________________
Symbolism
holisms
as he did so, he caught on to the limb of the tree which overhung the well, here he hung to the branch, with the honey dropping into his mouth when the monk came by and offered to assist him to escape the certain death that threatened him from all sides, but he refused the assistance of the monk saying I arn quite content now. The elephant cannot reach me, I shall not fall, i have a firm hold on this branch, and do you not see the honey dropping into my mouth? - it is very sweet, and I am quite happy. Leave me to enjoy this sweet in my own way.
"The monk showed the man the folly of holding on to a limb that two rats were knawing apart, and the huge serpent at the bottom ready to swallow him; but the man persisted in remaining where he was, safe from the great elephant. Saying it would take a long time for two small rats to knaw off a trunk of a tree, that he was not alarmed at such small things; besides, he wished to enjoy the delicious honey. And this is the whole drama represented in the picture," said my father. This was very interesting to me, but I was not satisfied, and I said to my father – “Surely there must be a meaning to this drama. Will you not tell me the meaning?” And he did when he saw I desired so earnestly to know.
He said, “The picture is symbolical. The great forest is the world. The man in the well is the ordinary worldly man. The well with its dangers is the life of that man, over which all men are suspended who care for nothing beyond the present life. The elephant after him is death. The great serpent at the bottom of the well is the lowest existence to which those go, who will not make an effort to escape and who waste their forces in a useless or evil life with no effort or desire to rise to a higher life - who live for the present life only. The four snakes in the walls of the well are the symbols of Anger, Vanity, Deceit and Greediness.
The trunk of the tree represents the short duration of our earthly life. The two rats, black and white, represent time (our month is divided into the light half and the dark half) which
121
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
