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Panchatantra Book 1 - 012 - How a Crab and a Crow Couple defeated their enemies

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Recap

A crow couple repeatedly lost their eggs to a cobra. Devastated, the crows sought help from a clever jackal. The jackal reassured them that the cobra could be defeated using strategy rather than strength and began sharing a story to explain his plan.

The clever crab and how the cobra was killed

The old heron

In a place far away was a huge lake. All kinds of aquatic animals lived in that lake. A heron also had made his home there and had enjoyed life there, feasting on the animals who lived in the lake. Of late he was having trouble. Age. That was his trouble. He was old and was having trouble catching fish. He tried but they slipped away. Every day he would go to bed hungry. He tried, but he was not successful. One day he was really hungry. Not having eaten for a few days, he began to cry. As he cried his tears fell in the lake. Seeing this, a curious crab came out to see what was happening. The crab approached the heron cautiously. The heron was old so the crab addressed him as Uncle and asked him the reason for his grief.

The heron was old alright, but he was cunning. He said, ‘I have given up eating fish. I am planning to become a renunciate.’ The crab asked the reason and the heron said, ‘I was born here, grew up here and lived all my life here. I am sad for all. I have heard about a twelve-year drought.’

The crab had not heard about this and asked the heron, ‘Uncle, where did you hear this?’ The heron took a deep breath and said, ‘An astrologer told me. When Saturn steps inside the Rohini constellation, there is drought. And now along with Saturn, we have Venus and Mars also. What can I say? I can see what could happen in the future. This lake is not very deep. With the planetary conditions, it will soon dry up and all will die here. Thinking about this makes me so sad. This is why I am planning to renounce everything and go on a fast until death.’

Stopping to take a breath, the heron said, ‘This does not mean it is the end for all. Large animals like crocodiles and tortoises have started migrating to deeper lakes on their own. I have seen them leave. I feel the ones staying in this lake are on a suicide mission and do not want to go anywhere. No one will survive here.’

The crab, having heard this, went into the waters and told the animals there what he had heard. Hearing this scared everyone. Along with the crab, some others went to the heron and asked him, ‘Uncle, what is the remedy? How do we save ourselves?’

The trap

The heron said, ‘I know of a lake not very far away. It is very deep and even if it does not rain for decades, it will still be full. I suggest you move there. I can help you in the process. I can fly there, carrying some of you on my back.’

The fishes agreed and started fighting among themselves as to who would be the first to leave. Eventually one fish climbed up on the heron’s back. The heron flew a short distance from the lake. There was a huge rock there. Taking the fish, the heron smashed it against the rock, killed it and ate it. He then went back to the lake and told the others he had left the fish in the new lake. A few days passed and then one day the crab went to the heron and said, ‘Uncle, when you were crying, I was the first one to come and talk to you. So why are you ignoring me while taking these fish with you? When will my turn come?’

The heron thought to himself, ‘Every day I am having fish and have started getting bored. Crab meat will give me a change in taste.’ He asked the crab to get up on his back. Flying, they reached the rock. There, the crab saw the fish bones and understood what was going on. He said to the heron, ‘Uncle, you are getting old and I am sure you need rest. Why don’t you land here for some time? Take some rest and then resume your flight to the lake.’ The heron did not know that the crab had figured out what was going on. He said to the crab, ‘What lake are you talking about? There is no lake. Start praying as I plan to kill you and eat you.’ As soon as the heron said this, the crab moved up the heron’s back and grabbed its neck with his claws. He then pressed hard and the heron lost his life.

When the heron was lying lifeless on the ground, the crab got off the dead bird’s back. He then slowly began dragging the lifeless body of the heron and made his way to the lake. The animals at the lake, who were waiting for their turn to leave with the heron, asked the crab why he had come back. Hearing this the crab laughed and said, ‘You were all fooled by the wicked heron. He would take the fishes, kill them and eat them. There is no second lake. I managed to trick the heron and kill him. I have dragged his body for all of you to see.’

The Jackal's Advice

Ending this tale, the jackal said, ‘A greedy heron ate many fish and was eventually killed due to his greed. Size and power do not matter.’

Hearing this, the crows said, ‘We have understood what you are trying to say. How do we deal with the cobra? Please tell us what we should do.’

The jackal said, ‘Not too far away is a lake. People from the royal families come to the lake to have a bath. Go there and grab a gold necklace. Then fly away with that and drop it in the hollow where the snake lives. The guards will follow you and then they will kill the snake.’

The crows followed the instructions and went to the lake. There they saw some royal women playing in the waters of the lake. They had kept their jewellery on the banks of the lake. Grabbing a chance, the female crow swooped down and grabbed a golden necklace and flew off. Seeing this, the women started shouting, and the guards began chasing the crow. The crow dropped the necklace in the hollow where the snake lived and went and sat up on a branch to wait and see what would happen. The guards began poking in the gap and saw the cobra. Seeing the guards, the cobra expanded its hood. Using their sticks and spears, the guards killed the cobra. They then retrieved the necklace and left the place. The crow couple began living in peace from that day onwards.

Ending the tale, Damanaka said, ‘It is all about intelligence. There is no such thing as impossible for someone who is intelligent. One who has brains does not care about strength. There was a very proud lion who was killed by a simple hare.’

Karataka wanted to know this story and Damanaka began telling that story.

In the next post in the series, I will share that tale. Now let me try and analyse this tale.

Deconstructing the Tale

Core Strategic Principle (Niti)

Intelligence is always more powerful than physical strength - This is stated by Damanaka and by the jackal who is talking to the crow couple.

  • The crows cannot fight the cobra directly, so they use a stronger power (the guards) who fight for them.
  • The heron-crab story has the same concept but the poles are twisted: Trust in someone is a vulnerability, and the crab survives before it becomes the next victim.

Planetary Roles

In Indian astrology, Saturn piercing Rohini is said to cause drought and famine. The heron uses this knowledge to manipulate the aquatic creatures. Rohini corresponds to the red giant star Aldebaran and its surrounding group of stars in the constellation of Taurus. The V-shaped arrangement of stars forming the head of the bull is said to look like a cart. When a planet passes directly through or close to the V-shaped enclosure formed by the stars of Rohini, that process is said to pierce the cart of Rohini.

Planet Role and Influence in Rohini
Saturn Main indicator of severe drought and famine.
Mars Associated with conflict and intense heat.
Venus Represents rainfall; the negative effect disrupts the rainfall patterns.

The story of the crows and the cobra is there in the Hitopadesha.

Questions

This is where I end this. Before I end this, some questions:

In your own life, when have you trusted someone because a senior said so — without checking for the "fish bones”?

When have you, like the crab, noticed something was wrong before it was too late?

How often do we engage in direct confrontation when an indirect approach could resolve the issue without personal risk?

Think. I will see you in the next post.

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