Might, wit or craft – what’s your formula to win in a conflict?

Sans the Sacred

As if the world acknowledges that people under lockdowns need something to discuss and argue over, an unending number of conflicts have been in the news over the past month. Skirmishes of all kinds have been in the news lately — the clashes between India and China over the border, followed by the banning of apps with links to China; America’s freeze on H-1B visas, and Pakistan referring to Osama bin-Laden as a martyr.

Conflict is the foundation stone of any story, and so we have innumerable myths on winning fights — through might, wit, or craft. Everyone knows the four means to resolve conflict —through talks and alliances (sama), through gifts and bribes (dana), through dividing the enemy and causing dissension (bheda), and finally through force or punishment (danda). But there are a zillion variations on these.

The Panchatantra tells us the story of a sandpiper bird who outwitted the mighty ocean. When the sandpiper’s wife was
about to lay eggs, she was considering safe places for a nest for the little ones. The sandpiper dismissed her and argued that their home by the ocean was the perfect spot. When she objected that the ocean could sweep away their eggs with a single wave, the sandpiper claimed to be much stronger than the ocean. Soon enough, the curious ocean swept the eggs away on a whim to see what the sandpiper would do.

The sandpiper, determined to fight back, teamed up with the other birds and approached Garuda, the king of all birds and Vishnu’s mount. The sandpiper made it sound like the ocean had personally offended Garuda. “If the ocean dares to commit such an act towards us while we are in your care, Garuda, he thinks we are really weak and cannot fend for ourselves,” the sandpiper argued. Garuda, dejected at the news, promptly poured out his woes to Vishnu, who ordered the ocean very sternly to give back the eggs he had stolen from the sandpiper. Talk about using influence to get out of a scrape!

There is also the unfortunate story of the poor camel, Kathanaka. There was once a lion in a forest, who had three followers — a jackal, a leopard, and a crow. The lion, proud as he was, went on a hunt, and his friends ate the leftovers once he was done. This was their usual routine, when a camel from elsewhere ventured into the forest and sought the shelter of the lion. He then joined the group, but of course, he didn’t quite belong yet. Once, the lion got into a fight with a wild elephant and was gravely injured. Unable to hunt, he rested in a cave while he and his followers starved for days. The leopard, jackal, and crow tried to hunt by themselves, but ended up exhausted, with no prey.

So, they hit upon a plan — they would eat the camel! Just one problem, though: How could they eat someone who had sought refuge with them? Sticking to the letter of the law, they decided it would not be a crime if he were to offer himself up. But who would ever do that? The wily crow came up with a plan. They each walked up to the lion, and told him, “I cannot bear to see you in this plight. Please accept me as your next meal and save yourself, and I will be freed of my debt of gratitude to you for taking care of me this long”. The lion refused all three, saying they were too small to offer him any sustenance. So, the poor camel decided this was his chance to belong, by offering himself and being refused. Except, no sooner had he offered himself than the animals tore him apart and satisfied themselves.

Who is it that finally ends up losing every fight? This popular Sanskrit verse tells us — “It is not the horse, nor the elephant, and certainly not the tiger. It is the goat that ends up being sacrificed, for even fate destroys the underdog.”