PT3-01-CrowSaboteur
Panchatantra Stories  
பஞ்சதந்திரம் pańca-tantiram , n. pańcan +. The Tamil version of Pańca-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.
Inspiration: N.Natchiyappan
 1. There was a dense and dark forest. A crow named Mehavannan lived on the Banyan tree and ruled as the king of crows in the woods. King crow had his cabinet of ministers, a host of minions, and others to serve him.

2. A parliament (or congress) of owls lived in a nearby cave with their owl king and cabinet with no fear of the crows. The king of the owls went hunting in the night.

3. Frequent fights erupted between the night owls and the daytime crows. The crows excoriated the owls in the daytime, while the owls harassed the crows in the nighttime. This harassment went on for a long time.

4. Once, when the night fell, the owl king called a cabinet meeting.

5. The owl king: ̎At daybreak, we cannot do anything to the crows. The night is the time to gather our army, encircle the crows, and kill them all. ̎

6. The ministers agreed with the owl king and said we would defeat the crows. The army assembled, invaded the banyan tree, pecked the crows to death, and returned to the owl cave to see the king.

7. It appeared most ​of the crows died in the sleep. The branches of the banyan tree were dripping blood like a flood. It was raining blood on the ground with mutilated and dead crows, some with broken wings and fractured legs. It was a dreadful sight.

8. The king crow somehow escaped the onslaught and disappeared out of sight.

9. The crow king saw the ravage when the sun sent the shafts of light through the holes in the forest's canopy. Mountains of mutilated corpses of crows were on the ground. Five senior ministers escaped death, and that gave solace to the king of crows.

10. The king gathered the ministers and the surviving crows and was grief-stricken to see the devastation and death of his subjects. The king medicated the crows to heal their wounds. The king performed the final services for the dead crows, went to a lake, took ritual immersion, came back, gathered all the surviving crows, led the way, went to another tree, summoned the ministers, and asked them for advice for the future course of action.

11. The first minister: ̎ Dear king! We must join forces with the strong and win over the owls. If that is impossible, we must pay homage to the enemy king and live a subservient life. If our enemy does not let us live in peace, we must leave this country and go elsewhere. These are the options available to us. ̎

12. The second minister:   ̎ We should never leave our present habitation on any account. Even a dog lives well if it stays in its place. This paradigm applies to the lion. If the cow changes residence, the yield of milk diminishes. We should consider the ways to seek victory staying in our habitat. ̎

13. The third minister: ̎All you said sounds correct. But would the conquering enemies allow us to live here? They will continue to inflict harm on us. It is better to draw up a peace treaty with them. ̎

14. The fourth minister: ̎The owls do not see well in the daytime. We, the crows, do not see well in the dark. Under these conditions, how can we consider entering into a peace agreement with the owls? Holding back peace talks, we should surround the owls and kill them en masse. That is the best option we have. ̎

15. As the four ministers talked back and forth, the fifth minister kept his counsel to himself.

16. The fifth minister was old and mature and had extensive ministerial and strategic experience.

17. The king crow addressed the fifth minister and asked ​ him to offer his opininion.

18. The seeds in silos will not grow into plants. Only seeding them in fertile ground guarantees the growth of seedlings. Mere consultation with ministers does not bring results; only impressing the ideas in the king's mind will get fruits.

19. One path is to strike friendship with the enemy. Another way is to maintain a friendship with the enemy, and sabotaging him is the second choice. The mass exodus out of the country is the third choice. Building and living within fortified walls are the next choice. Staying put in the present quarters is another choice. Breaking friendship is the sixth choice available to a king.

20. Implementation of a deed consists of five parts:
The effort, choosing time and place
Recruiting men and material
Reciprocity and tit for tat
A peace treaty

21. The four plans are treaty, gifts, hostility, and punishment.

22. The three applications are passion, deliberation, and leadership.

23. The king must act after analyzing six modes, five operational choices, four plans, three Sakthis.

24. It is better to join the more powerful people. But we could not live peacefully with the owls, who have natural enmity with the crows. We cannot be subservient to them. Thus spoke the minister Chiranjeevi. The king asked it to identify the reason for hostility between the owls and the crows.

25. The minister: ̎All enmity came from uncontrolled speech. As the donkey suffered because of its inopportune braying, our crows earned enmity with owls by their wayward speech.

26. Once, all the birds joined to select a king. They ​favored an owl as the king. Then an old crow joined the birds.

27. The crow: ̎Do you have to choose an owl considering all other choices? This owl clan is no good as a species and in character, and their evil conduct evokes disgust. The night owls are blind in the daytime and appear hideous with no beauty in their countenance, no melody in their voice and speech, no innate intelligence, and no high opinion ​of them from other beings. Mention owl's name; we reap more enemies. How can we accept this disgusting owl as our king?

28.  ̎Only a virtuous elder qualifies to be a king. The mere mention of the king's name has the power to defeat a great enemy. Only by joining such great elders, everyone and his kind can attain nobility. By mere mention of the name of the moon, a rabbit gained victory over an elephant contingent and lived happily with other rabbits. Therefore, a king must be virtuous by nature. ̎

29. Having heard all this, did you choose an auspicious time to crown the owl? Your thought and speech are not proper.

30.    ̎The sinners will pose as Munis, observant elders, helpers, and relatives and ingratiate themselves to you. Joining them will ruin even the high and the mighty. It will end as the sad story of the ruin of a myna and rabbit making friends with a cat.

