In a certain town, there lived a very learned Brahmin who, as a result of his actions in his previous life, had become a thief.
One day, four other Brahmins from a distant part of the country came to that same town and started selling their wares.
When the Brahmin-thief saw them selling these things, he said to himself, “How can I rob these people?”
After considering it, he approached them and started quoting very eloquently from the shastras. As they say: “A harlot pretends to be shy, Salty water is always colder, A hypocrite always asserts his straightforwardness, And a crook is a charming talker.”
In this way, the Brahmin-thief won their confidence and became their servant.
While he was in service with them, the Brahmins sold all their possessions and purchased costly jewels. In his very presence, they cut open their thighs, put all the jewels inside, and then rubbed in ointment to heal the wounds. Afterwards, they began to make preparations to return to their own place.
When the Brahmin-thief saw this, he got very worried and thought to himself, “Oh dear, I haven’t been able to rob them yet, so what I’ll do is travel with them, poison them on the way, and collect all the jewels.”
With this in his mind, he went to the Brahmins, weeping pitifully.
“Friends,” he implored them, “you will soon be going away and leaving me here all alone. My heart has become so attached to yours with bonds of love that the mere thought of separation from you throws me into despair. Please take pity on me and let me come with you.”
The Brahmins felt moved by his entreaties and took him with them.
On the way, the five of them came to a town called Palipura, belonging to the Kirata tribe. As soon as they entered the town, the crows began to scream out to the inhabitants, “Oh! Quick, quick! The rich are coming! Kill them and take their treasure!”
When the Kirata hunters heard the crows screaming, they rushed upon the five Brahmins, beat them up with cudgels, searching them, and removing their clothes. But they found nothing. Then they said, “Travelers! Never have the crows proved to be wrong! You have got the treasure somewhere! Give it to us or we’ll kill you, take off your skins, and search every part of your body until we find the treasure!”
When the Brahmin-thief heard this, he thought to himself, “If the Kirata hunters kill the Brahmins, search their bodies, and take out the jewels, they will naturally kill me too. I am going to die either way, so what I’ll do is offer them my body first, let them kill me and see that there are no jewels hidden in my body, and so save the lives of these four Brahmins and their jewels too.”
“And so,” having made this firm resolution, the Brahmin-thief said to the Kirata hunters, “All right then, kill me first and search me!”
Accordingly, the Kirata hunters killed him and searched his body, but they found nothing, and the four Brahmins were allowed to continue their journey.
“And so,” continued Karataka, “that’s why I said: ‘A shrewd enemy is far preferable To a foolish benefactor; A foolish monkey killed the king But a shrewd thief saved the lives of the Brahmins.'”
Whilst Damanaka and Karataka were talking, Pingalaka and Sanjivaka started fighting. Sanjivaka’s body was torn to pieces by Pingalaka’s strong claws, and he fell to the ground, dead.
When Pingalaka saw him dead, he thought of his good qualities and he was heartbroken. He repented killing the bullock and said to himself, “I have committed a great sin in killing Sanjivaka. For there is no greater sin than treachery. As they say: ‘He who betrays a trusting friend, Shall remain in Naraka For as long as the sun and moon Continue to shine.'”
Whilst Pingalaka was thus bewailing Sanjivaka’s death, Damanaka approached him in a jubilant mood and said, “Master, you have killed a treacherous grass-eater, and now you are crying! Such behavior is not proper for a king – only weaklings behave like that. They say: ‘The wise Do not dwell on the dead Or the living.'”
In this way, Pingalaka was pacified by Damanaka. He appointed Damanaka as minister and ruled over his kingdom.
Read the Second Tantra: “WINNING OF FRIENDS“