The greatest imaginative literature of ancient India can be found in the long epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Written over many centuries and not completed until sometime between the fourth century BC and the fourth century CE, they probably grew out of the story-telling of the traditional bards (sutas) who acted as charioteers to kings. Since its setting is more ancient, let us begin with the Ramayana.
The Ramayana is considered the first ornate poem and is attributed
to the sage Valmiki. Its present form has seven books and about 24,000 slokas
or verses, though the last book is an epilog written later as was probably
most of the first book. Treatment of Rama as an immortal god, an incarnation
of Vishnu, is mostly found in these later books. Nevertheless the entire
poem is heroic, and Rama along with his wife Sita are superhuman in their
virtue and perfection. For Indian culture they represent models of ideal
behavior and attitudes.
The time period of the Ramayana has been estimated as between the
twelfth and tenth centuries BC when the Kosalas and Videhas ruled northern
India. A legend about the author Valmiki tells how he was a robber chief
who once waylaid two ascetics who offered him spiritual wisdom in place
of gold and silver which they did not have. Won over by their ideas Valmiki
became a devotee of Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, and after meditating
much on Rama and his virtues he was given a vision of his entire life.
Valmiki asked Narada who was most heroic and virtuous and was told of Rama
as the most self-controlled, valiant and illustrious, the Lord of all. Narada
declares that he is equal to Brahma, a protector of the people, supporter
of the universe, subduer of those who violate the moral code, the inspirer
of virtue in others, and one who grants grace to his devotees. Having told
Valmiki the story of Rama, Narada asks permission to leave and ascends to
heaven. Then the poet Valmiki put the story into verse based on the details
he perceived in his meditative vision.
The story begins in Ayodhya where Rama's father ruled as king in the tradition
of Manu. The community was prosperous and happy, and the Brahmins understood
the six systems of philosophy. Dasaratha's ministers were guided by the
moral code and reason; it was a golden age, an age of truth (satya-yuga).
According to the first book, Vishnu decided to incarnate in the sons of
Dasaratha in order to destroy the cruel leader of the demons, Ravana, who
through austerity had gained the boon of being invulnerable to all but man.
Dasaratha had more than one wife, and each of his four sons was born to
a different mother, but clearly the greatest was the oldest Rama, followed
by Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. Taught by the sage Vishvamitra, Rama
slays the demon Takaka and is given celestial weapons. Sita, who was mysteriously
born in the furrow of a field, which is what her name means, was to be given
in marriage to the one who could bend a certain bow. When Rama bent the
bow, it broke in two; so Rama and Sita were married. Rama proves his valor
and skill by stringing another bow and defeating Parasurama in combat. Sita
communicated all her thoughts to Rama and could clearly read his mind, so
dear were they to each other.
The second book begins by describing Rama's many virtues. The elderly King
Dasaratha decides to hand over the rule of his kingdom to his illustrious
eldest son, Rama, but on the day before his installation, Queen Kaikeyi,
the mother of Bharata, is persuaded by her hunchback servant Manthara to
ask the king for the two boons he owes her for having saved his life. Her
son Bharata must be made regent, and Rama must go into exile in the forest
for fourteen years.
While the people of Ayodhya are celebrating the expected coronation of Rama,
he goes to the palace only to be commanded into exile by the king. Everyone
who loves Rama is stricken with grief, but Rama allows himself no sign of
emotion and willingly submits to the royal will. Lakshmana protests and
wants to fight for Rama's rightful place, but Rama persuades him that they
must obey their father out of duty and not use violence; what is right is
more important than a mere kingdom. Rama also urges his mother, Kaushalya,
to stay with her husband rather than follow him into the forest.
Sita, however, is able to convince Rama that it is her duty to be with her
husband. Unable to persuade her to stay behind Rama says he cannot abandon
his wife. Sita gives away her possessions in preparation, and Rama is acclaimed
by the people for his virtues of harmlessness, compassion, obedience, heroism,
humility, and self-control. The king believes that he must have deprived
countless beings of their offspring to have to suffer this separation from
his beloved son.
Lakshmana accompanies Rama and Sita, and the emotional parting is ended
by Rama's ordering the chariot-driver to hurry away. They cross the Ganges
River and enter the wild forest. Rama sends the chariot-driver back to the
court to tell them he will live as an ascetic, and so Kaikeyi should not
be suspicious but enjoy supreme authority in the name of her son Bharata.
Rama's small group is guided further into the forest by local leaders and
sages.
Rama realizes that his mother must have done something in a former life
to have her son taken away in this one, and Dasaratha tells how once while
hunting he accidentally killed the son of two blind parents as he was getting
water for them. Realizing the fruit of that action in his current sorrow,
King Dasaratha soon dies of grief. Kaushalya reprimands Kaikeyi saying that
one who is ambitious is unaware like one who eats unripe fruit.
The counselors decide that Bharata should be made king. He has been living
in Rajagriha with his grandparents, but a dream reveals the death of his
father. Returning to Ayodhya Bharata reproaches his mother Kaikeyi for her
selfish plot to put him in Rama's rightful place, and he suggests that she
commit suicide. Bharata consoles Kaushalya, and the funeral ceremonies are
held amid much sorrow. Shatrughna wants to punish the hunchback woman, Manthara,
but Bharata persuades him that Rama would not approve of such killing or
Bharata would have killed his own mother too.
