The Brahmin and Three Rogues, a story from The Panchatantra

The Brahmin and Three Rogues, a story from The Panchatantra

The story starts off with a Brahmin carrying a goat on his shoulder, gifted to him by a rich merchant for fulfilling his priestly duties. The Brahmin is tricked by three thugs into leaving the goat on the streets for the fear that the goat is actually a dog and not a goat. This happens when all three thugs question the Brahmin for carrying a “dog” on his shoulder. Being a Brahmin, he must not carry an unclean animal like a dog with himself. Even though the animal is a goat, the fact that three men (the rogues) see a dog and not a goat convinces the Brahmin of his illusion and he leaves his goat on the street. The rogues finally capture and cook the goat for themselves, basking in the glory of their cleverness tricking the Brahmin. This fable is commonly used to teach children that we must have immense faith and confidence in ourselves and must not be affected by external influences. A lie repeated a thousand times seems like a truth and all the knowledge in the world couldn’t save the Brahmin from being tricked because he didn’t have the self-confidence to believe what he saw was right.

Eva Nautiyal

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Hindi

Eva Nautiyal

Indore, Madhya Pradesh State, in Central India