Page 30 - Śrī Pañcatantra - Eng

2 The Pañcatantra: First Tantra

Once he had loaded his cart with his wares, he respectfully
bowed at the feet of his elders and headed north to Mathurā.
Vardhamānaka’s cart was quite large so he had two great bulls
pulling it. Both of these bulls, named Sañjīvaka and Nandaka,
had been raised in his household from birth.

After many days of traveling, they reached the banks of the
Yamunā River. It was then that somehow the unfortunate
Sañjīvaka broke his leg and collapsed on the spot. Naturally
Vardhamānaka was beside himself with grief when he saw his
bull so badly injured. Therefore, he set up camp beside the
Yamunā to see what could be done. However his cart drivers
were more circumspective than he, and they discussed the
situation amongst themselves. They concluded that due to
Vardhamānaka’s dejected state of mind he was not thinking
clearly. One of them would have to approach the master and
discuss the situation objectively from the perspective of nīti-
śāstra. Respectfully, the chosen servant advised the merchant,
“Sir, for the sake of an injured bull whose future is dim anyway,
we are camped here in the midst of the jungle. This dense
forest is stalked by lions and tigers. Due to his own fate the
unfortunate bull Sañjīvaka is destined to be lost anyway. Yet for
his sake we are sacrificing everything else. This is not intelligent
on our part for as it is said ...

A wise man never abandons great endeavors for things of
lesser importance. (1.2)

Taking their wisdom and good intentions to heart, Vardhamānaka
left a pair of servants to look after the bull and continued on his
journey. The next day the servants with whom he had entrusted
the safety of Sañjīvaka caught up with their master. They had
abandoned Sañjīvaka to his own destiny and had hurriedly
fled the jungle due to fear of the wilds. To cover their own