Tales and myths of ancient India about animals. Section with films "Fairy Tale"

The book is made up of fairy tales and folk stories various peoples India, selected from the books in the series which was published by Sterling Publishers in India on English language. The translation is accompanied by an introductory article and notes. For teachers and students, as well as wide range lovers of Indian culture.

Indian fairy tales, these wonderful fruits folk wisdom and fantasies go back to ancient times. Even before our era, Indian writers wrote down folk tales and compiled from them so-called “fairy-tale collections”, which sometimes included excerpts from literary works, and perhaps stories own composition. For centuries, fairy tales were not only passed on from mouth to mouth in the diverse languages of India, but also passed from one book to another, often undergoing literary adaptation. New fairy tales were created and recorded; in old fairy tales the plot underwent various kinds of changes; sometimes two or three fairy tales merged into one or, on the contrary, one fairy tale split into two or three independent story. Indian fairy tale collections were translated into the languages of other peoples, and the translators, in turn, made many changes to the text - they omitted one thing, added another, and remade a third.

Like all living things, the Indian fairy tale has changed throughout its long life, varied in form and plot, dressed in many different clothes, but has not lost either youth or beauty.

The Indian fabulous treasury is inexhaustible, its contents are immeasurably rich and multifaceted. Let's look into it, and before us, reflected in the mirror of folk art, will pass representatives of all strata of Indian society - princes and artisans, Brahmans and warriors, merchants and peasants, judges and hermits. Along with people, we will see fantastic creatures and animals here. It must be said, however, that fantasy does not play big role in Indian fairy tales. Their authors clearly prefer to talk about the real world, and they use the animal world for disguise. Animals in fairy tales, while maintaining their traditional properties (snake - anger, donkey - stupidity, fox - cunning, etc.), serve to expose human vices and social injustice.

Indian fairy tales depict life as it really is, but at the same time indicate how it should be. As in real life, vice is not always punished in fairy tales, virtue does not always triumph. But the fairy tale always says that vice must be punished, that virtue must triumph. And if in some fairy tales we see how the strong overcome the weak, then others teach us to defeat brute force with reason and friendly mutual assistance. So, in “Tales of a Parrot” a frog, a hornet and birds united and defeated an elephant.

Tales directed against the ruling classes, rich merchants, brahmans and dervishes are sharp and expressive. From the fairy tale “How the Badshah Learned His Worth,” the reader learns that the price of a monarch is a penny, and in another fairy tale “About the Raja and His Vizier” - that his subjects treat him no better than he treats them. The king, deposed by the people, acting under the guise of a frog, does not hesitate to destroy his subjects by calling on a snake for help; but the help of strangers is a double-edged sword, and the overthrown ruler barely manages to save his skin.

The Tsar is entirely in the hands of his courtiers and it is not for nothing that he tries to surround himself with family and friends (the fairy tale “About the Princess and Khuma”). Listening to the advice of one court party, he rewards the petitioner; on the denunciation of another, he kills him (the fairy tale “About a Brahman, a Lion, a Goose and a Crow”).

We see a very subtle, veiled satire on the aristocracy in the 8th chapter of “Tales of a Parrot”. At first glance, it seems as if the nobleman depicted in it is an exceptionally selfless person: he agreed to give the poor man not only enormous wealth, but also his life. However, this nobleman is the state treasurer, which means he could freely dispose of government gold, and therefore his generosity is worth little. The nobleman’s willingness to sacrifice his life is also deceptive: he managed not only to stay alive, but also to gain even more honor and glory.

It should be noted, however, that among the fairy tales there are also those in which the monarch is glorified and loyal ideas are preached. This is, for example, the 4th chapter of “Tales of a Parrot”. True, it is highly doubtful that the ideas expressed in it are the fruit of the author’s deep convictions. When reading the original or translated works of writers of feudal India, one should not forget the conditions under which these works were created. Most of their authors were “court poets” and were completely dependent on the sovereign and his entourage, receiving remuneration for their work from the treasury, often in the form of a monthly salary. It is clear that they were forced to please their employers, in whose hands their well-being and even their lives lay.

