Somewhere in the jungle, a pair of sparrows had made their nest in a Tamal tree. In due course, the female sparrow laid her eggs there.
One day, because of tremendous heat, an agitated elephant came and stood under the shade of the tree. With his trunk, he caught hold of the branches supporting the sparrow’s nest and pulled them down. The nest fell to the ground and the eggs were smashed. Luckily the sparrows managed to escape but, because she had lost her eggs, the female sparrow was heartbroken and began to cry loudly.
A woodpecker, listening to her sobs, felt touched. He went over to her and said, “My good sparrow, what’s the point of crying about it, for they say: ‘Wise men don’t grieve over lost things, the dead, and what belongs to the past: But a fool weeps over things not worth his tears. He adds sorrow to the sorrow already existing, so his suffering is doubled. That’s the difference between wise men and fools.'”
“That’s true,” said the sparrow, “but this elephant has killed my children. If you are my friend, please find some way of destroying him, so that I can forget the loss of my eggs.”
“I will,” said the woodpecker, for: “A friend is a friend when he helps you in trouble, A son is a son when he obeys his parents, A servant is a servant when he performs his duties, And a wife is a wife when she makes her husband happy.” And, “In affluent times, All men are your friends, But the person who helps you When times are bad, Regard him as your true friend, Even when he belongs to a different caste.”
“Now I too have a friend, a fly called Veenarava. Let’s go and ask her to help us, destroy this cruel elephant.”
And so, the woodpecker went with the female sparrow to the fly, and said to her, “My friend, this sparrow is a dear friend of mine. A wicked elephant has destroyed her eggs, please help us find a way to kill him.”
“Certainly, I’ll help you, my good friend,” replied the fly, “otherwise, what is a friend for? Now I too have a friend, a frog by the name of Meghanad. Let’s go and ask him to help us destroy this cruel elephant.”
And so, they all went together to the frog and told him what had happened. Then the frog said, “What can this elephant do against us, if we work together? Listen, I have a plan. Fly! When the sun is at the highest point, you go and buzz in his ears, so that in sheer ecstasy, he closes his eyes. Then, woodpecker! You peck his eyes, and blind him. Then I will sit at the edge of the pit that’s nearby and croak. When the elephant is thirsty, hearing me croak, he will come to the pit, thinking it is a lake full of water. He will fall right in and, being unable to get out again, he’ll die. Now, if we follow this plan we’ll have our revenge.”
The others agreed and they carried out the plan successfully: the elephant groped his way to the muddy pit, fell in, and died.
“And so,” continued the female sparrow, “that’s why I said: ‘Working together, The sparrow, the woodpecker, the fly, and the frog, Killed an elephant.'”
“All right then,” said the male sparrow, “I’ll dry up the Sea with the help of my friends!”
And so, the male sparrow sent a call to the crane, the swan, the peacock, and the rest of them, and said, “The Sea has insulted us by stealing our eggs. Think of a way to dry him up completely.”
At this, all the birds came together to discuss the situation. “We can’t suck up the Sea in our beaks,” they said, “so what’s the good of trying? As they say: “When a weak man, blown up with self-importance, Attacks a strong enemy, He has to retreat, Like an elephant with a broken tusk.”
“Instead, we should go and tell everything to Garuda, our king. If he is angry that his people have been insulted, then he himself will take revenge. But, even supposing, that out of pride, he refuses to help us, all the same, we shall feel relieved, for they say: “When a man can tell his sorrows To an affectionate friend Or a dutiful servant, An obedient wife Or a powerful master, That man finds relief.”
“So, we’ll all go to Garuda, our master.”
The birds went to him, with glum faces and tears in their eyes, and began to sigh piteously, “Oh Master, what a catastrophe! You are our protector and yet the Sea has robbed the good sparrows of their eggs. If this sort of thing continues, one day our whole race will be destroyed. They say: “A king is a kinsman to those without family, An eye to the blind, And a father to the law-abiding. Just as a gardener looks after his plants, So a king should take care of his subjects.”
When Garuda heard the birds wailing, he thought to himself, “These birds are right! I will go and dry up the Sea!”
“But just as he was thinking this, a messenger arrived from Lord Vishnu, and said, “Noble Garuda! I have been sent by Lord Vishnu. He wants you for some divine work in Amaravati. You had better come quickly with me.”
