Palita
Palita was a mouse. He lived at the root of a great tree in a forest, in a burrow with a hundred exits. He is the central figure of the Mārjāra-Mūshika Saṃvāda, the talk of the cat and the mouse, in the Āpaddharma Parva of the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata. When threats came from every side, Palita found the safest place, made a short pact with his natural enemy, and ended the pact as soon as he was safe again.
Background
Palita lived at the root of the same tree where the cat Lomaśa had made his home. The two were natural enemies. Lomaśa hunted mice, and Palita lived in constant watchfulness. Still, Palita had made a well-planned burrow with a hundred exits, so that he always had many ways to escape.
The danger
The caṇḍāla hunter Pārigha set his net and caught Lomaśa. At once Palita was in danger from two sides. Harika the mongoose waited at the entrance of his burrow, and an owl sat in the branches above. Every way out was blocked, so Palita weighed the dangers one by one.
- The mongoose was the nearest and most active threat.
- The owl was waiting.
- The cat was caught in the net and for the moment harmless.
Palita saw that his only safe place was right beside the cat. Neither the mongoose nor the owl would come near where Lomaśa was, even with Lomaśa held in the net. Bhīshma tells this as the sharp thinking of the weaker one in danger, who finds the one place of safety even when it means joining his natural enemy.
The pact and its end
Palita spoke to Lomaśa himself and offered a pact. He would gnaw through the net, and Lomaśa would protect him. Palita stayed safe beside Lomaśa through the night.
At dawn Pārigha came to collect his catch. Palita slowed his cutting on purpose, until the hunter’s footsteps could be heard. In this way Lomaśa’s fear was real before Palita cut the last cords. Both were free and had run apart before the hunter arrived.
When the danger was over, Lomaśa called to Palita with what seemed like warmth. Palita answered from a safe distance. He gave the main teaching of the account: a pact made under force is not lasting friendship. When the shared danger is gone, the old relation returns. Gratitude is real, but it must not turn into foolishness. One who trusts a former enemy more than the situation allows comes to grief.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Āpaddharma Parva, Chapters 131–138