Nevertheless, we see in many fairy tales both disguised and even overt satire on rulers and court nobility. More than once one encounters in them the image of a deceived and defeated king, sometimes appearing in the mask of a tiger or the “king of beasts” - a lion. Fairy tales are often told that only flatterers and sycophants manage to maintain their position at court, and those who do not know how to flatter may lose their lives (fairy tales “About the Tiger, the Wolf and the Fox”, “About the Lion and His Subjects” and others) .

The tales of merchants, moneylenders and other moneybags are sharply portrayed negatively. So, for example, in “Tales of a Parrot” we read about a merchant who, in a moment of melancholy, gave away his wealth to the poor, but then joyfully pounced on the gold again and destroyed the barber with false testimony in court. The tales “About a Merchant and His Friend” and “About the Sage, the Badshah and the Seller of Incense” feature merchants who betrayed the trust of their friends; in the fairy tales “About the Merchant and the Porter” and “About the Vyzhige and His Servant” - people exploiting the poor. But the poor are rebellious. They are indignant and punish their offenders. The porter, realizing that his employer has deceived him, breaks his fragile burden; the servant beats his master with a stick and takes his hard-earned money from him.

It is interesting to note that in Indian folklore there are many proverbs and sayings castigating merchants: “A merchant will rob his friend”; “I plowed the field, and the merchant filled the granary”; “Trust the tiger, the snake, the scorpion, but don’t trust the merchant’s word”; “The merchant buys sugar, and if prices fall, he will sell his wife too” and others.

There are also a large number of proverbs and sayings ridiculing brahmanas (priests). Here are some of them: “Idols listen to chants, and brahmanas eat sacrifices”; “The gods are false, the brahmanas are unclean”; “People’s grief is a brahman’s gain”; “The peasant plows, the Brahman begs.”

In fairy tales, both brahmans and dervishes (religious ascetics - Muslims) are ridiculed. The Parrot's Tales features a Brahman who got his wife by deception, a Brahman blinded by greed, and religious ascetics who violated their vow of chastity. In the fairy tale “About a Monk and Four Crooks,” a monk, a superstitious fool, is ridiculed. The tale “About the Sparrows and the Dervish” is accompanied by an expressive characterization that exposes the baseness of the dervishes. The fairy tale “About the Pious Cat” depicts, again in an animal mask, a pious pilgrim and his overly gullible companions.

Authors of fairy tales are often skeptical of representatives of the court and administration. So, in “Tales of a Parrot” we see a judge who, forgetting about his duties, tries to get a beauty. The class essence of the court is depicted in a fairy tale in which a judge convicts a barber based on the false testimony of a merchant. In "Parrot's Tales" there is also a kotwal - the chief of police, who is trying to take possession of beautiful woman, and a sharp satire on the security police: a cat hired to exterminate mice that are disturbing a tiger only scares them, but does not catch them, knowing that if the mice disappear, she will be fired as unnecessary. In the fairy tale “The Fakir and the Mice,” the village headman and the tax collector try to deceive a beggar fakir.

Common people play a big role in Indian fairy tales. “Everyone who works brings benefit to people,” says the fairy tale “About the Horse and the Will.” The sun-blackened working hands of a poor peasant woman are more beautiful than the sleek hands of noble parasite women (the fairy tale “About Three Noble Women and a Beggarly Old Woman”).

“The children huddled around a gray-bearded storyteller in a snow-white turban. It’s stuffy in the house, but here, in the courtyard, fenced with a blank wall, under the tropical Indian night sky with large stars and bright moon, breathe easier. Grandfather's speech flows smoothly and smoothly. Grandfather tells a fairy tale. At the same time, attention, delight, enthusiasm, and an incomparable feeling of joy from meeting the wonderful were imprinted on the children’s faces,” with these fabulous words begins Volume 3 of the series “Fairy Tales of the Peoples of the World” - “Fairy Tales of the Peoples of Asia.” Mostly fairy tales are magical, about animals and household.
Animals in fairy tales talk and understand human speech, they help positive hero. In many Indian tales you will sense a mocking attitude towards monkeys; they apparently reminded the storytellers of fussy and unlucky people. It is not for nothing that in Ancient India they were said to be “changeable, like the thoughts of monkeys.”

