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Panchatantra Book 1 - 008 -How Devsharma Lost His Wealth to Asadbuddhi

Table of Contents

Recap

After telling the story of Dantila, Damanaka brought Sanjeevaka to Pingalaka. Pingalaka made Damanaka and Karataka administrative officers and spent his time listening to Sanjeevaka. He started thinking of peaceful ways and gave up hunting. This caused the other animals to leave him. Hungry and neglected, Damanaka and Karataka spoke about Pingalaka's disregard for his duties. Karataka blamed Damanaka for this. Damanaka admitted his mistake and started telling the story of the ascetic.

The Ascetic, the Thief, and the Weaver's Wife

Asadbuddhi Schemes Against Devsharma

In a place far away from settlements, in a secluded area, a monastery had been built. Someone had built it, who built it actually does not matter. A wandering ascetic, Devsharma, had come across this monastery long back. It was empty and he had made it his home. Every day Devsharma would go begging and would come back with money, food and gifts. He had a nice temperament and people gave him many gifts. Whenever he got a gift from someone, Devsharma sold that. By doing this over time, he managed to gather a considerable sum of money. Where should he keep the money? Unfortunately, Devsharma trusted nobody. He tied the money in a bundle and he kept that bundle tied to his hand, tucked inside his armpit. Earning money is tough and protecting that money is tougher.

One day Asadbuddhi saw Devsharma. Asadbuddhi, as the name goes, was a crook, whose source of livelihood was stealing money from people. One day he saw Devsharma. He saw how the ascetic had one of his hands held tightly against his body. Asadbuddhi was sure the ascetic was not physically challenged. He wanted to know the reason and started following Devsharma. One day he saw Devsharma sell some clothes in the market, lifting his hand, take the bundle which was hidden in the armpit and put the money in it. Asadbuddhi made up his mind – he would steal the bundle. The question was how? It was impossible to enter the monastery without being allowed inside. The walls were high and made from smooth stone. It was impossible to scale them. He figured out Devasharma was a worshipper of Shiva, and then decided on the next option – that of approaching Devsharma as a student and gaining his trust.

One day when he saw Devsharma at the gates of the monastery, Asadbuddhi approached the ascetic, took the name of Shiva and prostrated himself. When Devsharma asked him to get up, Asadbuddhi said, ‘You are a great master. I have learnt that nothing is permanent in life. All relationships are like dreams. Guide me, what should I do?’

Hearing this, Devasharma said, ‘You are lucky. You are very young and are getting to understand this now. When people age, they realize this. When people who are young understand this, they are blessed. As you asked me, all I can say is – One who takes the name of Shiva and worships him truly is able to escape the endless cycle of birth and death.’

Hearing this, Asadbuddhi asked Devsharma to initiate him. Devsharma agreed but on a condition. He said, ‘I shall initiate you but on one condition. You will need to live in solitude and worship Shiva. For that reason, you will not be allowed to live inside the monastery. Outside the main gate is a hut. You will stay there. If you agree, I shall initiate you.’ Asadbuddhi agreed. He began staying there. In the day he would serve Devsharma, massage his feet, clean the monastery and look for opportunities to grab the bundle, but Devsharma was very careful and he refused to remove that from his body. Seeing this, Asadbuddhi started getting desperate. He was wondering if he would need to kill Devsharma to get the bundle.

One day a guest arrived. This was the son of a disciple of Devsharma who had come to invite Devsharma for a ceremony in his house. Asadbuddhi accepted the invitation.

The Betrayal

On the day of the ceremony, Devsharma accompanied by Asadbuddhi set off for the event. On the way, they came across a river. There Devsharma needed to answer nature’s call. He took off the bundle, hid it in a quilt and then asked Asadbuddhi to guard the quilt till he returned. As soon as Devsharma was out of sight, Asadbuddhi took the bundle of coins and fled.

Devsharma was answering the nature’s call when he heard a strange noise. Two rams were engaged in a fight. They would back off and charge at each other. They would slam their heads against each other which caused their heads to bleed. This did not deter them and they kept fighting. Drops of blood began falling on the ground and the smell of blood attracted a hungry jackal. It wanted to taste the blood and decided to get in between the rams. Devsharma thought to himself, ‘This jackal will die if he gets in between the rams.’ That is what happened. The jackal got caught between the fighting rams and got crushed to death. Devsharma felt pity for the jackal. After finishing his business, he came back to the spot and looked for Asadbuddhi. He was nowhere to be seen. He then picked up his quilt and found the bundle of money missing. He began crying out for his money, cursing Asadbuddhi. He decided to follow the footsteps of Asadbuddhi along the riverbank to see if he could get his money back.

It was evening when he reached a village. He was about to enter the village when he came across a weaver and his wife. They were going to neighbouring town to buy liquor. Seeing them, Devsharma asked for shelter for the night. Seeing that Devsharma was an ascetic, the weaver asked his wife to take Devsharma to their house and give him a place to stay in the night, while he would go alone and buy the liquor.

The Weaver, His Wife, and the Barber’s Wife

The wife incidentally had a lover called Devdutta. She had planned to go with her husband, wait till he was drunk and then sneak away to meet him. She had no intention of taking care of Devsharma. Even though Devsharma was her guest, she was in a hurry. She pointed out a broken cot lying outside the house, in the cowshed, which had no bedding. She said that was what was available and that she was in a hurry and needed to go and meet someone. Leaving Devsharma, she went to get dressed. She wore beautiful clothes and jewellery and after decking herself well, she stepped out of the house.