Bharata decides to refuse the throne and offer it to Rama. Bharata crosses
the Ganges and eventually finds Rama in the forest. When Lakshmana sees
Bharata's army approaching, he fears the worst and is ready to fight; but
Rama explains he only would want the throne to protect his brothers and
would never fight against them. He correctly perceives that Bharata is coming
to offer him the throne. When the four brothers are reunited, Bharata and
Shatrughna allow their tears to fall.
Rama asks Bharata if he is fulfilling his royal duties, but Bharata says
that as the eldest Rama ought to be king. However, Rama declares that the
royal word of their father must be their law, and therefore Bharata must
rule for fourteen years while Rama is in exile. Bharata begs Rama to return
to Ayodhya, but Rama steadfastly refuses. Rama explains that morality is
the soul of government, and that is how the people are upheld. The essence
of duty is truth, and therefore he must keep his word to his father. Rama
renounces the so-called duty of the warrior which is violent, saying it
is injustice under the name of justice and the practice of the cruel, depraved,
and ambitious who do evil. He prefers to live in the forest free of sin
in peace enjoying pure roots, fruit, and flowers.
Bharata asks for the golden sandals of Rama and is given them as a symbol
of Rama's absent rule through Bharata. Celestial gifts are conferred on
Sita as she declares her loyalty to her husband as her guru and master of
her heart. She believes that obedience to one's Lord is the crowning discipline
for a noble woman
In the third book Sita is carried off by the demon Viradha, but Rama and
his brother get her back again by slaying the demon. In the forest the sages
ask Rama for his protection, and he promises to deliver them from the oppression
of the titans. Sita implores her husband, however, not to attack the Titans,
for there are three failings born of desire: uttering falsehood, associating
with another's wife, and committing violence without provocation, the last
of which is now showing itself in Rama. Sita pleads that the bearing of
arms alters one's mind the way fire changes a piece of wood. She asks Rama
to renounce all thought of slaying the Titans, pointing out that the practice
of war and asceticism in the forest are opposed to each other. She begs
him to honor the moral code as it relates to peace.
Rama replies that the sages are unable to enjoy a peaceful life in the forest
because of the Titans, and he has promised to aid them if they ask for his
help. A female demon Shurpanakha tries to seduce Rama and Lakshmana; but
when she attacks Sita, Lakshmana cuts off her ears and nose. Shurpanakha
complains to her brother Khara who sends demons who are slain by Rama. Then
Khara leads his army of demons against Rama. Rama destroys them and kills
Khara.
Ravana, king of the demons, hears of their defeat and is persuaded by Shurpanakha
to try to kill Rama so that he can wed Sita. The demon Maricha tries to
dissuade Ravana, warning him against the sin of interfering with someone's
wife. However, Maricha assumes the form of a fawn and is slain by Rama.
Hearing his cry Sita insists that Lakshmana go to assist him even though
it is his duty to guard Sita. In a rare lapse of character in her excessive
love for Rama, Sita accuses Lakshmana of caring more for her than his own
brother. With Lakshmana out of the way, Ravana approaches Sita who defies
him. Nevertheless he abducts her by force and takes her to the island of
Lanka. Ravana tries to make Sita his consort, but she refuses and is given
to Titan women to be guarded.
In vain Rama and Lakshmana search for Sita, and Rama's sorrow turns to wrath.
Eventually Rama is told what happened and where he can find Ravana. The
fourth through the sixth books narrate the war against Ravana and the Titans
by Rama and his allies in southern India who are referred to as monkeys.
Their king Sugriva sends the powerful Hanuman to aid Rama. The monkeys search
everywhere for Sita, and only after they refuse to eat does someone tell
them where she is hidden. The monkeys are discouraged when they see the
ocean, but Hanuman is able to fly over to Lanka and explore the enemy's
territory.
Once again Ravana tries to woo Sita, but she refuses again and prophesies
the destruction of the Titans. Hanuman finds Sita, but she refuses to be
rescued by him, though she gives him her jewel to take to Rama. Hanuman
does considerable damage but is captured by the Titans. The Titan Bibishana
pleads for Hanuman's life out of respect for messengers. Hanuman escapes
and sets fire to Lanka, then returns and urges the monkeys to rescue Sita.
Bibishana advises Ravana to send back Sita to avoid the war, warning that
being in the wrong they are sure to be defeated by Rama. Ravana calls a
council of war and is supported by flattering speeches. Bibishana is rebuffed
by his brother Ravana and departs to the monkeys who doubt his loyalty;
but Rama accepts him as an ally, saying, "I shall never refuse to receive
one who presents himself as a friend."1 Bibishana tells them of the
strength and extent of Ravana's army.
The army of monkeys and Rama cross the sea to Lanka. Once again Ravana is
advised, this time by his grandfather the Titan Malyavan, to return Sita
and make peace with Rama. Again Ravana closes his ears to this speech relying
on his power to overcome the exiled Rama. In the battle Rama and Lakshmana
are struck down by Ravana's son, Indrajita, but they are revived by Garuda.
Rama defeats Ravana in battle but does not kill him. Ravana's brother Kumbhakarna
is able to turn the monkeys back, but then he is slain by Rama.
