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Panchatantra Book 1 - 009 - How A Cut Nose Led To A Murder Accusation

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Recap

Devsharma, an ascetic who had accumulated a lot of money, became the target of a thief named Asadbuddhi. Unable to steal the money directly, Asadbuddhi pretended to be a sincere disciple, gained Devsharma’s trust and eventually accompanied him on a journey. When Devsharma stopped by a river to answer nature’s call, he removed the money bundle and hid it in a quilt, asking Asadbuddhi to guard it; the thief immediately seized the opportunity and fled. While attending to nature’s call, Devsharma noticed two rams fighting and a hungry jackal attempting to get between them, only to be crushed to death by the rams. When Devsharma returned, he discovered that Asadbuddhi and his money were gone, and he followed the thief’s footsteps along the riverbank until he reached a village. There, while seeking shelter for the night, he became a witness to events involving a weaver, his unfaithful wife and the barber’s wife who had her nose cut by the drunken weaver.

Trickery of the Barber’s Wife

After having spent ample time with Devdutta, the weaver’s wife returned home. She peeped in and saw her husband was still asleep. She then went to the cowshed and seeing the barber’s wife still tied to the pole, she said, ‘I hope all is as it should be. I hope that husband of mine did not get up, after I left. I peeped in and he is still asleep.’ The barber’s wife was in pain. Her clothes were bloody. There was no light in the shed and the weaver’s wife could not see anything. Somehow the barber’s wife said, ‘All is fine except I have lost my nose. Untie me quickly so I can go home and think what I need to do next.’ The weaver’s wife untied the barber’s wife. Though she had lost a considerable amount of blood, the barber’s wife somehow left the cowshed and went towards her own house. The weaver’s wife stood near the pole, the ropes that had bound her earlier, lying at her feet.

The Weaver Wife's Divine Claim

After sometime the weaver got up again. He came to the place where his wife was, and said, ‘You unfaithful woman. Do you plan to keep quiet even now? I will cut off your ears now, if you do not say anything.’ As soon as his wife heard this, she shouted, ‘You fool! You do not know me. I am an extremely pious and devoted wife. All devas and elements of nature are witness to my greatness. If I have been faithful, let my nose be restored and let my bonds become loose.’ Saying she stepped forward. The weaver could not believe his eyes. He grabbed a torch and stepped forward. He saw the ropes on the ground, a lot of blood and his wife there, not a scratch on her body. He asked for forgiveness and took his wife inside.

Devsharma thinks about human nature

Devsharma was stunned. He had been a witness to the drama. He thought, ‘Women know more tricks than all the asuras and rakshasas I know about. They can fool anyone They can laugh when you laugh, cry when you cry and when they see the opportunity they leave you and go with someone else. They can make a lie a truth and vice versa. One must never get overly attached to them. It is impossible to understand them. Why do men fall for them? Someone who is noble should avoid them. Women are like the gunja berries which are beautiful to look at but are poisonous.’

The False Accusation

Meanwhile the barber’s wife had reached home. As soon as she entered, she saw her husband coming home. She knew that her husband would be out the whole night which is why she was out with the weaver’s wife. She somehow covered her face and waited. Her husband called out and said, ‘Listen to me. My razor case is inside the house. Please get it for me. I need to go and open my shop.’ This gave his wife an idea. She opened her husband’s razor case and took out a razor. She then slid that on the floor towards her husband. The barber had been up the whole night and now seeing a single razor in front of him angered him. He took that razor and flung it in the direction of the house. This was what his wife was waiting for. She ran out of the house onto the street and started shouting, ‘Dear citizens, help me. My husband is trying to kill me. He has cut my nose and I have somehow escaped. Someone, please help me.’ The cries of the woman managed to attract a crowd. Seeing a crowd gathered, the royal guards came to see what was happening. Hearing the woman’s words, they bound the barber who was stunned and did not know what was happening. They then took the barber and his wife and presented them in front of the magistrate. The judges there asked the barber the reason; why had he hurt his wife. The barber did not know what to say and stood there quietly. Taking his silence as guilt, the judges declared the barber guilty. He was given a death sentence.

