77-80] PADUMĀWATI. 39 he wait at my door for payment of my debt, what am I to give him ? How am I to enter my house empty? What answer am I to give him if he ask me ? My companions are gone. My fair fame (will be destroyed. Between us are oceans and mountains. Hopeless of hope do I return. O God, give thou unto me subsistence. 78. Just then the fowler came up with the parrot, all golden in its colour and matchless in its beauty. He offered it for sale in the market, where the price of jewels and rubies was settled. But who would buy the parrot, the fly of a Madāra tree, which was looking intently to see where it was to go ? The Brāhmaṇa came up and asked himself, 'Is this parrot possessed of wisdom, or wisdomless and empty?' Said he, "Tell me, thou mountain-born, if wisdom be with thee, and conceal it not within thy heart, Thou and I are both Brāhmaṇas, and everyone asketh another his caste. If thou art a pandit, then recite thou the Vēda; for without asking is no essential attribute discovered. 'I am a Brāhmaṇa and a learned man. Tell me thine own wisdom. For if a man recite before him who is well taught, the gain is two-fold.' 79. The parrot replied, 'Sir, I once had wisdom, when I was a bird escaped from the cage. Now what wisdom doth thy disciple possess, for he is a prisoner, thrust into a basket and brought for sale. Learned men are not brought to market. But I wish to be sold, and therefore is all my learning forgotten. Two paths see I in this market: along which of them will God drive me? Weeping blood my countenance hath become red, and my body pallid. What tale can I tell? Red and black upon my throat are two collar-like marks. They are as it were nooses, and I fear for my life exceed- ingly. Now have I recognized these nooses on my throat and neck. Let us see what these nooses are about to do. 'Much have I read and studied, and that fear is still before me. I see the whole world dark. All my knowledge have I lost, and I sit bewildered.' 80. When the Brāhmaṇa heard these words he entreated the fowler, "Be merciful and slay not birds. O cruel one, why dost thou take another's life? Hast thou not fear of the guilt of murder ? Thou sayest that birds are food for men, but he is cruel who eateth other's flesh. Weeping dost thou come into this world, and with weeping dost thou depart; yet, natheless, dost thou sleep in enjoyment and happiness. Thou knowest that thine own body will suffer destruction, still nourishest thou thy flesh with the flesh of others. If 1 According to verse lxxvi, prices ruled high. % The Madāra or Arka (Asclepias gigantea) is a plant used as medicine. It is of little acconnt, except that its flowers are offered to the mad God Mahādēva. This in fact is one reason for its light estimation. A bright green fly settles on it, which, of course, is of still less value, and to it the bright green parrot is compared. The parrot is anxiously looking to see what its fate is to be. 3 The Parrot is the Brāhmaṇa of the bird tribe. 4 One to the east, the other to the west. 6 Male parrots, when full-grown, have two ring-like marks, one red and the other black round their neck. These are often compared to nooses. Compare xcv, 6, and xcix, 7.