Using invisibility Indrajita puts the monkey army out of action. Hanuman
gets herbs from the Lord of the Mountains to heal the wounds of Rama and
Lakshmana, and Lanka is set on fire again by the monkeys. Indrajita devises
the stratagem of killing an apparition who seemed to be Sita. When Rama
hears the news that Sita has been slain, he falls to the ground like a tree
whose roots have been severed. Lakshmana then delivers a despairing speech
that virtue must not have its reward if such things could happen to the
noble Rama. Bibishana, explaining that he is fighting against his brother
because of the wrongs he has committed, helps Lakshmana to kill Indrajita.
Finally Rama and Ravana fight with magic weapons. Ravana flees; but later
they fight again, and Ravana is killed. After the funeral and mourning for
Ravana, Bimbishana is installed as king of Lanka. Hanuman carries the news
to Sita who pleads for mercy toward her former captors now captured themselves.
Sita quotes an ancient saying,
A superior being does not render evil for evil;
this is a maxim one should observe;
the ornament of a virtuous person is their conduct.
One should never harm the wicked or the good
or even criminals meriting death.
A noble soul will ever exercise compassion
even towards those who enjoy injuring others
or those of cruel deeds
when they are actually committing them;
who is without fault?2
Rama sends for Sita; but when they meet he repudiates her because of
suspicions based on her having lived in the house of another. He cannot
believe that Ravana would not have enjoyed her ravishing beauty; so he tells
her she may go where she pleases. Hearing this harsh speech from Rama, Sita
weeps bitterly. Sita laments that she was always faithful to her husband
in whatever was under her control. She accuses Rama of being worthless and
to prove her innocence enters the flames of the sacrificial fire. Then Brahma
reprimands Rama for acting like a man when he is really a god. After this
divine speech Sita is restored from the extinguished pyre and given back
to Rama by the fire god Agni who declares her innocent. This ordeal by fire
had to occur though, so that other people would know Sita's innocence.
Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya where Rama is installed as king. In the
later epilog (seventh book) a dark cloud still hangs over Sita, and people
criticize Rama for taking her back. So she goes once more to live in the
forest and is taken in by Valmiki, the author of the epic. Sita gives birth
to twins who are taught to recite the poem. Rama recognizes his sons as
minstrels and asks Valmiki to return his wife; but unable to remove the
people's suspicions, her heart broken, she asks the Earth to take her back,
and her end mirrors her beginning. Finally death seeks out Rama, and he
ascends to heaven.
This story which justifies the conquest of southern India and the island
of Lanka nevertheless acknowledges the virtue of the dark-skinned southern
peoples who though referred to as monkeys are nonetheless on the side of
good. The military hero Rama is divinized and becomes an object of worship
as an incarnation of the Preserver Vishnu, and Sita is held up as the model
of outstanding womanhood exemplifying beauty, patience, loyalty, kindness,
and mercy.
The legendary author of the Mahabharata is Vyasa, who is also
given credit for compiling the Vedas and writing
the Puranas. The 24,000 couplets of the Bharata were gradually
expanded to become over 100,000 making the Mahabharata the longest
poem in the world and probably the work of many hands. Vyasa manages to
portray himself in the poem as the progenitor of the two kings whose sons
fight for the kingdom of Bharata, as his mother asks him to father sons
on a widow and the wife of the celibate Bhishma and a third on a low-caste
servant maid. Dhritarashtra is born blind because his mother closed her
eyes, and Pandu is pale because his mother Ambika was pale with fear. Ironically
the third who is of low caste, Vidura, turns out to be the wisest, resembling
the god Dharma (justice, virtue) even more than Yudhishthira who is the
son of Dharma.
Because of Dhritarashtra's blindness, Pandu was made king. One day while
hunting Pandu shot a deer that was coupling with its mate and was cursed
with the fate that if he ever mated with his wife he would also die. So
Pandu was celibate and practiced austerity in the forest along with his
wives Kunti and Madri after they gave away their royal wealth to charity.
Pandu asked Kunti to give him sons from a man equal or superior to him.
Kunti had been given a mantra by which she could summon any god she desired
to father children. She had already given birth to Karna, whose father was
the sun; she had put him in a basket, and he not knowing his parents was
raised by a charioteer. Then through Kunti Dharma (Justice) became the father
of Yudhishthira, Vayu (Wind) the father of Bhima, and the powerful Indra
father of Arjuna. She told the mantra to Madri who gave birth to Nakula
and Sahadeva, twin sons of the Ashvins. However, Pandu made love to Madri
and died, joined on his funeral pyre by Madri. Kunti raised the five Pandava
sons, while the blind Dhritarashtra ruled the kingdom. Meanwhile the latter's
wife gave birth to a hundred sons with Duryodhana the oldest. Vidura prophesied
that Duryodhana would bring about destruction, but his warnings were ignored.
Duryodhana tried to kill Bhima but failed. Bhishma arranged for the Brahmin
Drona to teach all the princes. Arjuna excelled in the martial arts and
was given special attention by Drona. Karna was also a great warrior and
became a friend and supporter of Duryodhana. For Drona's tutorial fee Karna,
Duryodhana and his brothers captured King Drupada. Dhritarashtra declared
the oldest and most honest Yudhishthira heir to his throne. So Duryodhana
and his brothers planned to burn to death Kunti and her five sons, but the
Pandavas discovered the plot and escaped through underground tunnels from
the burning house.
Arjuna won a beautiful bride in Draupadi, but when he told his mother he
had a gift for her, she said that he must share it with all his brothers.
