Sly cats

[John Dunne]

Zaantideva plays on the image of a cat as a sly animal in his
Bodhicaryaavataara, Ch. 5, v.53:

        bako bi.daalaz cauraz ca ni.hzabdo nibh.rtaz caran /
        praapnoty abhimata.m kaaryam eva.m nitya.m yatiz caret //

"The crane, the cat and the thief, acting silently and secretly, obtain
their desired end; such is the way that the ascetic should always act."

*ni.hzabda.h* and *nibh.rta.h* are technically appositional modifiers for
*baka.h*, etc., but the translation of them as adverbs captures the sense
of the verse in natural English (hence also my addition of "and" between
these two words).

Note the association of the cat with cranes, which are considered to be sly
and deceitful. Of course, thieves are not particularly good company either.

I have heard a few contemporary Tibetan scholars discuss this verse -- my
recollection is that they didn't think much of cats.

As for contemporary India, all I know is Benares (more than two years in
India, and I hardly went more than 15 km from Benares -- not even to the
Taj Mahal; I've seen the great sites of Pandeypur, Lahurabir, yes, even
Ashapur, but no Taj Mahal). Most Banarsis don't seem terribly well disposed
toward cats. But Varanasi may not be a good example. After all, it is
Shiv's city; we know how Shiv feels about dogs -- and we know how dogs feel
about cats.

Slyly yours,

John 

> I'm presently working on a Tibetan text which is purported to be a
> translation from a Sanskrit original. In this text the cat is used as an
> example for a person of savage and devious mentality which is the way cats
> are still customarily viewed by Tibetans. Can someone tell me
> whether this conforms to an/the Indian attitude towards the cat. Has anyone
> written on the cat in Sanskrit literature. Thanks. Leonard Zwilling






______________________________

John Dunne
Section de langues et civilisations orientales
Université de Lausanne