THE STORY OF THE FOUR LEARNED FOOLS
"In a certain town, there lived four
Brahmins who had become great friends. They were all extremely naive by nature.
One day, they said to each other, 'Let us all go to another kingdom, study hard
and then make some money there.' So, they set off for Kanyakubja, to get their
education. They joined an ashrama and began a course of study.
" ' "They worked hard at this
ashrama for twelve years. Then, one day, they said to each other, 'We have now
acquired sufficient knowledge in all branches of the sciences. Let us go to our
Guru, get his permission and leave.' So, they did this and left the ashrama,
taking all their shastras with them.
" ' "After they had been
travelling for a short time, they came to a place where two paths met. They
stood still and pondered. One of them said, 'Which way shall we go?'
" ' "Now, the son of a merchant
had died in the town and, at this very moment, a huge funeral procession,
including several prominent citizens of the town, passed by, on its way to the
Smashana.
"' "Then one of the Brahmins
consulted his shastras and read.
'Whichever road is followed by great
men,
Is the right one to follow.'
"' "So they said, 'Let us go the
same way as these people.' And they started following the road taken by the
prominent citizens.
" ' "When they reached the
Smashana, they saw a donkey standing there. As they could not decide what to do
next, the second Brahmin consulted his shastras and read.
'Whosoever stands by you on a joyful
occasion In calamity, sickness, famine or war,
In the court of law or at the Smashana,
Is your true friend.'
"And so, one of the Brahmins put his,
arms round the donkey's neck, the second kissed him, whilst the third began to
wash his hoofs. 'For,' they said, 'he is our true friend!'
" ' "Meanwhile, they saw, in the
distance, a camel coming quickly towards them. The third Brahmin consulted his
shastras and read.
'Righteousness marches rapidly.'
"' "So they all decided that this
camel must be nothing but righteousness incarnate.
" ' "Then the fourth Brahmin
opened his shastras. and read,
'A wise man should lead his friend to
righteousness.'
"' "And so, they decided that the
donkey should be introduced to the camel, and when the camel approached, they
tied them up together.
" ' "When the donkey's master, a
washerman, heard the news that his donkey was being dragged along by a camel,
he picked up a stick and ran after the four' learned fools to beat them. And
they ran for their lives.
" ' "When they had gone a little
way, they came to a river. The leaf of a Palasha tree was floating by. One of them cried, 'This
floating leaf will take us across the river.' And with this, he jumped on it
and immediately began to drown. The second Brahmin grabbed him by the hair and
remembered a quotation from the shastras,
'When total destruction is imminent,
A wise man sacrifices half
And works with the rest,
For a complete loss is unbearable.'
'So,' he concluded, 'he should be cut in
two!' And they cut him in two halves with a sharp sword.
" ' "The three remaining Brahmins
wandered on, until they reached a village. There, they were invited by the
villagers and lodged in different houses.
"' "One of the Brahmins was served
with sweet Sutrika. When he saw the long noodles like substance, he remembered
the verse that says,
'A man who makes use of long tactics,
Is sure to be destroyed.'
"' So, he did not touch the food and
went away hungry.
" ' "The second Brahmin was served
with Mandaka. When he saw the bowl of frothy food, he remembered the verse that
says,
'Whatever is frothy and distended,
Will not last long.'
"' "So, he too left his food and
went away hungry.
"' "The third Brahmin was given a
Vatika. When he saw all the little holes in it, he remembered the verse that
says,
'The presence of defects,
Is a sure sign of approaching
disaster.'
"' 'So, he too left his food and went
away hungry.
"' "Thus, the three learned fools
began to starve and started out on their journey home, with all and sundry
ridiculing them on the way.
"And so," continued
Suvaranasiddhi, "that's why I said,
'People well versed in the shastras,
But lacking in commonsense,
Become the object of ridicule,
Like the four learned fools.'
"You too, Chakradhara, are devoid of
commonsense. You would not listen to me. That's why you have been reduced to
this state."
"But that's not the reason," said
Chakradhara. "It's because fate is against me. As they say:
'An orphan whom fortune smiles on,
Though left unprotected in a jungle,
survives,
But a man with luck against him,
Even though he is well protected,
Dies in his own home.'
And,
When fate is hostile,
Even the talented pay with their
lives,
Whilst those with lesser talents live
happily.'
As the
frog said,
'The fisherman is carrying
Sahasrabuddhi, with his thousand
talents, on his head,
And Shatabuddhi, with his hundred
talents,
Is hanging from his hand,
Whilst I Ekabuddhi, with my single
talent, am swimming happily in this water.' "
"How was that?" asked Suvaranasiddhi. "
And Chakradhara told
The Story Of Two Fishes
And The Frog.