In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya continuing with his accord on the “Aapad Dharma to Yudishtra. At this juncture, Bhishmachaarya is illustrating a very important point that we’ve discussed earlier, with an interesting story. The point here is that, during times of criticality or emergency, whatever might be “Adharma”, might become “Dharma” and vice-versa. To drive home this point, Bhishmachaarya is invoking a story of the cat and the mouse. The cat named “Romasha” and the mouse named “Palitha” were fierce enemies, but managed to stay near each other and spend their lives. However, there was a situation wherein the Romasha cat was caught in a net, thanks to a bird-hunter, who had accidentally thrown his net on top of the Romasha cat. As a result, the Romasha cat struggled to get out of the net, even though he tried several ways to do so. Upon seeing this, the Palitha mouse started celebrating! Finally his fierce enemy is in a state of inertia and he cannot move here or there even for an inch! However, this celebration was short-lived for the Palitha mouse, as he saw a mongoose and a chimpanzee ready to pounce on him! Now what does the Palitha mouse do in order to escape these two enemies? Let us look on!
Sensing the danger thus, the Palitha mouse thought of a quick-fix plan – Normally, the mongoose is scared to be in the vicinity of cats, as it is the prey for the cat in the forest. Now that the cat is stuck in the net, the mongoose is trying to up its game. Hence, the Palitha mouse thinks that this is the right time to make friendship with the Romasha cat and find an escape route through him. With this in mind, the Palitha mouse starts biting the net with its sharp teeth. In the meanwhile, as the Palitha mouse is doing this, the Romasha cat did not understand what was going on! Until two minutes ago, this mouse was celebrating, and now suddenly he is trying to free the cat! What was going on? The Palitha mouse gives a smart answer thus, “Oh Romasha! I know that we’ve been perennial enemies till date. However, both of us are in danger right now – You’re stuck up inside the net, unable to move anywhere freely. I’m cornered by the mongoose and chimpanzee on both sides. Now is the time to shrug off our enmity and work together, so that both of us can escape the external dangers that are haunting both of us. We shall settle our issues at a later time. I shall bite off the net in which you’re stuck. In return, you protect me from the mongoose and the chimpanzee. The moment I release you from the clutches of the net (which only I can do for you at the moment), I will come and sit beside you. Fearing your presence near me, these two animals will move away from this place! Oh Romasha! Teamwork at this time is extremely important!”
As Palitha says thus, the Romasha cat thinks for a moment! Palitha is right! If Romasha is going to reject this offer, his life is going to be in danger. If he doesn’t help Palitha, his life is also going to be in danger. So it is the time for mutual cooperation. This is not the time to fight against each other. Hence, Romasha agrees to the deal, and the Palitha mouse starts biting the net with its sharp teeth. However, after about 25% of the net being bitten, Palitha comes and sits near Romasha. Upon seeing these two teaming up together, the mongoose and chimpanzee think that this is going to be a mere waste of time, as they are not going to capture the mouse in any way! Hence, both these animals walk away slowly from that place, with a lot of disappointment!
As this happens, the Romasha cat slowly tells his counterpart thus, “Oh Palitha! Now that your danger is gone, why don’t you keep up your word of protecting me from the hunter and bite faster, so that I can escape quickly from this net?” As the Romasha cat asks thus, Palitha is not in a state of bother. He is now biting the net as slowly as possible – One bit at a time! Upon seeing this, the Romasha cat is becoming more and more impatient! Time is running out – For the next 30 to 45 minutes, this Palitha mouse is cutting through the net very slowly, and eventually this seems a never-ending task! Now Romasha starts doubting the intentions of the Palitha mouse! Has he fooled Romasha? Is Palitha an opportunistic fellow? Several questions run within the Romasha cat’s mind and after a while, losing his patience, he confronts the Palitha mouse and demands an answer from him! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness why Palitha is slowly biting the nets of the Romasha cat! Stay tuned for an interesting answer! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 