{"id":39203,"date":"2025-04-07T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=39203"},"modified":"2025-04-19T15:13:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T15:13:55","slug":"what-ancient-animal-fables-from-india-teach-about-political-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/what-ancient-animal-fables-from-india-teach-about-political-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"What ancient animal fables from India teach about political wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

John Nemec<\/a>, University of Virginia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s volatile world, where wars can be fought over territory, commerce can be abruptly subjected to tariffs, and friendly nations can turn hostile after a single election, political leadership is more consequential than ever. So, one must ask, what makes a leader effective, and how should we choose who should lead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classics such as Aristotle\u2019s \u201cPolitics<\/a>,\u201d Confucius\u2019 \u201cThe Analects<\/a>\u201d and Machiavelli\u2019s \u201cThe Prince<\/a>\u201d offer compelling visions of proper governance. But there is another ancient source of political wisdom \u2013 the classical Indian tradition \u2013 which is not as well known in the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a scholar of Indian religions<\/a>, and in my 2025 book \u201cBrahmins and Kings<\/a>,\u201d I examine various narrative works written in Sanskrit \u2013 the classical language of India \u2013 which deal with political theory. Among them, Vi\u1e63\u1e47u\u015barman\u2019s \u201cPa\u00f1catantra<\/a>\u201d stands out. It is a striking collection of animal fables from perhaps around 300 C.E. in which birds, lions and others speak and reason as humans do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cPa\u00f1catantra\u201d stories are parables that teach how to negotiate sometimes brave, sometimes cruel, sometimes clever and sometimes na\u00efve friends and enemies alike. These stories weigh three ethical positions and settle on one as best for politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing what\u2019s right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, one might seek to guide leaders by the \u201cethic of deontology.\u201d This theory suggests people are duty-bound to act morally, because being good is an end in and of itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Indian theorists knew this ethic<\/a> well<\/a>, they were also aware that those with power often need inducement for doing the right thing, for \u2013 as the saying goes \u2013 power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Doing \u201cthe right thing,\u201d \u201cfor its own sake,\u201d can be na\u00efve in the political arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So goes the story in the third book (of five) in the \u201cPa\u00f1catantra,\u201d titled \u201cWar and Peace<\/a>.\u201d A kingdom of owls was crushing the crows in battle, until a clever crow, a counselor named Cira\u1e43j\u012bvin, or \u201cLong-life,\u201d cooked up a ruse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He smeared the blood of his lost brethren on his body, plucked his own feathers and scarred himself with wounds. Approaching the king of the owls in this sorry state, he claimed the crows had violently thrown him out for suggesting they should sue for peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, he lamented, his only wish was revenge \u2013 alliance with his former enemies so as to punish his erstwhile companions. The counselors to the king of the owls advise him that it is simply right to harbor those in distress, so the owl king does so on principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patiently licking his manufactured wounds in the owls\u2019 kingdom, Cira\u1e43j\u012bvin then spied all its defenses and weaknesses, divined the opportune time for the crows to invade, and led them to conquer the owls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend in need is a friend, indeed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the story of the owls and the crows teaches that na\u00efvely choosing what\u2019s right is unwise, then why not drop morality altogether? Why not ruthlessly pursue whatever produces results? This is the second view of political leadership: double-cross, cheat, bully, cajole, break the conventions and rules \u2013 do whatever works!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
An 18th-century \u2018Pa\u00f1catantra\u2019 manuscript page. Philadelphia Museum of Arts via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Indian political theorists<\/a> thought of this, too, and their very definition of good political rule is that it produces results for the people. But they also rejected unbridled ruthlessness, because they knew that such Machiavellianism was too blunt an instrument for political affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the \u201cPa\u00f1catantra\u2019s\u201d second book, titled \u201cOn Securing Friends.