Continued….
…..From Part 5 –Having convinced Karataka, Damanaka headed towards the Lion’s den.
While walking towards the cave, he noticed that the lion had already noticed him walking towards the cave. When he reached the cave the lion asked how come he had come his way after such a long time. The fact that the king recognized him was a relief as now Damanaka was convinced that the king was well disposed towards him.
Feeling confident in this knowledge Damanaka respectfully replied, “Sir, I know that I am much lower in status and personal qualities compared to you and many of your trusted ministers, so you may rightfully be wondering whether I can be of any service to you and what tasks you could probably give someone like me. But I would still like to present myself in your service from time to time. You see even a small twig is helpful when one wants to clean the teeth or tickle the ear. Atleast I possess arms, legs and am healthy and young so I may also become useful at some time for you. I know all good masters are able to discriminate and understand the inner qualities of a servant and so wisely choose whom to give what type of task. For the master, the servant is like a book or a flute and is useful only when the master is able to use it. You will agree with me that even a little lamp is able to provide light in the absence of the sun. So I do hope to serve you at some time or another when a suitable opportunity arises.”
The Lion was very pleased with the wise words of Damanaka and asked him, “How come you who are such an intelligent and wise son of my minister never before come close to talk to me. I am very pleased to hear your wise words, now feel free to speak about whatever you want.”
Damanaka took this opportunity and asked, “Sir, sometime back I noticed that you had gone to the river to drink water but upon reaching there you seemed astonished and without even taking a sip of the water you returned back to your den.”
The Lion replied, “You are right but there are few trustworthy people around me to talk about such serious and confidential matters. I find you a wise person so I can speak to you with no hesitation. I heard a large bellow coming from the thick forest areas near the river. You may also have heard the same. I am not acquainted with any animal with such a fierce bellow. I think this creature can be very powerful and fierce and to save ourselves we may need to leave this forest and move elsewhere to plan how to defeat this unknown, ferocious creature.”
Damanaka responded, “Sir you are right that this is a serious and dangerous situation. But a worthy minister must never suggest to the master to abandon his home or to prepare for war without first approaching and checking if there is a possibility of a more peaceful solution. I would be happy to do this task for you by approaching the fierce creature and open a channel for friendly relations rather than abandoning our home or starting a war.”
The King being pleased with Damanaka, gave him the permission to go ahead and also sent him off with many gifts and a promise that he would be made Prime Minister if he succeeded.
Karataka had all this while been listening to the conversation of the Lion and Damanaka. When Damanaka came back with all the gifts he asked, “Brother without knowing anything about this fierce creature how have you made such a big promise to the lion? What if it is truly a fierce animal, how would you approach it for friendly ties? Also having accepted gifts from the king without, being certain of whether you can achieve your goal does not show high character.”
Damanaka laughed and replied, “Karataka I already know the enemy. The loud bellows came from a bull. A bull is food for us and we need not be afraid. A lion is even more powerful so should be afraid at all. It can even be a great meal for the lion.”
Karataka was astonished with this reply and asked, “So how is it that you did not allay the fear of our Master the lion, when you spoke with him?” Damanaka replied, “If I had done that then how would I have the opportunity to do the Master a favor? A servant must always display great care and concern for the master. If the master if freed from this kind of attitude from his servants then the servants suffer the same fate as Dahikarn. ”
Karataka asked who Dahikarn was and what his story was.
So Damanaka then related the following story to him –
“Self Interest Makes the World go Round”
“In the north of our country there was a large mountain by the name of Arbudgiri on which a lion called Durdaant lived. A little mouse lived in a small hole in the wall of the lion’s den. He would always take the opportunity to nibble on Durdaant’s mane whenever he slept. Durdaant noticed that his mane was being nibbled at quite often by a mouse. He felt great anger at the mouse but could not catch and kill it as it was very small and quick to run and hide in the small hole which served as its home. After several tries to catch it, Durdaant realized that to catch a small enemy, valor and skill were not enough. It possibly required a similar sized animal to be employed which could prey on the mouse. So one day he went to the nearby village and had a hearty meal of well fed goats and chicken of the farmers. After a meal, he picked up a cat from the village and brought it home with him. He treated the cat very well, feeding it with fresh meat every day. Once it became comfortable being with the lion, it relaxed and started to enjoy a peaceful and well fed life in the den. Seeing the cat residing with Durdaant the mouse was scared to come out of its hole and starved for a few days. Durdaant now slept happily without any cares. The mouse became desperate with hunger and one day took the risk of venturing out. No sooner did he come out that he was caught and eaten by the cat. Now Durdaant noticed that the mouse had indeed gone and there was no sound or mischief happening within his den. Having no more use of the cat now that it had already killed the mouse, Durdaant ignored the cat and made no effort to feed it anymore.”
