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The Tale of the Royal Monk Yava
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to the door, trying to find out what was he about, hears the latter's words, and interpreting them to mean that her crime is. discovered, she goes to him and confesses. Lastly, he is asked by the king so guess what was there in the covered pitcher placed before him. Thereupon lamenting his fate loudly, he refers to himself by his childhood petname 'Frog' (mandūka) and by this. lucky coincidence wins the test.
Several variants of this tale are found at present in Gujarat and other regions. In the variant known as Tidā Joši20 (The Fake Astrologer) prior to the test of finding out the lost treasure, the pretender finds out through clevernees the lost bullocks and the number of cakes prepared in the kitchen, and passes this off as due to his astrological knowledge. The theft is detected by his calling out to nimdardi 'sleep'), because through anxiety he was not getting sleep, and by coincidence Nimdarời happened to be the name of the palace maid who had stolen the treasure. In the final test, the king asks Tidā, to guess what he had caught in his list. Thereupon as the latter blamed himself loudly for the sorry plight, apostrophying himself by his name Țiļā, the king opens his fist to let go the imprisoned grasshopperstid) and richly rewards the 'astrologer'. In this version we find :
(1) The use of double-meaning words, which function as common nouns in some situations but as proper nouns in other situations, (2) a casual utterance understood by some overhearer or listener in a meaning quite unintended by the speaker, and (3) these facts accidently resulting in averting danger to the life of the speaker. These features of Harišarman/Tidā Josi are common with the tale of Yava.
Similarly the tale known as 'Ghaso Lālia Ghaso' or 'Gurunantio 21 current in Gujarat, preserves many of the basic features of the Dhammapada-atthakathā tale noted earlier. There is another variant also of this tale current in Gujarat and other regions, offering an amalgam of the two different versions. It is known as “Khad-bad Khad-bad Khodat He”22. A dull-witted Brāhmaṇa is somehow taught by his wife a Sanskrit verse for reciting before
