Near Varuna mountain, there lived an old snake, by the name of Mandavishya. One day, he thought to himself, “I am getting too old to hunt for food. How could I manage to maintain myself without having to work hard for it?” Then he hit upon a plan. He went to a pond that was full of frogs and began to behave as though he was a Tapasvi, who had renounced the world. A frog came out of the water and asked him, “Why aren’t you moving about in search of food as usual?”
“Ah,” replied the snake, “unfortunate fellow that I am! I no longer have any desire for food. I’ll explain to you. Last night, when I was wandering about in search of food, I saw a frog. When I tried to catch him, he got frightened and jumped in amongst a group of Brahmins, who were reciting the Vedas, and vanished. I could not reach him there, so I sat waiting for him to come out. Meanwhile, my eyes fell on a Brahmin’s son and I bit him. He died on the spot. His father was heart-broken and he cursed me with these words: ‘Wicked demon of a serpent! You have bitten my son and killed him when he did nothing to you. For this, from today on, you shall serve the frogs and they will use you to ride on. You will live off whatever they are pleased to offer you.'”
“And so,” said the snake, “I have come to serve you!”
When the frog heard the snake’s story, he went and told it to the others. Finally, the king of frogs came to know the story. He thought it very strange and visited the snake himself in the company of his ministers, in order to ascertain the facts. After the snake had assured him that his life would be safe, the king climbed on his back. Other frogs also took their turns, according to age. And those who did not find any place on the snake’s back, hopped after him. To please the frogs, the snake exhibited to them various types of crawling.
“The king of the frogs was delighted and he said, ‘I have never had so much pleasure riding an elephant, a horse, a carriage or a human being, as by riding this snake!’
“Next day, the snake started crawling slowly on purpose. When the king noticed this, he asked him, ‘Friend, why aren’t you crawling as you usually do?’
“I’ve had nothing to eat!” replied the snake. “I’m too weak to crawl properly.” So the frog king replied, “All right then, you can eat small frogs.”
When the snake heard this, he pretended to be surprised and said, “Well, well! This is exactly the second part of the Brahmin’s curse come true, for he said that I should have to live on whatever the frogs were pleased to offer me. Your Majesty, your kindness makes me very happy.”
After that, the snake began to eat small frogs daily and, in a short time, he became very strong.
“The snake thought to himself with a smile, ‘I have beguiled them enough to allow me to eat the small frogs, but how long will this supply last?’
“Jalapada, the frog king, was so completely taken in by the snake’s talk that he did not understand his real motive.
“After a few days, a big black snake came to the same place. He was flabbergasted to see the frogs riding on Mandavishya and he said to him, ‘Mandavishya, these frogs are our food! Why are you carrying them on your back? It is beneath you!’
“I do agree with you,” said Mandavishya, “but I am playing it cool and waiting patiently.” And he explained everything to him.
One day, Mandavishya said with a laugh, “Eating all these frogs, I have discovered different tastes.”
And Jalapada, the frog king, hearing this, was dumb-founded and said to the snake, “My good fellow, what kind of talk is that!”
To cover up his slip, the snake replied, “Oh, nothing at all.” And then, with his clever talk, he succeeded in putting the frog king at ease.
In due course, the snake started eating even the larger frogs and in the end, he ate the frog king himself and all the frogs were utterly wiped out.
“And so,” continued Sthirajeevi, “that’s why I said, ‘A fellow who is cunning, puts up with his enemy even under demanding conditions, unperturbed, both by honor and insult, he bides his time, in order, ultimately, to achieve his objective. Thus, a black snake allowed frogs to ride on his back and eventually he ate them all up.’
“Your Majesty, just as through cunning, Mandavishya ate up the entire population of the frogs, in the same way, I annihilated the owls. As they say: ‘A forest fire burns down the trees but the roots lie safe underneath; whilst a cold frosty wind destroys the very roots.'”
“Yes, indeed, Tata,” replied the king. “But it pleases me most that you have completely uprooted our enemies, the owls. As they say: A small amount of debt unpaid, the last trace of fire left unextinguished, the last trace of sickness uncured after treatment, and enemies surviving a battle, all these will rise again and again unless they are utterly destroyed.”
“You have indeed proved your worth, for they say: ‘Inferior people never begin a task for fear of destruction; ordinary people give up a task only half-finished because of obstruction, but superior people will never give up anything, however many difficulties may beset them.'”
“You are right in what you say,” said Sthirajeevi, “but, to do it, you need not only bravery but skill as well. The clever man achieves his ends with maximum attention to detail. As they say: ‘Those who look down on insignificant work, because they think it’s too easy, do it carelessly, and one day, regret it.’
But, Your Majesty! Now that all our enemies have been destroyed, I would advise you to devote your attention solely to the welfare of your subjects, for: ‘A king who does not protect his subjects is as useless as an old goat’s hanging neck teat; but a king who loves virtue, and hates vices and appreciates good servants, will enjoy his kingdom for ages.’ And, ‘A king should not be deceived by the magnificence of kingship for although it is as difficult to acquire as to climb up a bamboo, yet it may vanish in a moment.
It is as fidgety as a monkey, as detached as drops of dew on a Lotus leaf, as changeable as the wind, as unreliable as the friendship of the wicked, as transient as the colors in the sky at sunset, and as unstable as water bubbles.
‘ And so, Your Majesty, continue to rule justly over your kingdom. Then you will find happiness.”
Read the Fourth Tantra THE FORFEIT OF PROFITS
