Retelling by DKM Kartha
खलः करोति दुर्वृत्तं नूनं फलति साधुषु ।
दशाननोऽहरत् सीतां बन्धनं च महोदधेः ॥
(हनूमन्नाटकम् १३.११)
khalaḥ karōti durvr̥ttaṁ nūnaṁ phalati sādhuṣu .
daśānanō’harat sītāṁ bandhanaṁ ca mahōdadhēḥ ..
(Hanoomannāṭakam 13.11)
The evil man commits a crime. The punishment could fall upon the virtuous man. As an example, King rAvaNa kidnapped Princess seetA, but who got hurt by the building of an earthen bridge? The ocean, who had nothing to do with the crime.
Once upon a time, there lived a king in his palace! There was a lush garden in front of the palace. Many varieties of trees grew there, for instance:
अञ्जीर: Fig; अक्षोट: Walnut; दाडिमम् Pomegranate;
बीजपूर: वृक्ष: Guava; अर्जुन:
मधुकः; अशोक:; आमलक: वृक्ष: Mahua; अर्क; तमाल Ebony; आम्रं Mango;
अम्लिका Tamarind; पनसः Jackfruit; कदम्बः; कर्णिकारः Oleander; किंशुकः; कल्पवृक्ष:
कदली Banana; केतकी Star Jasmine; खर्जूरम् date palm; खदिरः ; उदुम्बरम् sycamore;
चंदनम् Sandalwood; चम्पकः Michelia; अपामार्गः; भद्रदारु pine; जम्बुः Blackberry
यूथिका; किंशुक:; तालवृक्ष: palm tree; देववृक्ष: cedar; धत्तूरः. Datura; नारिकेल: Coconut;
अमृतफलवृक्ष: Pear; जम्बीरम् Lemon; निम्बवृक्ष: Neem tree and so on.
In that garden there lived a swan and a crow. A friendship developed between the two unlike birds. The crow in our story was a crafty, mean bird, while the swan was a good-natured being.
All the princes in the palace were well acquainted with the swan and the crow and all the other birds in the garden. They used to play and roam around in the vast garden counting the birds and chasing them and listening to their melodies.
Once, while playing, the Crown Prince's gold chain fell off— no one knew where.
The chain was studded with very precious jewels.
Being sharp-sighted the crow saw the chain lying hidden under some dry leaves.
He stole it and quickly and flew away to hide it somewhere. Crows are known to hide items under a roof thatch or a haystack and remember the hidden location.
The king's servants found out about the loss of the precious ornament and went around in search of it. They questioned the swan about that gold chain.
The swan told them the truth again and again: “I am not the thief of the chain.”
The servants believed in the trustworthiness of the Swan, but they told the swan:
“You are innocent, but we do not trust your friend the crow. It has a habit of snatching food from the hands of defenseless children, picking up a lighted oiled wick and causing fires by placing them on roof tops, etc. So we ask you to go to the crow find out whether he has seen the chain.”
The swan spoke to the crow, but the crow would not reveal anything. And it flew away into the distance. When the swan came back without the chain and he did not even know where his evil friend had wandered away.
The King’s servants did not like the outcome and they said: “You know, our king believes in the principle of guilt by association. And he believes that if a criminal cannot be found he should punish the closest relative or ally. So we have to arrest you and imprison you until the crow returns and admits to the crime. Thus the poor swan ended up in a prison. No one knows how long it would have to live in bondage!
That is the reason the subhAshitam says:
खलः करोति दुर्वृत्तं नूनं फलति साधुषु ।
दशाननोऽहरत् सीतां बन्धनं च महोदधेः ॥
(हनूमन्नाटकम् १३.११)
khalaḥ karōti durvr̥ttaṁ nūnaṁ phalati sādhuṣu .
daśānanō’harat sītāṁ bandhanaṁ ca mahōdadhēḥ ..
(Hanoomannāṭakam 13.11)
The evil man commits a crime. The punishment could fall upon the virtuous man. As an example, King rAvaNa kidnapped Princess seetA, but who got hurt by the building of an earthen bridge? The ocean? The ocean had nothing to do with the crime, did it?