Since the mother's word could not be broken, all five brothers married Draupadi,
a practice forbidden by the Vedas. Both Bhishma
and Drona advised Dhritarashtra to give the Pandavas a share in the kingdom
with his own sons. The Pandavas were given the city of Indraprastha from
whence they could rule their half of the kingdom. Accidentally breaking
in on his brother Yudhishthira with their wife, Arjuna had to go into exile
for twelve years and practice chastity (brahmacharya). But the maiden
Ulupi persuaded Arjuna that his celibacy only related to his wife Draupadi,
and he eventually married Krishna's sister Subhadra who gave birth to their
son Abhimanyu. Draupadi also had a son by each of her five husbands, while
Arjuna's efforts gained him divine weapons from Indra.
Krishna, who later was made into a god, urged Yudhisthira and his brothers
to attack Jarasandha, who had captured some kings. Bhima defeated Jarasandha
in single combat, and Krishna released the imprisoned kings. Then Yudhishthira
sent his four brothers in the four directions to conquer India. Krishna
is criticized by Sishupala for killing women and cattle, but Krishna slices
off Sishupala's head with a discus.
To win the Pandavas' territory Duryodhana invites Yudhishthira to the palace
to play dice with the skilled dice-cheater Shakuni. Yudhishthira's weakness
for gambling causes him to lose everything he owns and even his four brothers,
himself, and finally their wife. When Draupadi is sent for she is in retreat
because of her monthly period. She is dressed only in a single blood-stained
garment, but she is dragged by the hair into the hall by Dushasana. Draupadi
questions what right her husband had to stake her when he had already lost
his own freedom. Nonetheless she is insulted by Duryodhana and his brothers
who try to disrobe her; a miracle is performed by Krishna so that the cloth
pulled from her body never ends. (In the past Draupadi had bandaged the
wounded Krishna.) Spared this ultimate humiliation, Draupadi is given three
boons by King Dhritarashtra and asks only for the return of Yudhishthira
and his four brothers. Finally they decide to play one more dice game for
the kingdom, the loser of which will have to go into exile for twelve years
and be in hiding without being discovered for one year after that. Once
again Yudhishthira loses, and the Pandavas depart for the forest. Vidura
pleads with his brother to allow the Pandava sons to return or else ruin
will result, but once again he is ignored.
In the forest Yudhishthira learns the value of forgiveness. Draupadi is
a model and devoted wife to the brothers. Of the many stories there is one
in which each of the brothers drinks water and dies at a river before answering
a question, but Yudhishthira wisely answers all the questions and brings
his brothers back to life. Nonviolence is considered the highest duty.
During the thirteenth year they take on disguises and live in Virata's kingdom.
A general tries to molest Draupadi, but he is killed by Bhima. After this
dangerous year is completed, Krishna is sent as an envoy to ask for the
Pandavas' half of the kingdom. When this is refused, everyone prepares for
the great war. Krishna offers one side his army and the other himself though
he will not fight. His army fights with Duryodhana, and Krishna becomes
the charioteer for Arjuna.
As the war is about to start, Arjuna refuses to fight his cousins, but in
the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna encourages him
to fight as a warrior and teaches him about yoga and non-attachment to the
fruits of action. Arjuna decides to fight, and Yudhishthira approaches both
Bhishma and Drona, asking for their blessings, although they are on the
opposite side. After eight days of battles Yudhishthira also wants to stop
fighting and retire to the forest, but Krishna tells him to ask Bhishma
how he can be killed, because Bhishma has control over his own death. Shikhandin,
who is the reincarnation of the woman Amba, who had been rejected by Bhishma
and swore to kill him, is able to attack Bhishma because he will not fight
a woman. Tired of all the killing Bhishma wants to die, and he is mortally
wounded by Arjuna's arrows.
Drona is given command of Duryodhana's armies. He is practically invincible,
but he is discouraged by a lie that his son is dead. Yudhishthira, who is
known for his truthfulness, says that Ashvatthaman is dead after Bhima kills
an elephant with that name, but the intent is clearly to mislead Drona.
Drona lays down his weapons, and his head is cut off by Dhrishtadyumna.
In a family quarrel Arjuna is on the verge of killing Yudhishthira, but
Krishna intervenes and says that nonviolence (ahimsa) is even more
important that truthfulness. Truth is the highest virtue; but when life
is in danger, even lying is permitted. Karna has sworn to kill Arjuna, but
he is killed by Arjuna after his chariot gets stuck in the mud. The rules
of fair fighting are increasingly being ignored.
On the eighteenth day of the war Duryodhana is wounded in the legs by Bhima
even though this was also a violation of the rules they agreed on before
the war. Krishna responds to Duryodhana's taunts by reminding him that the
dice game was crooked, how Draupadi had been insulted, and how Arjuna's
son Abhimanyu had been killed. All of Gandhari's sons have been killed,
but the five Pandavas have miraculously survived a war that was supposed
to have had millions of warriors involved. In revenge Ashvatthaman violates
another rule of war by attacking the Pandava camp at night and kills all
of Draupadi's sons. In anger Arjuna readies the weapons that could destroy
the three worlds of heaven, earth, and hell, but the sages Narada and Vyasa
appear to dissuade him from this use of omnicidal weapons.
