Pārigha

Pārigha was a caṇḍāla hunter. He appears in the Āpaddharma Parva of the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata, in the Mārjāra-Mūshika Saṃvāda, the talk of the cat and the mouse. He came to the tree where the cat Lomaśa and the mouse Palita lived and set his nets there. His net caught Lomaśa. This put both Lomaśa and Palita in great danger and forced them into their pact.

His part in the account

Pārigha followed the work of a hunter and trapper. He came to the forest tree with nets and set his traps around its base. He caught Lomaśa the cat. His purpose was ordinary, for he was only doing his usual work. He set the trap in the evening and came back in the morning to collect his catch.

His coming in the morning became the last sign for Palita. The mouse had been slowing the last cuts of the net on purpose, until the hunter’s return made the danger plain. Only when Pārigha’s footsteps could be heard from far off did Palita cut the last cords. Cat and mouse then ran apart in time. Pārigha reached the tree and found the net empty.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Āpaddharma Parva, Chapters 131–138