Panchatantra Book 1 - 001 - How Sanjeevaka’s Bellow Terrified Pingalaka
Table of Contents
Sanjeevaka Recovers
So, here we are. Let us start the first story of the first book of Panchatantra, called Mitrabheda. Mitra means Friend and Bheda is breaking or separation. This word talks about the separation of friends. As I had said in my earlier post, this post will have animals, many animals actually. A lion, a bullock and a very crafty jackal are the primary characters who will carry the story forward. This book is about how a lion and a bullock became good friends and how an extremely deceitful jackal broke up that friendship. So let me start telling you what happened.
Vardhamanaka
The story starts in a beautiful land. There lived a young merchant named Vardhamanaka. As a merchant he was involved in his family business and over the course of time, he had accumulated a lot of wealth. Our merchant was a good person at heart. All his wealth had been righteously earned. Unfortunately, the desire for wealth is infinite. One day when he was resting after dinner, he began thinking about his savings. He mentally calculated how much he had and figured out he had enough to keep him happy. The issue was this: it was enough but why not gain more? Money was needed for everything. He then sat up. This thought was not letting him sleep. He thought to himself, ‘I do not think there is anything in this world that cannot be bought by money. Money is needed and those who are clever should figure out ways to make more. I have no doubt I can make more money.’ He got up and started walking around the house. Some relatives and friends had come to visit him. As it was late, they had decided to spend the night there. Vardhamanaka saw these people and thought, ‘I have friends because I have money. I am sure if I had no money, I would not have had any friends. Even my relatives come to me because I have money. When I step out of the house, I am greeted everyday by people passing by. They recognise me because I have money. And so many times people come to me for advice. They feel that if one is rich, one is also wise. They praise me and call me great and that is only because of my wealth. People I do not know behave as if they have known me for years and that is only because of my money. If I was poor, forget these friends, even my relatives would not be able to recognise me.’
He walked out and started walking in the courtyard. A cool breeze was blowing and, in the distance, he could hear the gentle sound of a river flowing. Hearing that he thought, ‘These rivers originate and flow out from mountains. Same way so many things happen in life and money just flows away. When the rich die, strangers accompany them to the cremation ground. When the poor die, they die alone.’
He began thinking about different ways of making money. Beggars made money, money lenders made money, kings rewarded their subjects and that was money, the scholars sold their learning and made money. Farmers made money by selling their crops. Then there was what he was doing. Trade. Trade, he thought, was the best way to make money. He tried to outweigh these methods and thought, ‘Begging is humiliating. The royal favours are uncertain and a farmer’s job is very tough. Money lending is risky. What if the money does not come back? The learned ones also have to work very hard to make any significant amount. No, my profession is the best.’ He then began to think of the best ways to make money and slowly walked back to his room. He made up his mind that he would go elsewhere and make money. Away from his friends and relatives. He lay down and soon went off to sleep.
Off to Mathura
Next day he went to the elders of the family and told them he had made his mind to go to a city far away. He planned to go to Mathura and trade. He would sell goods from his part of the country there and in return he would buy things and sell them here. Permission was granted. He started making preparations. In his house there were two sturdy bullocks – Sanjeevaka and Nandaka. Vardhamanaka had literally hand fed them from the time they were tiny calves. Now they were big strong bullocks who carried heavy loads. Whenever he travelled, these two pulled his cart and all the goods in it. Off they set, on a journey towards Mathura.
The accident
After a few days, they reached the outskirts of the city of Mathura. It was evening when they were travelling along the banks of Yamuna. Suddenly, Sanjeevaka’s foot got stuck in the muddy waters on the banks of the river. He struggled and lost balance. He fell, breaking the yoke of the cart. Sanjeevaka lay in the mud struggling. Varadhamanaka called out to his servants and with their help they helped Sanjeevaka up. The bullock’s leg was swollen and he was not able to walk. The young merchant felt pity for the bullock. The bullock was like a child to him. So instead of leaving the bullock alone, he decided to stay there and nurse the animal back to health. When he had nearly made up his mind, a group of travellers passing by seeing him, stopped there. When they found out what was the reason, they asked Vardhamanaka not to stay there. This part of the area was full of wild animals. Staying there would mean death. It was not worth sacrificing a merchant’s life for the sake of a bullock. Vardhamanaka asked a few servants to stay with the injured bullock. Taking Nandaka with him, he left with the other travellers.
As soon as the merchant had left, the servants took another route and left the river bank and joined the caravan of merchants, along with which Vardhamanaka was also travelling. Seeing the servants, Vardhamanaka wondered what had happened. To that, the servants made up a story as to how they had tried to be with the bullock but unfortunately the bullock had passed away. They had then hurriedly cremated the bullock and come to join the group. Hearing this Vardhamanaka felt very sad. He halted for some time, performed last rites for his bullock and then left.
Recovery
What happened to Sanjeevaka? Sanjeevaka seeing he had been abandoned looked around. There was no one there. Just the river flowing and near the banks of the river, delicious grass. He slowly limped towards the grass and began enjoying that. A gentle breeze was blowing. There was something in that place. Having filled his stomach with grass and drunk water from the river, he began to feel better. He went towards a tree and taking support of the tree trunk, he sat down. He never realized when he had slept off. When he woke, he felt he was cured. The rest had helped his leg. A few days passed and soon Sanjeevaka was no longer resembling the load-bearing animal. He had grown muscular and strong and his leg? It was completely healed. If someone saw him from a distance, they would think this was none other than Shiva’s divine vehicle. He spent his days breaking up ant hills with his horns, eating fresh grass, drinking water from the river and bellowing. Whenever he felt like, he let out a loud bellow. It was a loud sound that echoed in that forest. Anyone who did not know what was happening, would get scared. This was destiny. The servants had left the bullock for dead and here he was, hale and hearty and roaming around, fearless, in that area.