Most of the rest of the poem after the great war is probably stories and
ideas added later. Vidura explains that the story of the man enjoying a
few drops of honey while in a well caught between a carnivore and a monstrous
snake, hanging by a vine eaten away by rats is told by the knowers of liberation
to suggest serenity in the midst of troubles.
The long twelfth book called Peace (Shanti) has been discussed in
relation to Samkhya philosophy. Bhishma before he dies gives his teachings.
Ironically the nine duties common to the four castes seem to have been much
violated by the characters in this poem; they are: controlling anger, truthfulness,
justice, forgiveness, having lawful children, purity, avoidance of quarrels,
simplicity, and looking after dependents. According to Bhishma the duty
of the warrior (Kshatriya) is to protect the people. Truth is the
highest duty but must not be spoken if the truth actually covers a lie.
From desire comes greed and wrong-doing, wrath, and lust, producing confusion,
deception, egoism, showing-off, malice, revenge, shamelessness, pride, mistrust,
adultery, lies, gluttony, and violence.
Vidura believes that justice (dharma) is more important than profit
(artha) or pleasure (kama) ; but Krishna argues that profit
is first, because action is what matters in the world. However, Yudhishthira
chooses liberation (moksha) as best. Bhishma says that nothing sees
like knowledge, nothing purifies like truth, nothing delights like giving,
and nothing enslaves like desire. By being poor one has no enemies, but
the rich are in the jaws of death; he chose poverty because it had more
virtues. Giving up a little brings happiness, while giving up a lot brings
supreme peace. Before Bhishma dies, the preceptor of the gods, Brihaspati,
appears and explains that compassion is most virtuous, because such a person
looks at everyone as if they were one's own self. He teaches them the golden
rule that one should never do to another what one would not want another
to do to you; for when you hurt others, they turn and hurt you; but when
you love others, they turn and love you. Brihaspati ascends to heaven, and
Bhishma realizes that ahimsa (not hurting) is the highest religion,
discipline, penance, sacrifice, happiness, truth, and merit.
Yudhishthira performs the kingly horse sacrifice and rules over a wide kingdom
his family has subdued before he passes on the kingdom to Arjuna's grandson
Parikshit and retires with his brothers to seek heaven. On their divine
ascent each of the brothers dies because of their shortcomings, but Yudhishthira
will not leave behind his faithful dog who is allowed into heaven with him
as a symbol of dharma. Yudhishthira is thus able to enter heaven alive where
he finds Duryodhana. Narada explains that there are no enmities in heaven,
but Yudhishthira asks to see his brothers. He is led to a stinky unpleasant
place, but he prefers to be in hell with his brothers. This too is a test,
and he is reunited with Draupadi, who was an incarnation of Lakshmi, goddess
of prosperity. The author concludes that profit and pleasure come from virtue.
Pleasure and pain are not eternal; only the soul is eternal.
This poetic story of a great war that probably took place in the late tenth
century BC is filled with stories and situations that describe the culture
of ancient India and has been an entertaining schoolbook for millions. Along
with the virtues it also reveals the vices of the conquering and warlike
Aryans and their racist caste system. Even the divine Krishna becomes a
spokesperson for the warrior mentality, as a nearly apocalyptic disaster
destroys millions and threatens their whole world. Still a heroic epic of
military glory like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata contains
much more real and well defined characters and portrays many aspects of
life. If only humanity could learn from its negative lessons of violence
and ambition, perhaps the peace of the sages could be found.
Ancient folktales of India come down to us primarily in two collections
of stories many of which are about animals. These are the Buddhist tales
of the former lives of the Buddha known as
the Jatakas and the Panchatantra. Many of the original stories
probably predate the Buddha, but the Jatakas
were organized into verses about the Buddha and placed into his biography
starting about the fourth century BC, though the whole collection with its
prose stories and commentaries was not completed for several centuries.
The Jataka tales always begin with an incident in the life of the
Buddha, usually a sermon he is giving which
he illustrates with a story from one of his previous lives. After the tale
is told he often indicates who were the other characters in the story of
their previous existence. In this way the law of karma, or the consequences
of actions, is illustrated, and the deep patterns of different souls can
be seen. The Buddha, who is referred to as
the Bodhisattva in the stories since he is then a future Buddha,
is usually the most heroic and wisest character. He is often an animal or
a tree spirit and is frequently the leader of his group. He never seems
to be a female, and in fact there is a strong bias against women in many
stories. The Jatakas are primarily moral tales illustrating the wisdom
and goodness of the Bodhisattva figure, and, with the exception of the prejudice
against women, the ethical lessons are usually quite good.
The Devadhamma-Jataka (#6) is a good example. This story resembles
that of Rama. The Bodhisattva is the eldest prince of Benares followed by
Prince Moon and, when their mother died, Prince Sun, whose mother was given
a boon by the king. This queen being naturally wicked plots against the
others and demands that her son be made king for her boon. The Bodhisattva
and Prince Moon go off to live in the forest, but they are joined by Prince
Sun as well. A water-sprite imprisons Prince Sun and Prince Moon when they
answer that what is truly godlike is the sun and moon and the four quarters
of heaven; but the Bodhisattva wisely states that the godlike are the white-souled
votaries of the Good who shrink from sin. The water-sprite offers him one
of his brothers, and he chooses the youngest because the queen had asked
for the kingdom for him; if he chose Prince Moon instead, no one would believe
that Prince Sun had been devoured by a demon. Impressed by his wisdom the
demon returns both brothers, and the Bodhisattva explains that the demon
is suffering the consequences of his evil deeds and is continuing the pattern.