31.  ̎There is no one story of the happy life of those associated with the mean and the wretched. Choosing an owl as the king will engender evil to the birds. ̎ The elderly crow flew away after a long speech. The other birds also left without choosing a king. From then to now, the owls did not forget our antipathy to choosing an owl king and entertain hostility to the family of crows.

32. Having heard the elder crow's advisory talk, the Mehavannan the king crow asked it, ̎What are we to do? Tell us. ̎

33. The advisory crow Chiranjivi said, ''The Paradigm is 'Ruin by treachery and sabotage.' I will go to the enemy and complete my business with them. , Meanwhile, you all must move out of this place, and you keep this secret with you and share it with no one.

34. The crow king:  ̎ How do you propose to defeat these owls? ̎ There was anticipatory eagerness in his voice.''

35. Chiranjivi:  It is like deceiving a treacherous Brahmana and robbing him of his goat. That is my modus operandi, to victimize and vanquish the owls. ̎

36. The crow king listening to the advice of Chiranjivi took his subjects to the top of a mountain. It was nightfall.

37. At nightfall, the owl king with betrayal in its heart, surrounded the banyan tree with his family of owls to kill, once for all, the crows. But there was not one crow on the tree. Addressing the owls, the king said proudly, ̎ We won over our enemies, the crows. They are all gone. We face no enemies from now on. ̎

38. Chiranjivi, from its hiding, heard the owl and felt good that all the crows were out of the tree, escaping certain death from the owls.

39. The next thing was his plan's wheel ​to move.

40. The dead and mutilated crows were on the ground below the banyan tree. Chiranjivi was lying among the dead crows and made some pitiable noise.

41. The owl king heard the noise and sent a minion to investigate the noise. The minion picked up Chiranjivi and presented it to the owl king.

42. The owl king asked, ̎ who are you? ̎

43. Chiranjivi answered in a dissembling tone.

44. Chiranjivi: ̎ My name is Chiranjivi, a descendant from the family of the crow king Mekavannan. I serve as his minister. He used to listen and follow my counsel. Is there any evil from following good advice? Later evil advisors came along, and since then, he never listened to my advice.

45. The new advisors prvoked the king to fight with you. I tried to prevent the king from going to fight. He did not listen and fought against you, killing many owls. I told them that the owls one day surround and destroy the crows. None listened. The mass killing of the crows happened last night.

46. The crows in various states of mutilation: head and feet separated, the feathers and tail disunited, beak and bowels ripped apart, skin and bones separated. Our crows died a miserable death. The king, I, and four ministers survived. Forty crows hiding below the corpses survived. The crow king assembled his ministers and asked them what he could do. They wanted to reap vengeance by killing the owls in the daytime. Another minister said that the crows must leave the place and go elsewhere. Another minister said whether the owls earning the crows' enmity will ever appear before the crows. The last minister said  how we could ever win over the owls, with diverse opinions.

47. I listened to all this and said, ̎You still do not have any sense after all this destruction. ​Entertaining no hostility to the owls, we should surrender to the owl king and live a peaceful life. ̎ Immediately, they all assembled, beat me up, and flew off from this place. ̎

48.  ̎They assumed I died. They left the tree. It is my good fortune I survived. O upright king of owls! ​I will prostrate at your feet. Because of my injury and fatigue, I ​cannot get up, fly, and come to you. Next, your decision is my fate. ̎ Chiranjivi paid homage to the owl king.

49. The owl king's heart melted and asked his advisors, ̎What is your take on this? ̎

50. Most ​advisors said it makes no good sense to let go of a tiger caught in a net. A red-eyed advisor, Kuruthi Kannan, said, ̎It was unjust to kill a refugee. ̎ Minister Kodungkannan said to the owl king, ̎ Manu's law states that we should accept the surrendering enemy. I have never seen a violation of that principle by anyone. ̎

51. Minister Kollikkannan, upon the king's questioning, said, ̎It is the duty of the righteous to invite the erstwhile enemy with sweet talk and offer a position to him. Such upright people live long in this world. The merchant who caught a thief in his home provided him some help, and the thief, in return, helped the merchant. Likewise, we can get help from enemies.

52. Minister Gurunasan, prompted by the king, said, ̎We can profit from the enemy as a Brahmana profited by gifting a robber and a demon. By helping Chiranjivi, we can benefit. The enemy of the enemy that he is can be our friend. ̎

53. The owl king addressed his minister Pirakara Nasan, ̎What is your take on this? ̎

54, Minister Pirakara Nasan:
̎ Though the enemies come in a friendly guise, we ​can put no trust in them. Believing them is like the destruction of the snakes, which revealed the secret. ​It is like the doves, which thought of saving the hunter and eventually dying in the effort. It is possible to give our lives to save the enemies. It is like the minister receiving the title of ignoramus for saving a gold-spitting dove. Those attempting to save the enemies turn out to be idiots. After knowing one as an enemy, the believer will bring himself to the state of death. As the fox knows the lion's duplicity, it is better to know your enemy and avoid evil. The minister thus quoted many stories to illustrate its ​stand.

