G. R. Subramiah Pantulu

“ But the mouse, possessed of intelligence and wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures, replied with these excellent words:—"That friendship in which there is fear, and which cannot be kept without fear, should be maintained with great caution, like the hand of the snake charmer at the snake's fangs. He who does not protect himself after having made a covenant with one that is stronger, finds that covenant productive of injury instead of benefit. Nobody is anybody's friend, nobody is anybody's well-wisher; persons become friends or foes only from motives of interest. ”

“ If you mix boiled rice with the blood of a courageous and liberal king, or with the blood from the throat of a revered yogi endowed with all virtuous qualities, and offer it to Durga, whose temple is very near the tank, I dare to say that the water will never dry, and that the tank will be as full as the ocean. ”

“ Whenever I intend to perform a tapas, one Bethala throws as many obstacles as he can in the way, and never allows it to reach completion. As you are the strongest and bravest of men, if you will bring Bethala here, tied hand and foot, there will be no one to throw obstacles in the way of my tapas. If you talk to Bethala while bringing him here, he will assuredly run away. You should, therefore, not talk to him at all." Vikramarka then enquired the whereabouts of Bethala, went and tied him up and carried him on his back. ”

“ There is no condition that deserves permanently the name either of friendship or hostility. Both arise from considerations of interest and gain. Self-interest is very powerful. He who reposes blind trust in friends, and always behaves with mistrust towards foes without paying any regard to considerations of policy, finds his life unsafe. He who, disregarding all considerations of policy, sets his heart upon an affectionate union with either friends or foes, comes to be regarded as a person whose understanding has been unhinged. One should never repose trust in a person undeserving of trust. ”

“ But the mouse, conversant with all that is productive of the highest good, replied in sweet words that were beneficial to himself:—"Hear how the matter appears to me. Friends should be well examined. Foes also should be well studied. In this world a task like this is regarded by even the learned as a difficult one, depending upon acute intelligence. Friends assume the guise of foes, and foes of friends. When compacts of friendship are formed, it is difficult for either party to Understand why the other party is moved. There is no such thing as a foe. ”

“ There are many in whom grandeur hears with a disdainful smile these short and simple annals of the poor. But it ought not to be forgotten that these cottages of the poor turn out to be the very nurseries of the wisdom and knowledge which the world has accumulated. ”

“ Parvati, the wife, unable to endure the sight of this poverty-stricken Brahman, took compassion on him, and requested her husband to bless him with riches. Whereupon Iswara replied and said that Brahma had not written on his face that he must enjoy wealth, and that he must, therefore, live and die a beggar. Parvati thereupon said:—Let me see how this Brahman cannot become wealthy when we will it," and threw a heap of one thousand gold mohars on his way. The Brahman came to within ten yards of the heap, when suddenly the thought struck him to see if he could walk like a blind man. ”

“ Though folklore appears to be a very much neglected branch of science, it takes the place of history during the times when there are no records, by throwing a world of light on the manners, customs and religious and social condition of the people whose folklore it is. We all know that every good is not without alloy, and that this visible Nature and this common world is so created that the two things—evil and good—co-exist. ”

“ Once upon a time Haimantaka approached his wife and represented his grievances to her, told her how, despite his intelligence in his art, he was not able to eke out a livelihood, and how much better placed his brother-weaver was, though weaving only a coarse stuff.
"My talents are unknown to any one in the place," said he, and determined to quit his home for another place with the object of amassing as much wealth as possible.
His wife rejoined:— "Of what avail is your going to a distant quarter? You will get only as much as it has fallen to your lot to earn." ”

“ But, however much you may bestow on the rich, no fame will accrue to you. To give you an example, if rain falls while the crops are withering for want of water, the cloud will obtain fame, but however much it rains in the ocean, no reputation can result to the cloud." Thus speaking and considering how clever the boy was, the king made over half his kingdom to him. The youth assumed the sceptre, confirmed the leases that had been given to the people, and finding out the poor caused food and clothing to be given to them, and cherished them much. ”

“ There is hardly anybody, I think, who does not look back with fond attachment to those home associations,, with those innocent sweet simple pleasures, whence first we started into life's long race.. We feel them, while the wings of fancy still are free, even in age and at our latest day.. While the unthinking mind is satisfied with these grandmothers' tales as such, the thinking mind goes a step further and endeavours to gather knowledge from these tales of childhood. There are a good many to whom familiarity breeds contempt, and who, in blissful ignorance, scoff at folklore. ”

“ The friendship between two uterine brothers, the love between husband and wife, depends upon interest. I do not know any kind of affection between any persons that does not rest upon some motive of self-interest. One becomes dear for one's liberality, another for his sweet words, a third in consequence of his religious acts. Generally a person becomes dear for the purpose he serves. The affection between us two arose from a sufficient cause. That cause exists no longer. On the other hand, from adequate reason, that affection between us has come to an end. ”

“ The king replied:—"When you rule the kingdom, without oppressing the people, you must find out who are rich and who are poor, and protect the latter by giving them food and clothing from time to time. ”

“ The elephants were wonder-struck, and seeing the reflection of the moon, agitated by the wind in the waters, mistook it for his wrath with them, bowed to the moon, requested him to excuse them as they had come there in innocence, and desired the hare to intercede with the moon on their behalf. The elephants thereupon, quitted the place instantly, and the hares from that time forward lived comfortably. ”