However, the demon is converted; and when the father dies, the brothers
return to Benares with the Bodhisattva as king, Prince Moon as viceroy,
and Prince Sun as general. The tale ends with the usual conclusion that
he lived correctly until he passed away to fare according to his deeds.
Then the Buddha explains that the demon was the monk who had been hoarding
extra clothes.
Devadatta is often cast as the villain in the tales. In the Mahilamukha-Jataka
(#26) a follower of the Buddha is seduced
into eating the luxurious food of Devadatta's schismatic group. The Buddha tells how in a past life he was an elephant
named Damsel-face who heard the evil talk of robbers and went on a rampage,
killing everyone in sight until the Bodhisattva who was the king's counselor
figures out that it was the influence of bad talk and advises the king to
have Brahmins talk of goodness in the elephant's stall. The oldest part
of the tale is usually the moral verse, which in this story runs thus:
Through hearing first the burglars wicked talk
Damsel-face ranged abroad to wound and kill;
Through hearing, later, wise men's lofty words
The noble elephant turned good once more.3
The Kulavaka-Jataka (#31) is an elaborate tale that shows the
progression of several lives of a woman called in the first Highborn. The
Bodhisattva does good and wins over friends who keep the five commandments,
but their good works clearing roads takes away the graft of the headman
who accuses them of villainies. Condemned to be trampled by an elephant,
the great beast flees from them, making the king think he has a spell. The
Bodhisattva explains that their spell is not to destroy life, nor take what
is not given, nor commit misconduct, nor lie, nor drink alcohol, and to
be loving, show charity, level the roads, dig tanks, build a public hall,
and so on. In the Bodhisattva's house are four women - Goodness, Thoughtful,
Joy, and Highborn. In their next lives the first three from their good works
have pleasant situations with Sakka (the Buddha
again), but Highborn not having performed any act of merit is reborn as
a crane. However, she is taught to keep the commandments and proves her
worthiness to Sakka and then is reborn in the family of a potter. Once again
she keeps the commandments and is reborn as the beautiful daughter of an
Asura king. This story makes the important Buddhist point that it is one's
actions not one's birth that determines the future.
The Mahasilava-Jataka (#51) shows how a good king can overcome a
violent villain who is an earlier incarnation of Devadatta. This minister
is sent away from Benares for dealing treacherously in the king's harem.
He persuades the king of Kosala to attack Benares knowing that they will
be rewarded with gifts and get off free. Sure enough when brought before
King Goodness of Benares he asks them why they made this raid, and hearing
that they could not make a living, he gives them presents and warns them
not to do it again. To prove the point other raiders are sent, and the result
is the same. So the king of Kosala decides to attack Benares, but King Goodness
refuses to fight and orders the city gates opened. Captured and buried alive
up to the neck, King Goodness teaches his fellow captives to shout in order
to frighten away the jackals who come at night to eat them. No longer scared,
the jackals come, but King Goodness bites the neck of the jackal leader
and manages to get his hands free. They escape, and King Goodness wins the
friendship of two ogres who are fighting over a corpse by dividing it equally
for them. Using their magical powers he miraculously appears in the royal
bedchamber and wins over the king of Kosala, ending up with more ministers
and a larger kingdom than before.
Often a prince the Buddha did not always assume
the kingship in his previous lives. In the Asadisa-Jataka (#181)
Prince Peerless allows his younger brother to rule so that he can renounce
the world. When a slander made his brother fear he wanted to take over the
kingdom, he secretly returned as a hired archer, proving his skill by severing
a mango branch with an arrow on its downward flight, directed by a second
arrow that entered heaven and was caught by the deities. When his brother
was surrounded by seven attacking kings he sent for Prince Peerless who
shot an arrow with a message that landed in the golden dish where the seven
kings were eating. Frightened he would kill them all, they fled. Thus without
shedding even as much blood as a fly might drink, the situation was resolved.
Then Prince Peerless renounced his lusts and the world to cultivate the
faculties and attainments, and when his life ended came to Brahma's heaven.
The Daddabha-Jataka (#322) is told against heretics who practice
excessive austerities, the Buddha denying
the merit of unnecessary suffering. In this story the Bodhisattva is a lion
who stops a panic started by a hare who heard the sound of fruit falling
and began running away, causing other hares to run in fear and eventually
all the animals of the forest. By roaring the lion stops the panic and then
investigates to find the harmless source of all the fear.
Another Jataka (#330) compares desire to birds fighting over a piece
of meat such that whichever bird picks up the meat suffers attack from other
birds. In a second example a female slave anxiously awaits the coming of
her lover, but when she gives up hope that he will come she sleeps peacefully.
He concludes that in this world and in the next there is no happiness greater
than the bliss of meditation.
In many stories, such as the one in which the Bodhisattva solves nineteen
problems (#546), the Buddha-to-be uses his intuitive intelligence to figure
out and solve or explain difficult dilemmas, complicated problems, or mysteries.
Some of these may be the earliest detective stories, and the message is
always that justice and goodness prevail when the Bodhisattva is involved.