Indian fairy tales

golden fish

On the banks of a large river, an old man and an old woman lived in a dilapidated hut. They lived poorly: every day the old man went to the river to catch fish, the old woman boiled this fish or baked it on coals, and that was the only way they were fed. If the old man doesn’t catch anything, he just goes hungry.

And in that river lived the golden-faced god Jala...

Magic ring Once upon a time there lived a merchant. He had two sons. As soon as the merchant died, He began to go for walks, have fun, and spend his father’s money without restraint. The elder didn't like it.

“Look, everything my father has acquired will go down the drain,” thought the elder brother. - What does he need: no wife, no children, no... We love fairy tales no less. These are fairy tales in which supernatural forces are necessarily at work. All interest in fairy tale
focused on the fate of a positive hero. Later, everyday tales appeared. They don't have, supernatural powers magic items or animals with magical power . IN everyday tales
the hero is helped by his own dexterity, ingenuity, as well as the stupidity and slow-wittedness of his opponent. The hero of an Indian fairy tale, the intelligent and resourceful Tenali Ramakrishna, skillfully deceives the tyrant king. In everyday fairy tales there is a hero whom A. M. Gorky aptly called the “ironic successor,” the classic example of which can be Ivanushka, the fool from Russian fairy tales. He is stupid, narrow-minded, but luck accompanies him everywhere. In Indian folklore, such a hero is a stupid brahmana - a priest. He pretends that he is learned and smart, that he understands fortune-telling books, but in reality he shakes with fear every time he needs to show his art. But invariably, chance comes to his rescue every time, and the glory of a wise soothsayer is more and more firmly assigned to him. These are certainly funny tales. The literature of every nation is rooted in oral folk art . The Indian epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana are closely associated with Indian folklore. The authors of the ancient Indian collections of stories “Panchatantra” and “Jataka” drew motifs, plots and images of their works from folk tales. IN literary monument The 11th century Indian poet Somadeva's "Ocean of Tales" contains over three hundred inserted stories: a fairy tale is intertwined with a myth, an anecdote, or a short story. Funny motives Indian fairy tales
included in the huge collection “Ancient Tales”, which appeared in the 11th century in Japan.

Indian fairy tales

Centuries pass, generations change, but interest in the fairy tale does not dry up. Let today's news - audio fairy tales - sound tempting in your home. Listen online, download and enjoy Indian folk tales!

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Anarzadi

Raja once ruled in one of the ancient Indian kingdoms. And he had four sons. Three of them had been with their wives for a long time, but they still couldn’t marry the youngest: either he doesn’t like the girl, or he doesn’t want to get married.

Over the years, the Raja grew old, and then completely left this world. Then the eldest son of the rajah began to rule the country. He loved his brothers more life, and favored them as best he could. But his wife was envious and unkind at heart. She endlessly reproached her younger brother for being in the care of her husband.

Sometimes he will begin to mock him: “Well, why are you sitting around doing nothing, waiting for everything to be brought to you? It would be better to go and look for Anarzadi - “the girl made of pomegranate”. Let her bring you everything.”

The younger brother somehow got angry at this attitude towards himself. He did not want to continue to endure endless bullying, and therefore decided to leave his kingdom. “Now I’ll go and find my Anarzadi. And I will return with her, with the beauty. And before that, I won’t set foot in the kingdom.” And left…

How long or short did the prince walk, and finally he found himself in a dense forest. He walks through the forest and looks: and in front of him is a hermit-sadhu sitting by the fire. Immediately the prince felt somehow calmer in his soul. “Give me,” he thinks, “I’ll come!”

The sadhu saw him and was surprised: “What,” he said, “are you doing in such a wilderness, son?”

“Don’t be sad,” the sadhu smiled, “I will do anything for you. Stay with me, rest. And I’ll help you find Anarzadi.”

The prince bowed gratefully and sat down by the fire.

“You wait here for me. “And I’ll go to the village for food and treat you,” the sadhu turned to him and left.