Sentence Overturned

Devsharma had wanted to know what was going to happen so he had followed the barber’s wife and later the guards. When he heard the punishment, he came in front of the magistrate and the judges and told them what had happened, starting from Asadbuddhi, the jackal getting crushed and the story of the weaver’s wife and the barber’s wife. The case was investigated and the barber was set free. His wife had her ears clipped as punishment. Devsharma disgusted with all he had seen, returned back to his monastery having gotten over his grief for his wealth.

Damanaka and Karataka Discuss Strategy

Ending his story, Damanaka said, ‘Do you now understand the plight of the jackal which died when it got crushed in between the fighting rams. He got caught in the cross-fire, like I have now.’

Karataka said, ‘I understand that. What are we to do now?’ Damanaka said, ‘Let me think. I am sure I will come up with something that will cause a rift between Pingalaka and Sanjeevaka. If I release an arrow, it may hit its target or may miss it, but a cunning scheme will never miss its target. Not only will that destroy the target it will have a long-lasting effect.’

Karataka said, ‘If you try something and you are caught red-handed, then what? You will be ruined.’

Damanaka said, ‘Do not speak like this. Those who are clever will apply their minds, even when circumstances are against them. One has to try continuously and eventually the clever one will win. When deception is properly executed, even those who are observant get fooled. This happened in the case of a weaver who disguised himself as Vishnu and won over a princess.’

Karataka wanted to know about this and Damanaka began telling the story about the weaver and the princess.

And this is a story I shall share in the next post.

Beyond the Surface: Understanding Strategy and Power Dynamics

Let me touch upon a few points from this part of the tale.

Devsharma thinks about the characters of women and says they know more tricks than the asuras and rakshasas and can fool anyone. There are two women here – the weaver’s wife who had been unfaithful and the barber’s wife who had been injured and accused her innocent husband instead of owning up to what had happened.

Upaya in Action

In terms of Nitishastra, they most precisely represent skill in Upaya. The weaver's wife's performance is bheda in action: she understands the situation instantly, invents something that will save her and reverses blame entirely. As per Damanaka, “when deception is properly executed, even those who are observant get fooled." While this is not said for this story, it also applies here. The women are examples of the crooked succeeding over good-faith conduct. This is so that the ruler must understand them to guard against them. One should not look at them as women and feel Panchatantra is misogynistic, which would be very wrong.

The main story is not about Never Trust Strangers or Women are Deceptive. No. It is about Do not act without reification. Devsharma trusted a crook, the weaver believes his wife because she cooks up a ritual of proof, the judges convict the barber. In every case, action is taken based on partial information.

One thing to note here is the deceiver is not caught. Asadbuddhi vanishes with the money and is never caught; the weaver's wife is never exposed, and the husband ends the scene apologising to her. The barber — who deceived no one — is nearly executed.

Asadbuddhi succeeds because he was patient. The weaver's wife succeeded because she made the first move. This is unsentimental and consistent with Nitishastra, which does not talk about virtue.

Character Breakdown

Character Identity Consequences Representation / What the Figure Shows
The Barber's Wife A collateral who is mutilated by the drunken weaver. She falsely accuses her innocent husband of cutting off her nose. In today's world, this resembles someone who suffers a genuine mishap while doing something they should not have been doing, and then uses that to shift blame onto an innocent person.
The Barber The passive figure in this drama. He neither deceives anyone nor investigates what has happened. His silence before the judges works against him. Represents the everyday citizen bewildered by systemic manipulation. An individual involved in a minor verbal disagreement where the other party records a selective, edited video clip, posts it on social media with a fabricated context, and triggers a public outrage machine that leads to job loss or police detention before an inquiry can occur.
The Magistrate and Judges The formal machinery of justice. Their decision is wrong: they sentence the barber to death because the evidence and silence appear to support that. They correct their decision after Devsharma tells them what had actually happened. They represent authority operating without thorough investigation. Institutions, HR departments, judicial benches, or regulatory bodies that prioritise quick case closure and surface appearances over rigorous truth-seeking.

Concluding Thoughts

Let me end this here. Before I end, a question. When trying to take a decision, are you relying on facts, or are you allowing emotions and superficial evidence to decide the course of action?

In the next post, the tale of a carpenter, a weaver, a princess and Vishnu. See you then.

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