Panchatantra means "five formulas" and is divided into
five sections of stories illustrating them called Loss of Friends, Winning
of Friends, Crows and Owls, Loss of Gains, and Ill-considered Action. In
these traditional Hindu animal tales the worldly values of wealth and pleasure
are more prominent than in the Jatakas. The Panchatantra may
have been written down as early as the second century BC, and numerous versions
spread to Persia in the sixth century and to Europe during the middle ages.
A German version in 1481, for example, was one of the earliest printed books.
The Panchatantra is considered a textbook for wise conduct in this
world. The basic struggle for survival underlies the competition between
animals who are personified to portray different human traits, and these
primordial instincts are often illustrated dramatically by some animals
eating others. Thus the struggle for life is not only to find enough to
eat but also to keep from being eaten by others. Nevertheless friendship
between different creatures is a way of find peaceful co-existence and mutual
benefit amidst the dangers. Finding that his three sons are hostile to the
usual education, a king asks the Brahmin Vishnu-Sharman to teach them the
art of practical life in a way they will understand. Vishnu-Sharman accomplishes
this task by making the boys memorize the stories of the five books.
In the first book on the loss of friends, the king is represented by a lion
named Rusty, who befriends a wounded bull called Lively. Most of the tales
are told by two jackals named Cheek and Victor who are the sons of royal
counselors and out of a job. Victor persuades Rusty to give him a safe conduct
for him and Lively who has been bellowing in the forest because of his wound.
Victor sets himself up as a counselor and illustrates his advice to Lively
with parables. The lion Rusty protects the bull Lively, and they become
close friends, while the two jackals, Victor and Cheek, are suffering hunger
along with other animals normally dependent on the king of beasts.
So Victor and Cheek counsel each other with stories how they can regain
the lion's favor. They decide that Rusty has fallen into the vice of attachment
that can manifest in drinking, women, hunting, scolding, gambling, greed,
and cruelty. The other vices are deficiency, corruption, devastation, and
mistaken policy. Deficiency can be in the king, counselor, people, fortress,
treasure, punitive power, or friends. Corruption comes from restlessness.
Devastation can be from fire, water, disease, plague, panic, famine, excessive
rain, or an act of God. Mistaken policy occurs when the six political expedients
of war, peace, change of base, entrenchment, alliance, and duplicity are
not used correctly. By being captivated by Lively Rusty is accused of falling
into the deficiency of a "vegetarian morality" by ignoring his
counselors. Victor tells how a crow killed a black snake, a crab killed
a heron, and even a rabbit killed a lion by causing it to look down a well
at its own image.
Then Victor tells how a weaver won the love of a princess by adopting the
power of Vishnu to fly as Garuda. Gaining the king's ear Victor tells Rusty
that the bull Lively is planning to take over his kingdom; he warns him
that no king should ever give his power over to a single counselor. Although
Lively is not a carnivore, Victor argues that a bull is food, and he may
egg on others like worms breeding in his excrement. A louse was living nicely
in the king's bed until a flea stirred up trouble and caused a search that
found the louse's hiding place. Having made Rusty suspicious of Lively,
Victor next tells the bull that Rusty is planning to kill and eat him. Now
Lively greatly fears the lion. Lively tells how a swan befriending an owl
is shot by a hunter. Fearing he too will be eaten by Rusty, Lively tells
the story of how a camel was eaten by a starving lion and a carnivorous
leopard, jackal, and crow.
Self-knowledge and self-restraint are lacking when the stupid turtle opened
its mouth to talk when being carried on a stick by helpful birds to a new
home; falling to the ground the turtle's meat is cut to bits by knives.
The approaches of three fishes are contrasted as Forethought and Ready-wit
are adaptable and survive, but Fatalist cannot keep alive. An old gander's
advice is at first ignored, causing the geese to be captured by a hunter;
but when the gander tells them to play dead, they are thrown on the ground
and can fly away. The jackals advise people to look to their own advantage;
otherwise studying books is merely mental strain.
Finally when Rusty sees the bull approaching so warily, he springs at Lively,
and they fight. Cheek reproaches Victor for causing this enmity and threatening
the kingdom. Discerning counselors aim for conciliation and postpone harsh
deeds. Power with intelligence can lead to peace if it is cultivated. A
countermeasure is needed to avoid misfortune. Harsh comment may be needed
when flattery can be treason. So Cheek tells some stories that show that
cheating and lying eventually backfire. Wrong-mind's schemes for cheating
Right-mind are eventually revealed, and he is punished. A pawnbroker claims
that mice ate Naduk's iron balance-beam; so Naduk hides the pawnbroker's
son saying that a hawk must have carried him off. Since the boy is fifteen,
this is as unbelievable as mice eating iron. So the magistrate orders the
return of the balance beam, and Naduk tells them where the boy is hidden.
Cheek tells two stories that indicate that an enemy may prove better than
a friend, and that therefore right should be done and wrong avoided.
This causes Victor to slink away; but Rusty and Lively renew their battle,
and the lion kills the bull. Rusty feels guilty, but Victor advises him
to remain resolute, claiming that normal morality does not apply to kings.
Cheek reprimands Victor for stirring up strife and causing the master to
fight his own servant, for victory is not what the gods command. It is fools
who fight; the wise find nonviolent ways. The truth must be spoken, for
pleasant lies lead the royal mind astray. Several counselors ought to be
consulted separately for independent views. A master should be mindful of
human differences and not let his mind be taken astray by others' advice.