“Thus”, said Damanaka, “in your own self interest, always let a Master remain with some threat and worry”.
Then Damanaka and Karataka discussed how it would be best to approach the bull and having agreed to a plan, approached the bull, Sanjeevak. Karataka seated himself in an authority posture close by and Damanaka went as his representative to Sanjeevak and said, “Hello! I am Damanaka, appointed by the king of the forest, the lion Pingalaka, as the protector of this forest. Sitting there at a distance is the General Karataka, who orders you to come quickly and meet with him or move out of the forest, else the consequences for you shall not be good.”
Sanjeevak being ignorant of rules of the forest, meekly approached the authoritatively seated Karataka, saluted him and asked, “General what do you wish from me? Karataka replied with great force and authority, “if you wish to live in this forest, then you must go and pay respect to our king, the Lion Pingalaka.” Sanjeevak replied, “How can I approach a lion? You must assure me of my safety and only then I can do so.” Karataka responded, “A storm does not uproot tender and lowly bent grasses. It only takes down the tallest and stiff trees which do not bend to its force. Likewise, the mighty ones only use their valor on the great who can challenge their valor and authority. So you should approach the King with humility and the intent of friendship”
Sanjeevak was a little assured and agreed to follow the 2 jackals to the lion’s den. Having reached the den, they saluted the lion and were courteously received by him. He asked the Karataka and Damanaka, “So did you see this being with a loud bellow?” Sanjeevak had been told to wait at a distance till called by the jackals. Damanaka cleverly replied, “Yes Sir. What you heard was quite correct. This being is quite strong but he wishes to pay his regards to you. So Sir, we request you to take a seat and be prepared to meet with this mighty animal. Just by hearing an alarming sound one should not become anxious, an investigation into the cause can help to resolve the problem, however difficult it may have seem in the beginning. Do you know the story of lowly, unknown woman who after investigating the alarming sounds being heard by the villagers, resolved the problem and thereby gained respect and recognition and got rewarded by the king for it?” The Lion was intrigued and asked how that happened.
So Damanaka told him the following story
“Know the Reason”
“On the Sri Mountain there was a large city called Brahmapur. The people of the town believed that at the top of the Sri Mountain lived a ferocious giant called Brahmakarn. This was a commonly believed rumor. One day a thief stole a beautiful and precious brass bell from a temple and ran towards the forest to hide it. However, in the night a tiger saw him and killed and ate the thief. The bell, lying in the forest, was discovered by a group of monkeys who lived in that part of the forest. Being curious they started playing with the bell and loved the sound of it. They would often play and keep ringing the bell. These sounds of the bell were heard by the villagers and they had also found parts of the body of the thief in another part of the jungle. So they assumed that the giant Brahmakarn was killing people and then ringing the bell. This rumor spread far and wide and so did fear among the people. As the fear grew, people started leaving the town to find safer places to live in. This news finally reached the king who felt concerned about these developments. He asked his courtiers to spread the word that whoever could subdue the Brahmkarn would be rewarded handsomely. In this town lived a very poor and lowly woman who was actually quite clever and intelligent. She knew that the rumors about Brahmkarn were simply rumors and having secretly gone to the forest had noticed that it was monkeys ringing the bell. So she approached the king and assured thin that she would be able to stop Brahmkarn. The king was delighted and gave her permission to proceed. She went into the forest with a large bunch of bananas which she threw in all directions. Seeing such a large quantity of bananas spread all around, the monkeys immediately ran to collect them and forgot about the bell. As the monkeys were busy collecting and eating bananas, the woman quietly picked up the bell ad went back to the town. From then no sound of bells was heard and peace returned o the village. The woman was handsomely rewarded for solving the problem and gained immense respect of all. So I say that from a mere sound you should not be alarmed and try to take this mighty animal as your friend.”
Then the Jackals brought Sanjeevak to the lion and introduced them. The king showed him good respect and they dwelt together for some time.