As she was going to meet her lover, she saw her husband coming that way. He was drunk and was barely able to control himself. He had a pot of wine, which he was holding on to. Seeing her husband, the woman ran back home and took off the fine clothes and jewellery and sat down as nothing had happened.

The weaver was in a very bad mood. He had heard people talking about his wife and how she had multiple lovers. On top of that, he was very sure he had spotted his wife trying to avoid him. He reached home and went inside. He saw his wife sitting in a corner and said, ‘I saw you on the road. Where were you going?’ The wife said, ‘I went nowhere. I came here after you asked me to come home and I came here straight. You are drunk and I am not sure whom you saw. You are not able to walk straight and your hands are shaking. In this state, you saw me?’ Hearing this, the weaver shouted at his wife, ‘I have heard about your exploits and today I saw it with my eyes. I have caught you red-handed today and I am not going to leave you. You need to be punished.’ Saying this, he left the pot of wine and picking up a stick and began beating his wife. He then took her outside the house in a cowshed and tied her to a pole. He then left her there and went inside. He had barely stepped inside and when he fell down in a drunken stupor and went off to sleep.

The weaver’s wife had a very close friend, the barber’s wife. She was aware that the weaver’s wife had a lover and when she got a chance, she helped the two lovers meet. She wanted to see what was happening and went over. It was night and she saw the main door of the house was open. She saw the weaver lying drunk on the floor, snoring. She looked for her friend and found her tried to a pole in the cowshed. She went to her and untied her. She then said to her friend, ‘Go fast. Devdutta is waiting for you in the same spot where you regularly meet. Hurry. Tie me up in your place. It is night and I will be fine. My husband is asleep and your husband is drunk. Come back as soon as you can.’

The weaver’s wife thanked her friend, tied her to the pole and left to meet her lover.

As soon as she had left, the husband woke up. He went to the place where he had tied his wife. There was no light and he could not make out that the woman tied to the pole was not his wife. He said to her, ‘Why do you make me angry? Tell me you are sorry and I will release you.’

The barber’s wife was scared. If she uttered a single word, the weaver would get to know this was not his wife. She kept quiet. The weaver thought his wife was refusing to speak to him. He went to his loom and grabbed a sharp knife. Using that, he chopped off the barber’s wife’s nose and said, ‘I thought I would forgive you but you are adamant. Stay tried. I have had enough.’ Saying this, he dropped the knife, went inside and went off to sleep.

Devsharma had been awake. The place was uncomfortable, he had lost all his money and on top of that, there was drama unfolding. Sitting in a dark corner, he was witness to everything that was happening. Luckily the weaver had been drunk else he would have cut off the barber’s wife’s nose, but he had only cut off the tip off her nose.

This story is long and I will stop it here. I shall continue this tale in the next post. For now, let me quickly go through this part.

Beyond the Surface of the Tale

The Illusion of Security

This may look like just a tale about being taken for a ride and how to avoid being robbed. There is more. What is true security? Devsharma starts hoarding money which causes anxiety. He loses peace. Every gift he gets he converts to coin and binds to himself. He cannot let go and eventually he loses everything anyway.

Think of the barber’s wife. Punishment intended for the unfaithful wife lands on a substitute, because the weaver does not verify. Acting without knowledge is blindness.

The role of Women 

The weaver's wife represents people consumed by desire to the point of complete disregard for social duties, hospitality, and personal safety. Despite having a guest (Devsharma) in her home, her sole focus is sneaking out to meet her lover, Devdutta.

In the context of Nitisastra, these female figures do not represent gendered stereotypes; they are examples for compromised integrity and misplaced loyalty. 


Character Analysis

Character Meaning of Name What They Do Consequences Representation
Devsharma Deva (Divine/God) + Sharma (Protection/Comfort/Joy) meaning "Protected by God". The name is ironic: a man named for protection cannot protect a bundle of coins. The name signals sanctity and reliability, which Asadbuddhi exploits. He judges Asadbuddhi mainly through religious behaviour — Shiva worship, and the request for initiation. His money is stolen precisely when he must lower his guard. Those who confuse procedural caution with risk assessment — for example, someone who secures everything physically but fails to vet the person they allow inside.
Asadbuddhi From Sanskrit asat (untrue, dishonest) and buddhi (understanding). Literally "one whose intellect is dishonest" or "false understanding.” It is a label placed on him before he does anything. He rules out force because the monastery is difficult to penetrate and identifies trust as the real weakness. His plan succeeds completely and he escapes with the money. The con artist who gains access by becoming someone the target trusts.
The Weaver   He moves directly from seeing a woman who resembles his wife to punishment. He mutilates his wife's friend while his actual wife escapes. Reactive justice — punishing on the basis of suspicion rather than verification.
The Weaver's Wife   She prioritises her own safety, allowing her friend to take her place. She escapes punishment, but a friend suffers in her place. Avoiding consequences by allowing someone else to absorb the fallout.
The Barber's Wife   When confronted, she remains silent, believing concealment is safer than revealing her identity. She permanently loses part of her nose because of a decision that was not hers. She is collateral damage. A proxy who pays for someone else's choices — like a junior employee suffering while covering for another person.

There is one more name mentioned - Devdutta — from Sanskrit deva (God) and datta (given). A name given here to a character (the lover).

Panchatantra versus Hitopadesha

Hitopadesha has the story of the weaver’s wife and the barber’s wife. In Hitopadesha it is a cowherd’s wife and the wife of a barber. The tale of Devsharma, the jackal getting caught between the rams – these are not part of Hitopadesha.

What Comes Next: The Barber’s Wife Examined

This is where I will end now. This tale is far from over. The barber’s wife may seem innocent, but she is far from that. Let’s see what happens, in the next post.

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