Life and Stories of Jaina Savior Parcvanatha

Author(s): Maurice Bloomfield
Publisher: Maurice Bloomfield

Page 92

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Life and Stories of Pārçvanātha
lāvati arrived. The parrot who knew well their dispositions, as soon as he was accosted by one of them, recited in a sweet voice: * Pierced by the arrow of thine eyes, O graceful lady, one deems oneself happy and lives; not pierced, one dies: here is a marvelous Science of Archery. After some further give and take, the maid reported to the queen, and she promptly commissioned her to buy the parrot. This she did; the hunter went to his home. When the parrot saw Kamalāvati joyfully coming to meet him, he extended his right wing, and chanted sweetly: O queen, in order to uphold thy weight, as thou restest on his left arm, Vikrama holds the earth as a counter-balance on his right arm.' The queen replied smiling: 'O parrot! what you say amounts to this, that one cannot, unless he rules the earth, drag the load of a woman. Very pointedly you have stated that we impose a great burden: what wise person would not be pleased with a statement of the truth?' She put him into a golden cage, tended him in person, fed him upon every delicacy, and constantly regaled herself with the nectar flow of his conversation (209).
As time went by, the queen and the parrot engaged in a contest of riddles and charades, both simple and intricate, on the whole counting among the most interesting of that species of jeux d'esprit in Hindu literature (227). Again, the queen asked the parrot to recite some well-spoken words, devoted to salutary instruction (hitopadeça). The parrot complied, discoursed on deliberation in speech and action; on rectitude and kindness; on wrath, envy, and malice; winding up with the simile of the three skulls, illustrating the value of discretion (233):
• They are expounded on pp. 31-35 of my translation of this story, cited above.