Story 66 - The Cat Who Guarded The Precepts

A CAT having seen that a sun-dried fish was in a bag of

rice, at the time when he was going to it to eat it, a rosary [hanging there] fell on his neck.

After it had fallen, as he was going away with it on his neck a Jungle-hen met him, and ran off.

The Cat then says,

“I am guarding (that is, keeping) the Precepts (of Buddha, sil rakinawa). Tummal Kitti,^[1] come here and go with me.”

While he was taking her with him they met with a Ground Cuckoo.

He called this one :

“‘Bug-bug’-singing Kaccale, ^[2] I am guarding the Precepts. Come here and go with me.”

As they were going they met with a Hare. He called him also :

“Tokka ^[3] the Devil-dancer, come here and go with me. I am guarding the Precepts.”

Having gone to a rock cave [as a pansala or monk’s residence], while they were there the Cat said,

“Tokka the Devil-dancer, Tummal Kitti having scratched [the ground] in the pansala has defiled it. I must kill this one,”

he said.

When the Hare said,

“It is good,”

he killed her.

After the Cat had said,

“It is not a fault to eat a dead one, is it ?”

when the Hare replied,

“No, there is not any fault in it,”

he ate her.

Afterwards the Cat said,

“Tokka the Devil-dancer, this ‘Bug-bug’-singing Kaccale has been drinking arrack (palm spirit) until his eyes have become red.” When he said,

“I must kill this one,”

he killed it. Then saying,

“There is no fault in eating a dead one,”

he ate it.

Then he said,

“Tokka the Devil-dancer, thou having dropped dung in the pansala art defiling it.”

When he said,

“I must kill thee,”

the Hare said,

“Yes, killing me is virtuous and proper. I must first perform a great gallop ^[4] and a little gallop, two gallops.^[5] After that there will be no fault if you kill me,”

he said.

“Yes, perform them,”

the Cat said.

Then the Hare having run round [the cave],

“There ! The small gallop,”

he said. Again having gone running round, and [then] having jumped over the Cat’s head, while he was running away he said,

“There ! The great gallop,”

and ran off.

Duraya. North-western Province.

 

How the Cat became an Upasaka.^[6] (Variant.)

At a certain time, at the house of a Gamarala, milk having been taken and placed on the shelf by him [to curdle], the Gamarala went to the chena.

There is a Cat at the house. The Cat having looked [to see] when the Gamarala was not there, went to the shelf to eat the curds by stealth. Having gone there and eaten them by stealth, as he was coming away the Gamarala came home from the chena, and the Cat, becoming afraid, sprang down.

The Gamarala's rosary was hanging on the shelf. As the Cat deceitfully was springing down, the rosary fell on the Cat’s neck. Then while the rosary was on its neck it goes away. Why ? Should the Gamarala get to know about its eating the curds he would thrash it inordinately.

Well then, as it was going it met with a Rat. The Rat [seeing the rosary] asked the Cat,

“Upasakarala,^[7] where are you going ?”

“I am going to guard the Precepts,”

he said.

“You also come and go along with me,”

he said.

At the time when the two were going they met with the Squirrel called the Three-lined Chief.^[8]

“Upasakarala, where are you going ?”

he asked.

“We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come and go with us,”

he said. The Squirrel having said,

“Ha. I will come,”

the three went along [together].

As they were going they met with the Ground Cuckoo called Bum-bum the Tom-tom Beater.

“Where, Upasakarala, are you going ?”

he asked.

“We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come,”

he said.

The Ground Cuckoo having said,

“Ha. If so, I also will come,”

the four went together.

At the time when they were going they met with the Hare called Tokkan the Devil-dancer.

“Upasakaralas, where are you going ?”

he asked.

“We are going to guard the Precepts. You also come and go with us,”

he said.

Well then, the five went to the jungle. Having gone on and on, there was a rock cave.

Having said,

“Look there ! Our pansala,”

he told the people to creep inside.

“In order that I may go and rehearse the Precepts, let no single other person besides cause any disturbance,”

he said.

Then the Rat, being hungry during the night, was wriggling about. So the Upasaka Cat said,

“Ade! While Bum-bum the Tom-tom Beater stays there quietly, while the Three-lined Chief stays there [quietly], while Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there [quietly], this one does not take [to heart] the things that were said. Being on guard over it I must put it out of the way.” ^[9]

Saying this, he ate the Rat.

At the daybreak watch the Ground Cuckoo crowed [as usual]. After it had crowed, the Cat said,

“While the Three-lined Chief stays there [quietly], while Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there [quietly], because this one is making noises, and as I am on guard over it, I must put it out of the way,”

and seizing that one also he ate it.

As it became light in the morning, at the time when the Squirrels were singing, “Tin-Tin,” the Three-lined Chief also sang, “Tin-Tin.”

Then the Cat said,

“While Tokkan the Devil-dancer stays there quietly, and I stay here [quietly], this one having said it through arrogance, and as I am on guard over it, I must put it out of the way.”

Having said this he ate that one also.

k Now then, the Hare called Tokkan the Devil-dancer ascertaining that he was eating it, began to cry in the morning.

