope tying the friend. Once freed, he will immediately get into water."

The other two friends applauded his ingenuity and proceeded to act according to that plan. The hunter saw the deer lying by a pond with the crow sitting by the head. He now thanked destiny thinking that the poor deer had lost vitality while tied and after reaching the forest he died of exhaustion. The tortoise was tied up in the bag and was not going anywhere. He put the bag on the ground and ran toward the deer. Hiranyak ran to the bag and freed Mantharak in no time, who quickly went into the pond. Before the hunter got near Chitrang got up and ran away; Laghupatnak was already in a tree. When the hunter, already ashamed of being cheated twice, returned he found the tortoise also gone. He started blaming the destiny.

"O god, you first robbed me of the deer that I had trapped. Then I got a tortoise but that also you made me lose. I am roaming this forest hungry and thirsty away from my family. Whatever else you have not done you go ahead and do it now. I am prepared to bear it all". Thus weeping he went back home. After he was gone the four friends - crow, mouse, tortoise, and deer were happy thinking that they all had new life. They went back to their pond and lived happily carrying on their get together and pious discussions.

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Page updated October 25, 2008