The Story of the Four Learned Fools

In a certain town, there lived four Brahmins whohad become great friends. They were all extremely naiveby nature. One day, they said to each other, ‘Let us allgo to another kingdom, study hard and then make somemoney there.’ So, they set off for Kanyakubja to gettheir education. They joined an ashrama and began acourse of study. They worked hard at this ashrama for twelveyears. Then, one day, they said to each other, ‘We havenow acquired sufficient knowledge in all branches of the sciences. Let us go to our Guru, get his permissionand leave.’ So, they did this and left the ashrama, takingall their shastras with them. After they had been travelling for a short time, they came to a place where two paths met. They stoodstill and pondered. One of them said, ‘Which way shallwe go?’ Now, the son of a merchant had died in the townand, at this very moment, a huge funeral procession, including several prominent citizens of the town, passedby, on its way to the Smashana. Then one of the Brahmins consulted his shastrasand read. ‘Whichever road is followed by great men, Is the right one to follow.’ So they said, ‘Let us go the same way as thesepeople.’ And they started following the road taken by the prominent citizens. When they reached the Smashana, they saw adonkey standing there. As they could not decide whatto do next, the second Brahmin consulted his shastrasand read. ‘Whosoever stands by you on a joyful occasion, In calamity, si.:!..ness, famine or war, In the court of law or at the Smashana,

ACTION WITHOUT-“DUE CONSIDERATION

Is your true friend. ‘ And so, one o f the Brahmins put h.i.s· arms roundthe donkey’s neck, the second kissed him, wh Hst the, third began to wash his hoofs. ‘For,’ they said, ‘he is ‘our true friend! ‘ Meanwhile, they saw, in the distance, a camelcoming quickly towards them. The third Brahminconsulted his shastras and read. ‘Righteousness Il}arches rapidly.’ So they all dec.ided that this camel mus.t be nothingbut righteousness incarnate. Then the fourth Brahmin opened his shastras andread, ‘A wise man should lead his friend to righteousness. ‘ And so, they decided that the donkey should b eintroduced to the camel, and when the camel ap proached, they tied them up together. When the donkey’s master, a washerman, heardthe news that his donkey was being dragged along bya camel, he picked up a stick and ran after the fourlearned fools to beat them. And they ran for their lives. When they had gone a little way, they came to ariver. The leaf of a Palasha tree was.floating by, Oneof them cried, ‘This floating leaf will take us across theriver.’ And with this, he jum ped on it and immediatelybegan to drown. The second Brahmin grabbed him by the hair and remembered a quotation from the shastras, ‘When.total destruction is imminent, A wise man sacrifices half And works with the rest, For a complete loss is unbearable.’ -‘So,’ he concluded, ‘he should be cut m two!’ And they cut him in two halves with a sharp sword. The three remaining Brahmins wandered on, untilthey reached a village. There, they were invited by thevillagers and lodged in different houses. One of the Brahmins was served with sweet Sutrika. When he saw the long noodles-like substance, ·

he remembered the verse that says, ‘A man who makes use of long tactics, Is sure to be destroyed.’ ‘So, he did not touch the food and went awayhungry.. ” 1 “The second Brahmin was served with Mandaka. When. he saw the bowl of frothy food, he rememberedthe verse that says, ‘Whatever is frothy and dist ended, Will not last long.’ So, he too left his food and went away hungry. The tµird Brahmin was given a Vatika. when he saw all the little holes in it, he remembered the ver sethat says, ‘The presence of defects, Is a sure sign of approaching disaster.’ Sb, he too left his food and went away hungry. Thus, the three learned fools began to starve andstarted out on their journey home, with all and sund Lyridiculing them on the way. -“And so,” continued Suvaranasiddhi, “that’s why Isaid, ‘People well versed in the shastras, But lacking in commonsense, Become the object of ridicule, Like the fo11r learned fools.’ -“You too, Chakradhara, are devoid of commonsense. You would not listen to me. That’s why you have beenreduced to this state.” -“But that’s not the reason,” said Chakradhara. “It’sbecause fate is against me. As they say: · ‘An orpl1._1n whom fortune smiles on, Though left unprotected in a jungle, survives, But a man with luck against him, Even though he is well protected, Dies in his own home.’ And, ‘When fate is hostile,

ACTIO N WITHOUT DUE CONSIDERATI O N

Even the talented pay with their lives, Whilst those with lesser talents live happily.’ As the frog said, ‘The fis herman is carrying Sahasrabuddhi, with his thousand talents, on h ishead, And Shatabuddhi, with his hundred talents, Is hanging from his hand, Whilst I, Ekabuddhi*, with my single talent, amswimming happily in this water. ‘ ” -“How was that?” asked Suvaranasiddhi. And Chakradhara told:

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What is the moral of THE STORY OF THE FOUR LEARNED FOOLS?

The moral is: To value wisdom and make thoughtful decisions. This story teaches us that every action has consequences, and we must think carefully about the impact of our choices on ourselves and others.

What collection does THE STORY OF THE FOUR LEARNED FOOLS belong to?

THE STORY OF THE FOUR LEARNED FOOLS is from the Panchatantra Tales, an ancient Sanskrit text attributed to Vishnu Sharma. The Panchatantra is a timeless collection of stories that teaches important life lessons through animal fables and wisdom tales.

What age group is THE STORY OF THE FOUR LEARNED FOOLS suitable for?

THE STORY OF THE FOUR LEARNED FOOLS is best suited for Ages 6-10. Younger children will enjoy hearing it read aloud for its engaging narrative, while older children can read it independently and explore the deeper meanings and moral lessons embedded in the story.