The Hunter and the Greedy Jackal

Panchtantra Stories

The Hunter and the Greedy JackalWhile searching for a kill, a hunter went into the forest and spotted a well-fed boar. He took out his bow at once and shot a sharp arrow at the boar. Although, the boar was severely wounded, it made a wild charge at the hunter causing his death. Due to the wounds inflicted by the hunter, the boar also died soonafter. "Meanwhile, a hungry jackal, not knowing that he was doomed to die, came on the scene where the bodies of the hunter and the boar lay. He was thrilled by the sight of so much food and thought, "God has favoured me today. That’s why he has sent so much food for me. It is not without reason that the learned have said that he who has done a good deed in a previous birth is rewarded in this birth even if he does not make any effort. This great feast is certainly the result of some good I have done in a previous birth. But a man must enjoy his wealth in small doses. Therefore, I will begin my meal with this gut of the bow."  The jackal went close to the body of the hunter and began nibbling at the gut of the bow. The gut suddenly snapped with great force killing the jackal in the end. "That’s why," the Brahmin told his wife, "Haven’t you heard that a man’s longevity, destiny, wealth, learning and death are predetermined by God even as the child is in the womb of the mother."  "If that is the case," Shandili said, "I have some un husked sesame seeds in the house. I will make a cake from it and serve it to a Brahmin." Happy at his wife’s words, the Brahmin left for the next village. The wife soaked the seeds in warm water, removed their husk and left them on a cloth to dry in the sun. As the Brahmin’s wife was busy with other chores, a dog came and peed on the seeds left on the cloth to dry." "When the wife saw what the dog had done, she felt miserable that all her effort had gone in vain. She thought that nobody could undo God’s will. She thought, "These seeds cannot now be given away to anyone. I will see if I can exchange them for un husked seeds. Anybody will agree to this swap."  "Brihat continued his story, "The Brahmin’s wife came to the same house which I was visiting to accept offerings. She offered to exchange the husked seeds to anyone ready to accept them. Then the woman in the house came out and was ready to accept the husked seeds from the Brahmin’s wife. But her son intervened and told her, "Mother, these seeds are not good. Why should anyone give away good husked seeds for the raw seeds? There must be some reason for it." The housewife at once gave up the idea of taking husked seeds from the Brahmin’s wife." "After Brihat completed the story, he asked Tamrachud, "Do you know the route he (Hiranyaka) takes to come here?"  "I have no idea," said Tamrachud.  "Have you any tool to dig?" asked the visitor.  "Yes, I have a dibble with me "In that case, let us follow the mouse trail before it is erased," said the visitor.  Hiranyaka resumed his account and said, "Listening to the conversation between Tamrachud and Brihat, I thought that my end had come. Just as he had found my food store, he is capable of tracking my fort. Learned men can measure the strength of the rival by just looking at him. I decided immediately to take a new route and was on my way with the other mice when a fat cat sighted us. He immediately pounced on us and killed a number of my retinue."  "Excepting me, those of the bloodied mice who escaped being killed by the cat took the same old route to the fort. The visitor saw the trail of blood the fleeing mice left behind and following it reached my fort. There, Brihat and Tamrachud dug and found the food store. The visitor told Tamrachud, "Here is the secret of the mouse’s energy. Now, you can sleep in peace." Then they took the store to the temple, the home of Tamrachud."  "I went back to where I had stored food. It was now like a desert. Without food, the spot was a ghastly scene. I did not know where to go and what to do to get back my peace of mind.