The second book on the winning of friends is more positive. These stories
are mostly by four friends Swift the crow, Gold the mouse, Slow the turtle,
and Spot the deer. Swift tells how doves escaped from the cruel hunter's
snare by flying up all together. The mouse Gold then chewed through the
snare to free the doves, showing the value of friendship. Although crows
usually eat mice, Gold is won over to friendship by Swift's worldly wisdom.
Friendship involves taking and giving, listening and talking, dining and
entertaining. Because of a drought the crow wants to visit his friend Slow
the turtle, and Gold accompanies him riding on his back. Gold tells several
stories to show that the brave and friendly can prosper, but the fatalistic
slacker does not. The wealthy who are greedy may be miserable, while the
contented beggar is rich.
No treasure equals charity;
Content is perfect wealth;
No gem compares with character;
No wish fulfilled, with health.4
Slow the turtle tells of the money troubles of a weaver. Then the crow,
mouse, and turtle are joined by a deer named Spot, and they all become friends.
Spot tells how mice who were being trampled by elephants persuaded them
to stay away from their homes, and in return the mice gnawed the ropes to
free the elephants when they were captured. One day Spot is missing, and
Swift finds him caught in a trap. The crow flies back to get Gold who gnaws
the trap to free Spot. Slow the turtle made the mistake of joining them
and was captured by the hunter. So Spot laid down by the water as though
dead, and the crow pretended to peck at him. The hunter put down the turtle
who escaped into the water, while Spot dashed off into the forest, and Swift
flew away. Thus free of all injury the four friends lived in mutual affection
and happiness.
The third book tells the story of the war between the crows and owls. The
crows resent that the chief owl has been named king by the birds. Cloudy
the crow-king consults his advisors who each recommend one of the six strategies
related to war and peace. Live-Again counsels peace with the powerful. Live-Well
suggests war or else violence will come again. Live-Along recommends a change
of base, a retreat followed by an invasion. Live-On dislikes all three of
these approaches and advises entrenchment in a strong fort. Live-Long recommends
an alliance. Finally Live-Strong counsels duplicity and plans a clever spy
mission in which he appears to have been attacked by his king and is found
by the owls. Diplomacy is demonstrated in a story in which a rabbit is a
clever envoy to the elephants, but another rabbit and partridge died by
confiding in a cat.
When the owls find Live-Strong wounded by the crows, they have to decide
what to do with him. The owl-king Foe-Crusher asks his five advisors. Red-Eye
says he should be killed as a dangerous enemy. Fierce-Eye says it is wrong
to kill a suppliant, and Flame-Eye, Hook-nose, and Wall-Ear agree Live-Strong
should not be killed. Live-Strong asks to be burned by fire so that he could
be reborn as an owl to get back at Cloudy. Disregarding Red-Eye the owl-king
agrees to feed Live-Strong in his fortress, and the wily crow regains his
strength. Red-Eye and his followers leave the fortress, and with Live-Strong's
help the crows are able to attack and burn down the owls' refuge. The crafty
advice of Live-Strong is victorious, and he declares that kingship requires
prudence, self-sacrifice, and courage. Cloudy is amazed at the value of
this political skill that leads to wealth, fame, and power.
The last two books are shorter. In Loss of Gains the wife of a crocodile
talks her husband into killing a monkey who has shared fruit with them so
that she could eat his heart. The crocodile invites the monkey to his home
but confesses his purpose on the way so that the monkey can pray. The monkey
says he has another heart at home and convinces the crocodile to take him
back. Further attempts to capture the monkey are vain unlike the story where
the jackal invites a donkey who is eaten by a lion. The jackal then eats
the heart and ears of the donkey, and the lion is annoyed; but the jackal
explains that a donkey who would return to the forest after being attacked
by a lion once obviously has no heart or ears.
In the last book on ill-considered action a merchant named Jewel dreams
that a Jain monk appears, and he hits him on the head with a stick, whereupon
the monk turns to gold. The dream actually occurs the next day. A barber
witnesses it and tries to attack some Jain monks and is thrown in jail,
showing that his action was ill-considered because not guided by a dream.
Four treasure seekers find in turn copper, silver, and gold, the fourth
expecting to find something better. Instead he must replace a man tortured
by a wheel on his head.
The difference between scholarship and sense is revealed in the story of
the lion-makers. Finding the carcass of a dead lion, one scholar assembles
the skeleton, the second provides flesh and blood, and the third is going
to give it life; but the non-scholar having only sense says not to bring
a dangerous lion to life. So he climbs a tree, and the three scholars are
killed by their ill-advised creation.
Greed and revenge are the themes of the tale of the unforgiving monkey who
gets back at the household of a king for using the monkey-fat to cure horses'
burns by offering to take them to a lake where he got a pearl necklace when
he knows they will be killed by the demon in the lake. Everything grows
old, but one thing remains young forever - greed.
Although the tales of the Panchatantra emphasize the ambitious goals
of wealth and power, their crafty lessons in entertaining stories do give
people important lessons in survival and the ways of the fiercely competitive
human and natural worlds.
1. The Ramayana of Valmiki 6:18, tr. Hari Prasad Shastri, Vol.
3, p. 40-41.
2. Ibid. 6:115, p. 331-332.
3. The Jatakas tr. Robert Chalmers, Vol. 1, p. 69.
4. Panchatantra tr. Arthur W. Ryder, p. 259.