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Panchatantra Book 1 - 021 - How Garuda Got the Lapwing's Eggs Back from the Ocean

Table of Contents

Recap

When a rogue elephant destroyed her eggs, a grieving sparrow mother rallied her friends—a woodpecker, a fly, and a frog—who pooled their abilities to kill the elephant. Inspired by this example of collective strength, a male lapwing whose own eggs were stolen by the ocean, gathered the entire bird community to seek justice. Recognising that drying up the massive sea by themselves was an impossible task, the birds wisely approached their king, Garuda, appealing to him to protect his subjects from exploitation.

A King Who Protected His Subjects and A Minister Who Destroyed a Friendship

Garuda was hurt to hear this. How could the ocean do this to his subjects? Garuda was aware of his powers; he was capable of sucking the ocean dry. He asked the birds to leave saying he would take care of the matter. As soon as the birds left, Garuda sat down to think what he needed to do. At that moment he was told someone had come to meet him. Garuda decided to see who wanted to talk to him -it turned out to be a messenger of Vishnu. There was a message – Vishnu had asked Garuda to come to him. Vishnu had to attend to some work in Amravati, Indra’s capital, and he needed Garuda to take him there.

Garuda was not in a good mood. Instead of listening to the messenger, he said, ‘Vishnu is a supreme deity. Why does he need the assistance of someone like me to carry him around. I am sure he can go to Amaravati without my assistance. Go back to him and tell him to ask someone else to help him travel. I am not available. Give my respects to him and tell him that a master should appreciate the worth of those who serve him.’

The messenger was surprised to hear this. He said to Garuda, ‘Do tell me what is the matter. I have never heard you say such things about Vishnu. Has Vishnu done something to you?’

Garuda said, ‘Vishnu rests on the ocean and that very ocean has stolen the eggs of one of my subjects. The ocean is literally under him. If I am to serve him, then Vishnu needs to scold the ocean and get the eggs returned. Else I will not serve him. This is my message. Go and tell him this.’

When Vishnu heard this, he realised that Garuda was justified in getting angry and decided that he would go personally and bring Garuda back. After all Garuda was serving him and deserved respect. Kings gave gifts to all but the ones who were respected and honoured served the king for long. Vishnu set off for Rukmapura, where Garuda was.

Garuda was told Vishnu had arrived. The king of birds went and received Vishnu. He then told Vishnu, ‘The ocean stole the eggs of one of my subjects. The birds came over to me and said a lot. I felt insulted because of the ocean. I could have gone and destroyed the ocean but did not only because I respect you. I will not do anything which causes you disrespect.’

Vishnu agreed and said, ‘I agree Garuda. Come with me. We will go to the ocean, get the eggs of the lapwing back and then we will go to Amaravati.’

Garuda then asked Vishnu to climb up on his back and took him to the ocean. Vishnu scolded the ocean and threatened to dry him up if the eggs were not returned. The ocean then returned the eggs to the male bird who took them and gave them to the female bird.

Ending this tale, Damanaka said, ‘There are two things – firstly, never attack anyone without knowing their strength, and secondly one must never give up.’

Sanjeevaka said, ‘I am not sure whom I can trust. You are my dear friend. Please tell me – how will I know that Pingalaka is angry with me and wants to attack me? Till sometime back, he was happy with me. Now I see the tables have turned and I am not able to understand anything. I need to prepare myself so tell me what I need to look out for.’

Damanaka said, ‘There will be very clear signs. If he is licking the corners of his mouth, he is frowning and his eyes are red, then understand that he is going to attack you. If these signs are not there, then understand that all is well.’

Damanaka paused and said, ‘My friend, I have spent a long time with you and there are things I need to do. Let me leave now and I shall talk to you later. Please ensure that our conversation remains between us only. I still say - it is best that you leave as soon as it is dark. You yourself are your first priority. You either yield before the king or use sama (the first of the four upayas). Remember, when life is lost, all is lost. I am getting late and I need to rush now.’

Damanaka left Sanjeevaka and went where Karataka was. Seeing Damanaka, Karataka asked him how things had gone. Damanaka said, ‘I have made both suspicious of each other. Rest is up to fate. I have done all I could.’

Karataka wanted to know what had happened and asked what Damanaka had done.

Damanaka said, ‘I spun lies and created a rift between them.’

Hearing this made Karataka unhappy. He said, ‘What you have done is not proper. They were two good friends and liked each other. You will suffer for this, if not in this birth, in some future birth for sure. Anyone can ruin things but it is doing good things that are hard.’

Damanaka was offended. He said, ‘You are ignorant and do not understand Niti. That is why you are saying such things. Enmity and diseases need to be destroyed immediately before they can grow. Anyone who takes another’s position becomes an enemy. That enemy must be destroyed even though they may appear friendly. I brought the bull here, I introduced him to the lion and Sanjeevaka then superseded me. I am trying to get rid of him for good – either he leaves or dies. Do not share this with anyone. I am doing this for our benefit. My heart will be like a sword and my speech will be like sugar. Using this I will get rid of my enemy. If the bull dies, he becomes our food. We become ministers again. This is for our benefit, so why blame me? A person who harms others to accomplish his own selfish purpose is actually foolish. He does not know how to enjoy the result of his actions. We need to be like Chaturaka and think of our own benefit only.’

Karataka wanted to know about that, and Damanaka started telling the story.


What This Tells Us

This tale of Chaturaka is something I will share in the next Panchatantra post. Before I end this, let me go through this part of the tale.

The characters

Character The driving force What happens Role In today’s world who are they?
Garuda Disturbed. His subjects complained. The ocean was under Vishnu so he could not do anything. His protest is heard and respected, restoring his dignity without violence A subordinate who expects recognition, not just orders An employee/expert who refuses to comply until grievances are addressed
Vishnu Understanding that a ruler's authority rests on the loyalty He retains Garuda's service and resolves the ocean issue The leader who values relationships A CEO who personally steps in to resolve a complaint rather than delegating it
Sanjeevaka Anxiety and confusion after sensing a shift in Pingalaka's favour Wants observable signs rather than acting on vague fear The one seeking clarity amid uncertainty An employee sensing office politics, asking a colleague "how do I know if my manager is upset with me?"
Damanaka Self-interest; desire to reclaim lost ministerial status Openly admits to fabricating a rift between two friends The manipulative strategist A workplace schemer who sabotages a rival's standing to regain influence
Karataka Moral conscience; belief in proper conduct Criticises Damanaka but does not do anything to stop him The passive moral commentator A colleague who disapproves of office politics but doesn't intervene

Amaravati is the capital city of Indra. Rukmapura means the city of gold. I could not find any references in any Puranas, where this is mentioned as the place where Garuda lives. By its meaning, the place signifies Garuda’s grandeur.

Competencies

Competency Where Displayed
Leadership/People Management Vishnu personally addressing a grievance instead of dismissing it
Conflict De-escalation Vishnu mediating between Garuda and the ocean rather than letting Garuda act unilaterally
Risk Assessment Garuda holding back full-scale destruction despite having the power to act
Organisational Politics Damanaka's manipulation is a case of "divide and influence" — useful as an example in management training on office politics and trust-building. How toxic intermediaries destroy cross-functional trust to consolidate personal power.

In Hitopadesha, the tale of Garuda and the restoration of the lapwing’s eggs are there, but briefer.

A Final Thought

Take a moment to notice: has someone in your own circle — a friend, colleague or advisor — ever played the role of Damanaka, benefiting from a rift they helped create? Sometimes the most dangerous person in a disagreement is not the person who openly takes a side. It is the person who creates the disagreement in the first place.

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