Story of Greedy Cobra and King of
Frogs
A big well was the home of Gangadatta,
king of frogs. Unable to bear harassment by his relatives, the king
abandoned his kingdom and came out of the well and thought,
“He who certainly retaliates
Him who harmed him in peril
And ridiculed him in misery
Is a man without rebirth.”
Deeply lost in such thoughts, the frog
king saw a big cobra entering the burrow of a tree and thought, “We must set
an enemy to fight an enemy, set a strong person to crush another strong
person. Their end will bring us happiness.”
With this aim in view, he went to the
burrow and called the cobra, “Priyadarsana, please come out.”
The cobra, however, was careful. He
thought, “Who is this fellow? He does not seem to be one of us. I don’t have
any friends outside my circle. I will stay inside and find out who the
caller is. He could be a magician or someone seeking my help in killing his
enemy.”
Then, the cobra shouted from inside, “Who
are you, sir?”
“I am Gangadatta, king of frogs. I have
come to seek your help,” said the caller.
“I cannot believe you. Can there be
friendship between a blade of dry grass and fire? Haven’t the learned said
that he, who is natural prey to the predator never, even in a dream, gets
closer to him? I cannot trust your words,” said the cobra.
“O Priyadarsana, what I tell you is true.
You are my born enemy. But I have come to you seeking help to avenge my
humiliation. The learned have said,
“When your life is under threat
When danger stares you in the face
It is better to bend before an enemy
And save life and property.”
“Who humiliated you,” asked the cobra.
“It is my relatives.”
“Where do you live? Is it a well or a
pond or a tank?”
“It is a well with stone walls.”
“But I have no legs. How can I reach the
well and kill your enemies?”
“Sir, please don’t say no. I will show
you how to enter the well. There is a crevice in the wall that opens into
the well. It’s a nice hiding place for you. Come, I will show you,” said
Gangadatta, king of frogs.
The cobra then thought, “I have become
old. Rarely can I get a frog to eat. This fellow has come to give me a new
lease of life. I will go with him and have a daily feast of frogs.”
Addressing the king of frogs, the cobra
said, “Let’s go.”
“But there is a condition,” said
Gangadatta, “Priyadarsana, I will take you there and show you the place. But
you should spare frogs that are close to me. You should eat only those I
select as food for you.”
The cobra replied, “You are now my
friend. I give you my word. I will eat only those marked by you as my food.”
The cobra then emerged from its burrow
and accompanied the king of frogs to the well. The frog king showed him the
crevice in the well and his relatives who deserved to be killed. The cobra
happily settled in the crevice and finished in course of time all those
frogs their king had marked for extermination.
Now, without frogs to eat, the cobra told
the king, “I have destroyed all your enemies. Now show me prey for food. It
is you who brought me here.”
Gangadatta told him, “You have done your
job to help me. Now, it is time for you to leave this place.”
“How can I leave?” protested the cobra.
“Someone else will occupy my place. So, I will not go, I will stay here
only. You offer me one frog every day from your circle of relatives.”
Repenting for making friends with a
natural enemy, Gangadatta thought it was better to offer the cobra one
friend a day, remembering the saying that “he who befriends a stronger enemy
invites certain death. A wise man does not lose all his wealth to save a
paltry sum.”
Accordingly, the king of frogs began
offering the cobra a frog a day. But the wicked cobra swallowed all the
frogs. One day, it was the turn of Yamunadatta, son of the king of frogs.
The king cried bitterly over the loss of his son. His wife then told him
that there was no point in crying over the past and that he should
immediately leave the place and look for ways to end the menace of the
cobra.
As days passed, the cobra finished off
the entire tribe of frogs with the exception of king Gangadatta. So, he
asked Gangadatta, “Look, my friend, there is now no frog left for me to eat.
I am very hungry. Show me where and how can sate my hunger.”
The king replied, “Priyadarsana, don’t
worry about food as long as I am your friend. You get me out of this well. I
will go and look for wells full of frogs. I will tempt them to come here and
you can have your fill.”
The cobra said, “You are like a brother
to me, Gangadatta. I can’t kill you. But if you bring me food, you will be
as good as my father. I will get you out of this well.” Thus, the king came
out and disappeared. The cobra was eagerly waiting for the king to bring him
food. When Gangadatta failed to turn up even after a long time, the cobra
sought the help of a chameleon.
“My friend, you know Gangadatta very
well. Please go to him and tell him that it does not matter if he cannot
bring me a frog. Let him come. I cannot live without such a trusted friend.”
The chameleon carried the message of the
cobra to the king of frogs and told him, “Your friend Priyadarsana is
eagerly looking for you to return.”
Gangadatta told him, “Excuse me sir, who
can trust a hungry man. You may please go.”
Moral of the Story :
People who are hungry stoop to any level. |