In a jungle, there lived a jackal by the name of Chandarava. One day he was very hungry, so he went into the city to find food.
There, he was surrounded by dogs barking loudly. They set upon him and wounded him with their sharp teeth. To save his skin, he ran into a dyer’s house. A big vat of indigo dye was lying there. In he jumped and consequently his whole body was dyed indigo – he no longer looked like a jackal.
When he came out, the dogs were unable to recognize him and ran off in all directions, terrified.
The jackal himself went back to the jungle. The indigo dye would not come off. As they say: “Glue, an idiot, a woman, a crab, A shark, indigo dye and a drunkard, Once they attach themselves to something, They will never let go.”
Back in the jungle, when the animals, the lions, tigers, elephants, wolves and the rest of them, saw the indigo-coloured jackal, they ran away in terror and said to one another, “Let’s run away for we don’t know the strength of this animal or what to expect of him, for they say: ‘A man of intelligence who seeks his welfare, Will never trust anyone Whose character, family and strength He does not know.'”
When the jackal saw the frightened animals, he called them back and said, “Ho! Animals! Why are you running off in panic? Don’t be afraid. Brahma has made me himself, with his own hands, and he said, ‘The animals have no king, so I have crowned you king, with the title, Kukudruma. Go to the earth and protect them well.’!”
“And so,” continued the jackal, “that’s why I’ve come here. Live in my kingdom, under my protection. I, Kukudruma, have been crowned King of the Three Worlds!”
When all the animals, the lions, tigers, and the rest of them, heard this, they surrounded him and said, “Master, we await your commands.”
Kukudruma assigned specific duties to all the animals, but he said, he would have nothing to do with jackals, and they were all chased away.
The lion and the tiger used to go out hunting and bring the prey before the jackal. He would then distribute it amongst the other animals. Thus, he discharged his kingly duties.
In this way, quite some time elapsed. One day, Kukudruma heard in the distance the howl of a pack of jackals. He was spellbound, his eyes filled with tears of joy, he stood up and began to howl.
When the lion and the other animals heard him howl, they realized that he was only a jackal and they lowered their heads in shame.
Only for a moment did they remain in this attitude. Then they said angrily to each other, “This despicable jackal has fooled us! We will kill him!”
When Kukudruma heard this, he tried to escape but was torn in pieces on the spot and killed.
“And so,” continued Damanaka, “that’s why I said: ‘He who sacks his own confidants And engages outsiders in their place, Shall die like King Kukudruma.'”
When he heard this, Pingalaka asked, “But, what proof do you have in this case, that Sanjivaka has evil designs against me?”
“Here is the proof,” said Damanaka. “This morning he made a firm resolution in front of me to kill you. Now, tomorrow morning, when he visits you, his eyes will be red, his lips quivering and he will give you a malicious look. When you see this, do what you think best.”
Then Damanaka came to Sanjivaka, bowed and stood humbly before him.
When Sanjivaka saw Damanaka, he said, “Worthy friend, welcome! You have visited me after many days. Are you well? Tell me what your wishes are and I shall certainly fulfill them.”
“How can servants be well?” replied Damanaka. “They say: ‘The poor, the sick, fools, exiles, And servants who have to serve all their lives, All these, although living, Are, in reality, dead.’ ‘To say that service is dog’s work is untrue, for even dogs are allowed to wander wherever they please, but servants cannot even leave the house without their master’s permission.'”
“Come to the point,” said Sanjivaka. “What are you trying to say?”
“Friend,” replied Damanaka, “it’s wrong for a minister to expose his master’s secrets, but still, I will, in order to save your life. For I know that you trust me implicitly and it was on my advice that you first came to this place. Now understand this: Pingalaka has evil designs against you! Today he said to me in confidence, ‘Tomorrow I shall kill Sanjivaka, invite all the animals to a feast and feed them on his flesh.’ I said to him, ‘Master! It is shameful to betray a friend in order to fill one’s own belly!’ Immediately he said to me, ‘You fool! Sanjivaka is a grass-eater and we flesh-eaters. We are natural enemies. If we kill him, we are not at fault.’ When I understood that Pingalaka was resolute, I came to you so that I shall not be guilty of betraying someone who trusts me. That’s why I have confided everything in you. Now do whatever you think best.”
When Sanjivaka heard these words, he was dumbfounded, as if struck by a thunderbolt. When he had recovered a little, he sighed deeply and said to himself, “The fool who thinks that a king loves him, Should be thought of as an ox without horns.”
“It was wrong of me to make friends with Pingalaka, for: ‘Enter into marriage ties and friendship Only with those, who are socially and financially Your equals.'”
“And so, even if I try to appease Pingalaka, it will be completely pointless, for: ‘If a man is angry for some reason, He calms down, When the cause is removed. But who can appease a man Who decides upon enmity For no reason at all?'”
“I now understand that Pingalaka has been incited against me by people who are jealous of me. This is why he talks as he does when it is quite untrue that I have evil designs against him, for: ‘When a man has two wives, One cannot tolerate That the other should be preferred. So the servants of the king Cannot bear it When the master favors one of them.'”
“Friend,” said Damanaka, “you shouldn’t be afraid. Even if some wicked fellow has made the master angry with you, he will nonetheless be appeased by your charming conversation.”
“My dear fellow,” said Sanjivaka, “that’s not true. It is impossible to live amongst wicked people, even insignificant ones, for they say: ‘Wicked people, although they may be insignificant, Are mean-minded and live deceptively; One way or another, they will cause you death, Just as the jackal and the others did to the camel.'”
“How was that?” asked Damanaka.
And Sanjivaka told: THE STORY OF THE LION, THE CAMEL, THE JACKAL AND THE CROW