\u201d Here we meet another crow, this one named Laghupatanaka, or \u201cLight Wing\u201d<\/a> \u2013 a nimble but lonely bird who witnesses friendship in action. He sees a hunter trap a dule of doves in his net. But their leader directs the bevy to pull all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one they lift up the net and wing it a distance, the fowler chasing all the while on the ground. Soon, they land where they can meet up with their friend, a mouse named Hira\u1e47yaka, or \u201cEager for Gold,\u201d who chews through the net as a dove never could, and they escape before the fowler arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laghupatanaka knows he, too, might be hunted. So he seeks out Hira\u1e47yaka, though they are said to be \u201cnatural enemies\u201d because crows eat mice. But Laghupatanaka promises loyalty, and he never betrays Hira\u1e47yaka, even though he is the stronger one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gradually, they add to their company a wise turtle and a beautiful deer and prosper together on a paradise island until a trapper invades their home. Each plays a role in fooling their foe, who captures the turtle, while the deer, heeding the turtle\u2019s good counsel, manages a sly escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To free the turtle, the deer plays dead while the crow mimics pecking at his eye. The trapper leaves the turtle behind, distracted by this bigger prize. Then Hira\u1e47yaka the mouse cuts the net holding the turtle, who crawls away as the decoy deer and the crow each take flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deer, crow, turtle and mouse each possess an innate ability, and together they save all from harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moral of this story is clear: Teamwork is effective, and successful leaders, no matter how powerful, thrive by relying on friends. As the well-known adages go: Two minds are better than one; many hands make for light work; a friend in need is a friend, indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business is business, but how?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A sketch illustrating a \u2018Pa\u00f1catantra\u2019 story. The Earliest English Version Of The Fables Of Bidpai; The Moral Philosophy Of Doni (1888) via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, it\u2019s a competitive world, and some friends are greedy or false, as the story of the owls and the crows suggests. But if both pure morality and pure Machiavellianism are sometimes unwise, what third option could there be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the story of the first book of the \u201cPa\u00f1catantra<\/a>,\u201d the tale of the foolish lion king who is tricked into fighting a natural ally. The king of the forest was once frightened by the sound of a bull. His advisers, the jackals, rightly judge the bull to be harmless, and they convince the two to meet. In time, the lion and bull became close friends \u2013 so much so that the lion stopped hunting, and the animals in his retinue began starving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jackals then went to the king with a ruse: They told him that the bull was plotting to kill him; they manipulated the bull in similar fashion. In the fight that followed, the lion was injured, but the bull was killed. There was enough meat to feed everyone, and the jackals were promoted, because the lion king falsely believed they helped him avert a plot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, one might wrongly conclude that the moral of this story is power through strength. But the \u201cPa\u00f1catantra\u201d makes clear that there\u2019s more to it: The bull was a true friend who had helpfully counseled the king. It was the jackal advisers who betrayed the lion with their manipulative story, which won them undue power and wealth at the cost of a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter the third, and best, of the trio of political theories: virtue ethics<\/a>. Leaders should cultivate wisdom. Chasten passions and impulses, the Indian texts counsel, in order to be able to distinguish opportunity from danger, friend from pretender, good advice from folly. Be discerning so as to see the world as it is and can be. Be good in order to do well in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wisdom in action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Indian political theory, then, the answer is as simple as heeding the wisdom of parable stories: Do what is right, with the right measure, at the right time. Needless to say, this is more easily said than done. And one cannot force a leader to be chastened or wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voters can, however, favor those who pursue self-restraint. For if leaders must be thoughtful to be wise \u2013 and thus open the road to results \u2013 then voters should seek those who listen and learn so as to be able to know just what to do and when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the counsel that the classical Indian tradition offers contemporary voters. But to see who has just this virtuous discretion, voters will need a touch of that wisdom themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Nemec<\/a>, Professor of Indian Religions and South Asian Studies, University of Virginia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Nemec, University of Virginia In today\u2019s volatile world, where wars can be fought over territory, commerce can be abruptly subjected to tariffs, and friendly nations can turn hostile after a single election, political leadership is more consequential than ever. So, one must ask, what makes a leader effective, and how should we choose who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":39204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292,46,295,10,296,4],"tags":[14051,3647,1080,5181,196,885,891,886,860,2132,6610,16235],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39203"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39203"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39247,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39203\/revisions\/39247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}