It is another nice story from the Panchatantra
collection. Once, there was a jackal in a forest by the name of
Chandaraka. One day, Chandaraka, driven by hunger, went to a nearby
village in search of food. He was extremely hungry. Unfortunately, he
met a group of dogs and they started chasing him. The jackal got
frightened and fled in panic. He entered a washer man’s house in a
hurry. While trying to hide himself, the jackal slipped and fell into a
tub full of blue color, which the washer man had kept ready to dye the
clothes.
Soon the bark of the dogs ceased and jackal came out of the tub. There
was a big mirror fixed on the wall of the house. Jackal saw himself in
the mirror and was surprised to see his blue colored body. He came out
of the house and quickly ran back to the forest. When Chandraraka
reached the forest, every animal failed to recognize this new creature.
Infact they got frightened and ran in all directions.
Taking advantage of the situation, the jackal planned to keep the
situation in his favor. He asked, “Why are you running like this?
There is no need to panic. I am a unique creation of God. He told me
that the animals in this jungle had no ruler and he had nominated me as
your king. He had named me, Kakudruma and told me to rule this forest.
Therefore, all of you can live safely under the cover of my protection.”
The innocent animals believed the shrewd jackal and accepted him as the
king. The jackal appointed the lion as his minister, the tiger as his
chamberlain and the wolf as the gatekeeper. After allotting positions to
the animals, the new king Kakudruma banished all the jackals in the
forest for the fear of being recognized. Now, the animals hunt food and
brought it to the self-proclaimed king. After taking his share, the king
would distribute the remaining food equally among his subjects. So like
this, he was leading a luxurious life.
One day when the blue jackal was holding his court, a herd of jackals
were passing by howling to their glory. Suddenly blue jackal forgot that
he was a king and not an ordinary jackal anymore. Unable to control his
natural instinct, Kakudruma howled at the top of his voice. Soon, the
animals realized that they had been fooled by a jackal. In a fit of
anger, all the animals, at once pounced on the blue jackal and killed
him.
Moral: The one who abandons one’s own folk will perish.
