This Panchatantra fable tells of an extraordinary friendship between a mighty lion and an ordinary bull, a bond that ultimately collapsed into bloodshed because of a scheming jackal's lies. The story opens in a city called Mahilaropya, home to a wealthy merchant named Vardhaman, who once loaded his bullock cart with goods and set out toward Kashmir for trade.
A Bull Trapped in the Mud Finds a New Life
Among the pair of sturdy, powerful bullocks pulling his cart was one named Sanjivak, who got stuck in a deep patch of marshland along the banks of the river Yamuna during the journey. Servants tried everything to pull him free, but the bull simply would not come out of the mud. Left with no choice, merchant Vardhaman assigned a few servants to look after Sanjivak and continued on his journey. Within two or three days, however, those servants abandoned the bull to die in the swamp and lied to the merchant, telling him Sanjivak was already dead.
The truth turned out very differently. Feeding on the lush green grass and clean water along the Yamuna's banks, Sanjivak regained his full strength within days, growing healthy and muscular once again. Flush with renewed energy, he began bellowing loudly, and the sound carried across the entire forest.
An Unfamiliar Roar Terrifies the King of the Forest
That same forest was ruled by a powerful lion named Pinglak. One day, as Pinglak came down to the riverbank to drink water, he heard Sanjivak's terrifying bellow. He had never in his life heard a bull make a sound like that. The roar frightened him so badly that he turned back to his cave without even drinking the water.
Damanak's Scheme to Win Back His Ministerial Post
In Pinglak's court lived two clever jackals, Karatak and Damanak, sons of the lion's former ministers. When Damanak noticed how shaken the king was, he saw an opportunity to win back the king's trust and reclaim the ministerial post his family had once held. He approached Pinglak, cleverly sensed the source of his fear, and offered to track down the creature and bring it before the king if given permission. Pinglak agreed.
Damanak then went into the forest and found Sanjivak. He warned the bull that this territory belonged to lion king Pinglak and that he would have to present himself before the king. Sanjivak replied that he had no objection to going, provided he was assured of his safety. Damanak accepted the condition and led Sanjivak to Pinglak's court.
An Unlikely Friendship Blossoms
Once Pinglak realised the terrifying sound had come from nothing more than a plant eating bull, his fear vanished completely. Over time, the two grew so close that the lion gave up hunting altogether, spending all his time instead discussing scriptures and statecraft with Sanjivak. Their friendship became inseparable.
Hungry Jackals Plot Against the Friendship
The king's hunts had always fed several other forest animals for free, and Karatak and Damanak were among them, living off the meat Pinglak left behind after eating his fill. Once Pinglak stopped hunting, the two jackals began starving. Damanak soon realised the mistake his own scheme had created, and he hatched a new plan, this time to drive a wedge between the two friends.
Poisoning Two Minds, Setting Up a Deadly Clash
Damanak went to Pinglak alone and warned him that the bull was not as innocent as he seemed, claiming Sanjivak actually wanted to seize the throne. He told the lion that if the bull ever lowered his horns and raised his tail while approaching him, it would be a sure sign of an imminent attack. Having planted doubt in the king's mind, the treacherous jackal then went to Sanjivak and lied to him as well, telling him that Pinglak's intentions had turned evil and that the lion wanted to kill him to feed his ministers. He told Sanjivak that if he ever saw the king's eyes turn red, it would mean an attack was coming.
The next day, when Sanjivak and Pinglak came face to face, Damanak's lies made each of them look at the other with suspicion and fear. Out of fear, Sanjivak lowered his horns in self defence, while an angry Pinglak thrashed his tail on the ground. Seeing these very signs Damanak had described, each became convinced the warning had been true. A fierce battle broke out between them, and in the end, the lion killed his once inseparable friend Sanjivak.
Grief, Regret and a Jackal's Return to Power
After Sanjivak's death, Pinglak was overcome with grief for his true friend and wept bitterly. It was then that the cunning Damanak stepped in to console him, and having succeeded completely in his scheme, the jackal was reinstated as the lion's chief minister.
The Lesson: Never Let Whisperers Poison True Friendships
Such episodes are common in society even today. At workplaces, people often turn others against one another, and running down colleagues behind their backs has become a favourite pastime for many. Clever, self serving people often pose as friends only to poison someone's mind against another for their own benefit. Anyone who falls for such talk without questioning it can end up meeting the same fate as Sanjivak. The story's message is clear: never let malicious, scheming talk make you doubt an old and true friend, because in the end, all that is left is regret.