“ Isukathakkidi saw the bundle of Pedathakiddi, took it to be a quantity of food, and resolved to reserve it for his own use, and so asked him what it was. Whereupon Pedathakiddi, who entertained the same desires about the bundle of Isukathakkidi, told him that it contained a quantity of food, and asked Isukathakkidi what the contents of his bundle were. To which he replied:—"I have rice with me, but I regret I have not, like you, brought other food with me. I feel exceedingly hungry, but what can I do?" ”

“ Father, mother, son, maternal uncle, sister's son, all are guided by considerations of interest and profit.
"Thou tellest me in sweet words that I am very dear to thee. Hear, however, friend, the reasons that exist on my side. One becomes dear from an adequate cause. One becomes a foe from an adequate cause. This whole world of creatures is moved by the desire of gain in some form or other. ”

“ Chandrasarma being very much pleased with the noble qualities of Vikramarka, and as he was moreover the collateral grandson of the late monarch, installed him king and made Bhatti his premier. Vikramarka then prayed to the goddess, Kali, who, being greatly pleased with his severe austerities, appeared before him and granted him a boon, that he would rule for one thousand years, that neither gods, spirits, demons nor giants should be able to vanquish him, and that he would meet his death by the hand of a child, born to a girl thirteen months old. ”

“ I will then purchase a mansion, which I will furnish elegantly, and marry a beautiful damsel who will crown my happiness by giving birth to a son. My wife will be particularly fond of me, but I shall not allow her too much freedom, and shall sometimes send her away with a kick when she comes to caress me." Thus thinking, he thrust out his leg like one really going to kick, struck the pot and broke it into pieces. The flour got mixed with dirt, and all his ideas of happiness vanished. ”

“ He is a man full of tricks and has large forces. I am sure he will do you some mischief, once you are away from the fort. Do not go to the Polygar." To which the king replied:—"What care we how full of tricks he is? He has been so long faithful to us, and, judging him from his antecedents, he will not, we think, do us any harm. Had he entertained such thoughts, why did he not invade our dominions while we remained in the fortress?"
The minister replied:—"As you are invincible, so long as you remain in the fort, he dare not do you any harm. He therefore seeks your friendship. ”

“ One should not, however, himself repose confidence in foes. In brief, the highest truth of all in reference to policy is mistrust. For this reason, mistrust of all persons is productive of the greatest good. One like myself should always guard his life from persons like thee. Do thou also protect they life from the Chandala who is now very angry."
While the mouse thus spake, the cat, frightened at the mention of the hunter, hastily leaving the tree ran away with great speed, and the mouse also sought shelter in a hole somewhere else. ”

“ Once upon a time, a crane, which happened to pass by, conceived the idea of preying on them, and stood on the brink of the lake. But it saw the fish going away from it shaking with fear, and so it said:—"I very much regret your going away from me in the belief that birds of my order make you their prey, and that I would do the same. But I have not come here with such an object in view. I, following others of my kind, have killed a good many fish, and became a sinner, but I am now grown very old, and have renounced the world. ”

“ Hell has fallen to the lot of the man who spent his days in your temple, while you have given Heaven and final beatitude to the fellow who never for a moment thought of you, and delighted always in the conversation of women of ill-fame. ”

“ It behoveth thee now to enjoy the company of my poor self who has become thy friend. Like disciples worshipping their preceptor, all the friends I have, all my relatives and kinsmen, will honour and worship thee. ”

“ We cannot get any knowledge in a concentrated form. If this be something like a universal law of our present condition, if knowledge, for example, cannot be obtained except by hard and often painful application, if health can be secured only by those who are content to pay the price of steady exercise and strict temperance for it, we need not be surprised if the folklorean study is by no means a purely easy affair, one that can be learnt at first sight. ”

“ The king sent at once to the minister, told him of what had happened and enquired of him as to the arrangements he had made.
The minister responded:—"There is nothing to fear in what has come to pass. But I find that the task of ruling a kingdom is a big affair, and while I was thinking of how best to rid ourselves of this difficulty, the enemy chanced to enter and blockade the city. Let them, therefore, undergo the perils of governing the kingdom. ”

“ Guided, however, by my own interests, I myself am firm in peace and war that are themselves very unstable. The circumstances under which peace is to be made or war declared are changed as quickly as the clouds change their form. ”

“ Your fame extends over the four corners of the world. A Brahman has been here for a, very long time, eagerly longing to see you." The tiger thereupon was overjoyed and told the lambs to fetch the Brahman to his presence. Then the lambs went to the Brahman, told him not to be afraid, and took him along with them to the tiger. Whereupon the tiger was exceedingly pleased with the Brahman, and presented him with some of the ornaments of those whom he had slain on previous occasions. ”

“ Karpataka set sail in a merchant vessel, which unfortunately was wrecked and all the people perished. Karpataka alone, while swimming with the greatest difficulty, caught hold of a twig which carried him to Nagaloka, where he saw a temple to Durga, at which he rested. He there saw a number of Naga girls visiting the temple, worshipping the goddess, and dancing and singing. He conceived a passion for one among the number, and communicated it to her maid-servants, who in turn informed the lady. The lady seemed to agree to the proposal and wanted Karpataka to bathe in a tank near by. ”

“ In the Dandaka forest was a lion which was in the habit of attacking and consuming all the beasts thereof. To rid themselves from the constant fear in which they were kept on his approach, all the other animals proposed to supply the lion with an animal a day if it would not attack them any longer. This promise was agreed to, and kept up for some time. Some time after, it fell to the lot of a fox to be sent to the lion, who, by no means relishing the idea of being devoured, walked slowly along, thinking all the while of some plan by which to put an end to the lion and save his own life. ”