Stories from the Hitopadesa: Mitrabheda

byIndira Rajagopal

The Hitopadesa, which is believed to have been composed by Vishnu Sarma around 200 BC, is a collection of stories that teach statecraft and wisdom through simple parables. It is divided into four parts—the first part is Mitralabha, which means ‘gaining friends’, and the second part is Mitrabheda, which means ‘breaking friendship’. Mitrabheda describes how cruel and envious thoughts can destroy a friendship and how deceit and misinformation can drive a wedge between friends, cause disharmony and make everyone weak and susceptible.

After Vishnu Sarma has spoken about the acquisition of friends in Mitralabha, his students ask him, “Please tell us about losing friendship.” Sarma starts narrating the story of a lion named Pingalaka and a bull named Sanjeevaka whose growing friendship was destroyed by a greedy and insidious ja