When Garuda heard this, he said petulantly, “Messenger! What could Lord Vishnu want with such a commonplace servant as I am! Please give him my regards and ask him to find another servant instead of me!”
“Garuda!” said the messenger, “You’ve never talked like that before! Tell me, how has our Master offended you?”
“Well,” said Garuda, “the Sea, Lord Vishnu’s resting place, has swallowed up the sparrows’ eggs. If my Lord Vishnu does not force the Sea to return them, I refuse to serve him anymore. This is my firm resolution. Go and report all this to your Master.”
When Lord Vishnu heard from the Messenger that Garuda was sulking, he thought to himself, “I understand why he is sulking. I’ll go and see him myself and pacify him, for they say: “He who has his own interests at heart, Should avoid offending anyone, But should handle others with affection, As he would his own son.”
“With these thoughts in his mind, Lord Vishnu went quickly to Rukmapur, where Garuda was.
When Garuda saw his master coming to his house, he bowed his head with embarrassment and said, “Master! The Sea, your resting place, by swallowing up the eggs of my servant, has insulted me, but I have restrained myself from punishing him because of my respect for you, for: “If you fear the master, You don’t beat the dog.”
“When Lord Vishnu heard this, he said, “You’re quite right, Garuda. Come with me and we shall take the eggs from the Sea and hand them over to the sparrows. Then we’ll go to Amaravati.”
When Lord Vishnu had finished speaking, he reprimanded the Sea and, taking a thunderbolt in his hand, he said, “Wicked Sea! Return the sparrows’ eggs at once or I shall dry you up!”
At this, the Sea was terrified and handed over the eggs to the male sparrow, who gave them to his wife.
“And so,” continued Damanaka, “that’s why I said: “He who attacks an enemy Without knowing his strength, Will be defeated, As the Sea was defeated by the sparrows.'”
When Sanjivaka heard this, he asked Damanaka once again, “Friend, how can I know for certain that Pingalaka has evil designs against me when until now he has always looked on me with increasing favor and I have never before seen any change in his attitude?”
“Brother!” said Damanaka. “Here is your proof. When you next visit Pingalaka, you will see him with red eyes and vicious looks, rolling his tongue backward and forward across his lips. Then you will know for sure that he has wicked thoughts. Otherwise, if you see him relaxed and quiet, you will know that he is pleased with you. Now, excuse me, I am going home. Be careful to keep our conversation secret. But if you can leave this very evening and go somewhere else, I advise you to do so. It is much better to leave the country than to stay and fight such a strong enemy.”
When Damanaka had left Sanjivaka, he went to see Karataka. When his brother saw him, he said, “Damanaka, what have you been up to?”
“I have been working hard, sowing the seed of discord between those two,” said Damanaka. “Whatever happens, how is the will of Fate. They say: “Lakshmi bestows her favors, On the zealous man. She scorns the idle, Who depend entirely on luck. So, brush destiny aside And try with all your might. If you still fail, Find out what went wrong.”
“How have you sown the seed of discord?” asked Karataka.
“I have made them quarrel by telling each of them contradictory lies,” said Damanaka; “You will never again see them sitting together, discussing things.”
“It was wrong of you to have separated the two friends,” said Karataka, “for it is far easier to destroy something than to build it up. As they say: “The wind has the strength to pull down a tree But not to raise it again. So also, a small-minded man can destroy others’ work But he cannot reconstruct it.”
“You don’t know anything about the nitishastras,” said Damanaka, “or you would never talk like that, for they say: “Suppress your enemy and diseases At the very beginning, Or they will become strong And destroy you.”
“Sanjivaka has become our enemy. It is because of him that we have ceased to function as ministers. And so I have secretly planned his death. But even if he is not killed, he will certainly run away. You are the only person to know about this. It’s very essential for us to carry out this plan, to serve our own ends, for: “Let your heart be hard as stone And your tongue as soft as butter, Destroy your enemy without mercy.”
“With Sanjivaka’s death, we derive three benefits. First, we have our revenge; second, we get back our positions as ministers; and third, we shall get his flesh for food. And so how can you find fault with me when his death is so beneficial to us?” You know, they say: “A cunning man, Even at the cost of tormenting others, Artfully looks after his own interests And keeps his plans a secret, As Chaturaka the jackal did In the jungle.”
-“How was that?” asked Karataka.
And Damanaka told: THE STORY OF VAJRA DAUNSTRA THE LION AND CHATURAKA THE JACKAL