PT1-05-TheCrowsAndTheSnake
Inspiration from Nara Nacchiyappan
Veeraswamy Krishnaraj
பஞ்சதந்திரம் pañcatantiram Five Books
பஞ்சதந்திரம் pañca-tantiram , n. pañcan +. The Tamil version of Pañca-tantra consisting of five books, viz., mittira-pētam, cukirl- lāpam, canti-vikkirakam, artta-nācam, acampirēṭciya-kārittuvam; மித்திரபேதம், சுகிர்ல்லாபம், சந்திவிக்கிரகம், அர்த்தநாசம், அசம்பிரேட்சியகாரித்து வம் என ஐம்பகுதியுடையதாய்த் தமிழில் மொழிபெயர்க் கப்பட்ட நூல்.

1. மித்திரபேதம் = mittira-pētam = Sowing discord among friends.
2. சுகிர்ல்லாபம் = cukir-l-lāpam = the acquisition of friends.
3. சந்திவிக்கிரகம் canti-vikkirakam  = Associating with a foe with a view to ruin him.
4. அர்த்தநாசம் artta-nācam  = Loss of wealth.
5. அசம்பிரேட்சியகாரித்துவம் a-campirēṭciya-kārittuvam , n. a-sam-prēkṣya-kāri-tva. Action without forethought.



  A husband and wife team of two crows lived for a long time on a tree branch with the nest. A black snake, the new arrival to a hollow in the tree trunk, continued to eat all the eggs as the crow laid them. The crows could not bear it. 

 

  The male crow sought advice from his longtime friend, the fox. 

 

  The fox:

  1. Let me tell you the way to kill the snake.
  2. Go to the queen's bathing room in the nearby palace.
  3. Pick up a jewel as the queen is taking a bath and drop it in the hollow of the tree where the black snake lives.
  4. Wait and see what happens next. 

 

  The crow flew to the palace grounds, saw the queen taking a bath in her private quarters, leaving the jewels unguarded in the open anteroom, picked up one jewel, and flew away. The queen shouted; the attendants came running and took off in the direction of the crow when the queen told them about the crow stealing the jewel. They saw the crow drop the jewel in the cavity where the snake lived. The workers explored the hollow with a long stick; the snake came out hissing in anger and sustained a mortal injury by a sword wielded by one of the queen's attendants. There laid the snake into two pieces. The workers recovered the jewel from the hollow and returned it to the queen. 

 

  The crows lived thereafter with no problems for a long time and all the laid eggs hatched, and out came the little crows. 

 

  With a good plan, strategy, and trickery, you can solve and overcome any problem, which is the lesson from this story.