The prince sat down, waiting for the hermit, but he was still not there. The prince began to look around him, and suddenly he saw: next to him was a bunch of seven keys. The prince became curious about what they were from. He looks, and the hermit has seven barns built behind his home. The prince of the hermit waited some more, then took a bunch of keys and decided to look at what the hermit kept in his buildings. And he began to open the barns one after another.

The first one opens: and it is full of bread. The second is molasses. The third is rice. In the fourth barn the prince found a whole mountain of gold bricks. In the fifth there is a mountain of silver bricks. The sixth barn contained silks of unprecedented beauty. The prince became interested in what was stored in the seventh barn. He opened it and could barely stand on his feet from horror.

The seventh barn was full of skeletons! And how the skeletons began to laugh at him!

“Why are you laughing at me?” – the prince asked in bewilderment.

“And we ourselves were once exactly the same as you were,” the skeletons answer. “We also came to look for Anarzadi. But we never got there. “Soon you will find yourself among us,” and the skeletons laughed with even greater force.

"What should I do? “How to stay alive,” the prince asked in fear.

The skeletons took pity and decided to help the good young man.

“Listen carefully,” they say, “this sadhu is not a hermit at all, but evil spirit, which the world has never seen before. First he treats you, treats you, and then he won’t forget to kill you!”

“How does he do this?” – Looking around, the younger brother from the royal family asked in a whisper.

“Look deep into the yard. There the stove is heated, and there is a boiler with oil on it. The sadhu will treat you, and then ask you to go and see whether the oil is boiling or not. You will start looking into the cauldron, and he will come up from behind and push you into it.” And then the prince felt completely uneasy: “How can I save myself?”

“And you answer that princes should not be involved in such matters. Let him go and look at his own oil. Say that you don’t know how it should boil. And when the villain comes there, you will push him into the cauldron!”

“Thank you, skeletons!” - said the prince, and quickly began to close all the locks.

And then the sadhu returned. He and the prince sat down by the fire, he fed him, and then said: “Go, prince, and see if the oil in the cauldron has boiled. Because I’ve become quite old, I can’t bear to walk.”

“Why should I, dear sadhu! I'm a prince! I have never seen this very oil boil. Better go and see for yourself.”

The sadhu got up and went to the stove, approached the boiler, and the prince grabbed him from behind! And he pushed it into a cauldron of boiling oil. “So much for you, villain! You will know how to deceive princes!” The hermit screamed, screamed, and got boiled.

And the prince sighed and went his way. He walked and walked, and suddenly he saw another hermit-sadhu sitting and contemplating what was happening around him.

“Well, no,” thought the prince, “now I won’t trust anyone right away. Suddenly this one is the same villain.” He came closer. But it’s hard to look at the old man, such a radiance emanates from him. He noticed the prince and said: “How did you get here, son?”

“I, father, am going in search of my Anarzadi.”

- But how did you stay alive? I know that on the way to me, a rakshasa lay in ambush - an evil spirit who pretends to be a hermit and a sage. They say he kills all the princes.

“What they say is true, father.” Yes, I just defeated him!

And the prince began to talk about what happened to him.

“Wow,” said the sadhu joyfully, “you are a brave prince!” For this I will tell you how to find Anarzadi. Not far from me there is a lake, on the shore of which a pomegranate tree grows. At exactly midnight, Peri comes there to bathe. As soon as she enters the water, you immediately pick a flower from a pomegranate. Hide it in your bosom. And get out of there quickly. He will always call out to you, calling you in a gentle voice. But under no circumstances turn around! Otherwise you will die immediately. Understood me?

“I understand,” replied the prince. – Thank you, sadhu! What to do next?

– And I’ll tell you this when you return. Go, prince! Good luck!

At exactly midnight our hero did everything the elder told him. I started to walk away from the lake. He hears, and his peri calls: “Prince! Prince! Why don't you take me with you? Look how beautiful I am, prince! Turn around! The sadhu prince disobeyed, turned around, and immediately fell dead.

The sadhu waits for the prince for a day, waits for two days. He doesn't come. Then the elder understood what had happened and went to the lake. He sees the prince lying there dead. The sadhu was sad that the fellow had disobeyed him, but decided to revive him.

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