The lion’s fear
That forest was ruled by a lion called Pingalaka. He had a huge troupe of animals who roamed around with him. Feeling thirsty, one day, Pingalaka went to the river to quench his thirst. He had just bent down to drink when he heard a loud noise. What was this? This was something strange, something unheard of. He felt scared. Without drinking any water, he went away and sat down below a large banyan tree. Seeing the king sitting there, his close associates went and sat near him. Other associates and subjects also went there and sat there. They had heard something had happened to their lion and they wanted to know what had happened.
The jackals
Among the subjects were two jackals. They were Damanaka and Karataka. Their fathers had been ministers of the lion. These two jackals wanted to gain the positions their fathers had held and would always follow the lion to see how they could gain his favour. They saw the king sitting under a tree, panting. Seeing this, Damanaka said to Karataka, ‘My friend, do you not feel there is something funny going on here?’ Karataka looked around and said, ‘No, everything seems fine.’ Damanaka said, ‘You need to observe more closely. The lion was thirsty. He went to the river to drink. Something happened there. Without drinking any water, he came back. He is now looking continuously towards the river. There is something in his behaviour, which does not seem very normal.’
Karataka said, ‘Now that you say this, I agree with you. Why should we actually bother ourselves with that? We should not meddle with things that are none of our business. If we do, we could meet the fate of the monkey who tried to play with a wedge and died.’
Damanaka was curious and wanted to know what this was about. Karataka began telling the story of the meddlesome monkey.
This was the first story and as you can see, this starts off in a nested pattern. A story within a story. Enjoy this. I have added the link to the previous chapter on Panchatantra in the beginning of the post.
Now, let me try and analyse this story.
An analysis of the story
Analysis
The story starts with the merchant thinking about gaining money. It is the paradox of “enough is never enough”. This leads him to start a travel which leads to an accident and frees Sanjeevaka from human bondage.
Vardhamanaka thinks about how money builds relationships, and this in a way sets off the essence of the tale: appearances can be deceptive. Seeing the lion’s fear, Damanaka will first help the lion and the bullock become friends and then will break their friendship.
Let me go through the characters present here.
Character Analysis
| Character | Identity | Meaning of Name | Motivation | Strengths | Weaknesses | Decision-Making | What the Character Represents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vardhamanaka | An ethical merchant. | Vardhamanaka – from vardhamana, meaning "increasing," "growing," or "prospering." His name shows his desire to expand his wealth and success. | To acquire even more wealth even though he has enough. | Honest and hardworking; Compassionate towards his animals. | Not satisfied with what he has. Also, accepts what the servants say, without verifying the same. | Practical, Logical and business oriented. | An ambitious professional who wants more. |
| Sanjeevaka | A domesticated bullock raised by Vardhamanaka. | Sanjeevaka – from sanjiva, meaning "life-giving," "reviver," or "restorer of life." Abandoned and left to die, he restores himself to perfect health. | Initially dependent upon his master; after abandonment, driven only by survival. | Regains his strength naturally. | — | Guided by instinct. He eats, rests, recovers and bellows naturally. | The newcomer whose unfamiliar skills are mistaken for danger simply because they are not understood. |
| Nandaka | The second bullock that continues the journey with Vardhamanaka after Sanjeevaka is left behind. | Nandaka – from nanda, meaning "joy," "delight," or "one who brings happiness." The name suggests a gentle, obedient nature. | — | — | — | — | The loyal and dependable worker who quietly fulfils his duties without seeking attention. |
| Pingalaka | The lion-king. | Pingalaka – from pingala, meaning "golden-brown," or "reddish." | To preserve his authority. | Commands loyalty. | Afraid of the unknown; His hesitation creates opportunities for manipulation. | Emotional and cautious. Instead of investigating the source of the sound, he retreats. | A ruler whose outward authority remains intact but uncertainty makes him dependent on others. |
| Damanaka | Son of a former minister, now without office or influence. | Damanaka – from dama or damana, meaning "one who controls, subdues or restrains." His name shows his ability to manipulate both situations and people. | To regain his lost influence. | Highly observant; recognises opportunities quickly; persuasive, intelligent and politically skilled. | Manipulative; willing to distort truth and create conflict for personal gain; ambition lacks ethical restraint. | Calculating, strategic and opportunistic. He views the king's fear as a chance to restore his own importance. | The ambitious insider who, after being sidelined, exploits fear and uncertainty to regain power—a familiar figure in every political or organisational hierarchy. |
| Karataka | Companion of Damanaka and son of another former minister. | Karataka – the cautious one. | To remain safe and undisturbed. | Careful, prudent and realistic. | — | Risk-averse. | The cautious observer—someone who recognises danger but chooses neither to exploit it nor to prevent it. |
Animal Symbolism
Because there are animals, let me talk though some other traits. A lion is a symbol of authority. It represents strength. His getting scared is the gap between power and understanding.
A bullock is a patient worker. Generally docile when yoked, bullocks are large and are capable of displaying power. Jackals have become symbols of cunning and also being clever. In nature, they are scavengers and read situations to survive.
Presence in Hitopadesha
If interested, this story appears in Hitopadesha. The text follows a similar pattern and is there in the start of Book 2.
A Question for You
A question: In your own circle, who is the "Damanaka" who silently observes and then may use that to maybe help someone or even manipulate someone, depending on the situation?
This was all I have for this. In the next instalment, the story of a monkey who meddled with a wedge and lost its life.
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