“What, Tokkan the Devil-dancer, are you crying for ?”

he asked.

“I know thoroughly how to dance dances. Because there is no one to look at the dances I was sorry,”

he said.

After he had said,

“If so, dance a little for me to look at it,”

the Hare said,

“Upasakarala, open the doorway so that a little light may fall into the cave. Having seen my dance you must eat me also,”

the Hare said.

When he moved from the door, out of the way, for a little light to fall inside, the Hare, having jumped to the four comers of the cave, springing over the head of the Cat went~away.

P. B. Maiahapola, Ratemahatmaya. North-western Province.

 

How the Cat performed Bell Worship. (Variant)

In a certain country a man reared a Cat, it is said. The Cat every day goes to eat by stealth in the villages. On account of it the man one day caught the Cat, and having tied a hawk’s bell^[10] on its neck, let it go.

After that, the Cat, without going that day into the village, went away along the path. As it was going along it met with a Rat.

The Rat asked the Cat,

“Where, O Cat-Lord, are you going ?”

Then the Cat said,

“I am going for Bell Worship.”

The Rat asked,

“Shall I come too ?”

The Cat said,

“It is good.”

The Rat also having set off, as the two were going away they met with a Squirrel. The Squirrel asked the Cat,

“Where, O Cat-Lord, are you going ?”

Then the Cat said,

“I am going for Bell Worship.”

The Squirrel asked,

“Shall I come too ?”

After that, the Cat said,

“It is good.”

Now then, the Squirrel having set off, as the three were going away they met with a Jungle-cock. The Jungle-cock asked the Cat,

“Where, O Cat-Lord, are you going ?”

Then the Cat said,

“I am going for Bell Worship.”

The Jungle-cock said,

“I shall come too.”

To that the Cat said,

“It is good.”

The Jungle-cock having set off, the four persons went to a great rock cave in the jungle. Having made those three remain in the direction of the comer, the Cat stayed at the doorway.

After being there [a short time], the Cat first of all said to the Rat,

“O Rat,^[11] I am hungry.”

Then the Rat said,

“Let it be according to the wish of the Cat-Lord.”

After that, the Cat, seizing the Rat, ate it.

In a little more time the Cat said to the Squirrel,

“O Squirrel,^[12] I am hungry.”

At that time the Squirrel also said,

“Let it be according to the wish of the Cat-Lord.”

So the Cat having seized the Squirrel also, ate it.

In a little more time the Cat said to the Jungle-cock,

“O Jungle-cock,^[13] I am hungry.”

At that time the Jungle-cock said falsely,

“Let it be according to the wish of the Cat-Lord.”

Afterwards, when the Cat was approaching very near the Jungle-cock, having sprung at the Cat’s face and with his spurs having plucked out both his eyes, the Jungle-cock flew away. The Cat there and then died.

Cultivating Caste. North-western Province.

 

Note:

The Precepts of Buddha to which reference is made in the first two stories, are the Ata-sil, or Eight Precepts, the keeping of which by lay devotees, called Upasakas, is a necessary obligation. The first one prohibits the taking of life. The others are against theft, immorality, lying, drinking intoxicants, eating after noon, attendance at theatrical amusements, dancing, singing, etc., and personal adornment.

In the Jataka story No. 128 (vol. i, p. 281) there is an account of a Jackal who pretended to lead a saintly life, standing on one leg because the earth could not support his weight if he stood on all four, he said. He ate the rats which came to pay their respects to him, always seizing the hindmost as they left. The King of the Rats waited till the others had gone, and then sprang at the Jackal’s throat and killed him. The next story, No. 129, is similar.

In No. 384 (vol. iii, p. 170) a Crow pretended to be a saint, and also stood on one leg for the same reason, saying that it fed only on wind. When the other birds left it in charge of their young ones it ate them. At last it was killed by the other birds.

In the Maha Bharata (Udyoga Parva) a Cat which pretended to be an ascetic killed the mice that placed themselves under its protection.

In the Hitopadesa a Cat which gained the confidence of the birds by its pious demeanour ate their young ones.

In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 67, a pious Cat killed a hare and a bird.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Triple-wreathed famous one.

[2]:

Probably, “He that moves about in the jungle,” derived from the Tamil words kadu, jungle—in compounds, kattu—and salam, Skt. cala, moving, unsteady. The bird is Centrococcyx rufipennis, which utters a booming call, and has red eyes.

[3]:

Tamil, tonku, to move with leaps, Skt. √twang, to leap, gallop + ka, doer.

[4]:

Maha tokkama.

[5]:

Tokkam dekak.

[6]:

Lay devotee.

[7]:

Rala is an honorific termination, nearly equivalent to our Mr.

[8]:

Tun-iri Mudiyanse, (Sciurus tri-striatus), a small squirrel with three yellow dorsal lines.

[9]:

Lit. “Having guarded, I must place it.”

[10]:

Mini-gedi.

[11]:

Miyane.

[12]:

Lenane.

[13]:

Wali-kukuliane.