55. But the owl king rejected Nasan's advice. The advice from the previous ministers appeared reasonable to the king.

56. The owl king gave many gifts and appointed the crow Chiranjivi as ​the top minister in the cabinet.

57. Chiranjivi, the former minister in the Crow cabinet: Oh, king of owls! Millions of homages to you. I feel ashamed to sport my natural body of a crow while I am with you. Now itself, I will destroy myself by the conflagration. I will take birth as an owl in my next birth and desire to smash the crows as tit for tat.

58. The owl king: ̎ Do not talk about unrealistic things. It is like a mouse which became a woman, must revert to a mouse, and live its life. Whatever body one was born with, one should do the deeds with that body. Even if you think of morphing to the body of an owl, it is impossible. Do not let that bother you. You can stay with me in good stead. ̎

59. Behaving itself according to the owl king's mind and mood, crow Chiranjivi received a higher position compared to the other owl ministers. Chiranjivi consolidated its influence and kept a watch at the entrance to the owl cave. One day in the daytime, when the king of owls, his subjects, and ministers were asleep, crow Chiranjivi brought a pile of sticks and put them at the entrance to the cave and set them on fire.

60.The smoke and fire enveloped the cave and the owls, blinded them so much they did not know which way to go, choked with the smoke, roasted in the fire, died, and vanished out of existence for good.

61. Having accomplished the destruction of the enemies, Chiranjivi flew to the Lion Hill, harboring the crow king Mehavannan and other crows.

62. Chiranjivi announced to the delight of the crow king and others the total extermination of the family of owls. King Mehavannan, ecstatic over the extinction of his enemies, embraced Chiranjivi. All crows applauded Chiranjivi as the Enemy-Eradicating Family Gem.

63. The crow king praised Chiranjivi as the winner of the impossible mission and patriotic saboteur of first order staying among the enemies and behind the enemy lines.

64. Ignoring the accolades of the king and the crows, Chiranjivi spoke.

65. Chiranjivi: ̎ Oh king! Emperor Dharmarajan, though blessed with loving brothers, and a vast army, donned the garb of a hermit, forced by circumstances, and went to Virata.

66. Bhima, the famous warrior with strong shoulders, went to the contemptible enemy king and served as a cook.

67. Arjuna, famous as Vijayan, went in the guise of Sikandi and served as a dance instructor to the dancing girls.

68. Nakula served as a horse groom for Virata. Sakadevan worked as a cowherd.

69. Panchali, who was fire-born, came from Sun Dynasty, entered the Moon Dynasty, wore the lightning, and served as a royal maid to Viratan's daughter.

70. The Pandavas waited until they accomplished their stated objective. That episode was a lesson for me and my ordained duty. These were the illustrations given by Chiranjivi to crow king Mehavannan.

71. Mehavannan observed the following about the accomplishment of Chiranjivi: The hardship he went through like the Tapasvins who did Tapas ​on the edge of the knife and the fire walkers. How much hardship have you suffered?

72. Chiranjivi: ̎ Because of Your grace, I ​suffered no hardship. Because of my sins, you had to move out of the banyan tree, took residence in the harsh mountain forest, and became emaciated.

73. Chiranjivi:
̎  '' It was his sin that caused Ramar to exile to the forest, Sita stayed in detention, and Ramar killed Ravanan to rescue Sita. ̎

74. ''It was Nalan's sin ​that he lost his kingship, he left Damayanthi without her sari in the forest, and her body turned blue because of snakebite. ̎

̎ 75. The Pandavas lost their kingdom by losing a bet, Panchali lost her modesty, and The Kurus exiled them to the forest: These were the results of their sin. ̎

76. ̎ Harichandran's sin resulted in the loss of his wealth, son, wife; his service to a Dalit; and selling himself as a slave. ̎

77. Mehavannan spoke. ̎ No one escaped the ravages of his sin. Our family loss because of the owls, our displacement, loss of joy in our lives, and hiding in the mountain are all the bitter fruits of our sin. You saved and reestablished the crow kingdom. ̎

78. Chiranjivi: I spoke high of the enemy. Destroy the enemy by making him feel superior, praise him, and obliterate him at the opportune moment. We should act like the snake that carried the frogs on the back and killed to get rid of them. The kings and the ministers, if intelligent and wise, can avoid misery and live happily. Otherwise, the results are the deathly fate of the frogs trusting the snake and the destruction of the owls by trusting me. ̎

79. Mehavannan: Following what Chiranjivi said, the crow king said, ̎A deed comes to triumphant fruition by intellect, patience, and ability, unlike the failure that comes despite having a military and resources. Anger, personal feelings, and mental strength may sometimes fail to accomplish the objective. ̎

80. The king of crows with Chiranjivi ― the polymath and expert in political intrigue, betrayal, and deviousness―, other ministers, and the crow family returned to the old banyan tree and lived for a long time.