A 3000 Year Old Cat Story from the Indian Epic, Mahabharata

Palita, the Mouse and Lomasa, the Cat: A Story from Mahabharata

It is believed that Phoenician traders brought cats to India for the first time. The Rigveda, a spiritual treatise and one of the oldest ancient texts of Hinduism, along with the Mahabharata and Ramayana, which are Puranas that came after it, contain references to cats.

A famous cat-and-mouse story from Mahabharata is about Lomasa, the cat, and Palita, the mouse. Lomasa lived on the branches of a tree. The story is full of practical wisdom and mirrors the ways people behave.

A huge Banyan tree stood in the middle of a forest, covered head to toe in creepers and home to many birds. The Banyan’s canopy was sprawling, and underneath its trunk, in a hole with a hundred outlets, lived Palita, the wise mouse. The cat, Lomasa, lived on the tree branches, devouring birds daily and quite content about his daily life.

Everything was going splendidly for the cat and mouse until a hunter came and settled in the forest. He built a house and set traps every evening to catch animals. Every morning, he would come back to check on his traps. As the tree and its shade housed many small animals, the hunter never went hungry. Every morning, he found many animals and birds caught in his traps.

One night, the cat was careless and was caught in one of the traps. The mouse saw his enemy, the cat, helpless inside the trap. He came out of his hole and began to roam near the trap without fear. He knew that the cat could not do anything about it.

Palita even dared to go near the cat and eat the meat set inside the trap by the hunter. Lomasa could not move as the rat trod freely inside the trap and even on him.

Again, fate changed. A mongoose appeared near the trap. He had smelled the rat, and Palita saw that he was about to pounce upon him. At the same time, Palita also spotted a sharp-beaked owl, another predator, on the low branch of the tree.

The entire business of the day was beginning to appear lethal and morbid for Palita. Some days are like that. You feel a little hopeful, only to realise that the entire Universe is conspiring against you.

Yet, Palita was a resourceful mouse. He decided that at times of grave crisis, one could adopt unconventional means to rescue oneself. His number one enemy, the cat, was also in distress. Possibly, the cat might help him if he promised to return the favour. “If one’s life is threatened, one must even seek the help of one’s enemy”, thought Palita.

Palita asked the cat to help him and promised to help him back by cutting the net strings and freeing the cat once the current dangerous situation was resolved. The cat agreed to it.

The mouse suggested that he could crouch under the cat’s body to escape the mongoose, and the owl and Lomasa let him hide under him. The mongoose and the owl had never seen such a sight. They were wonderstruck and realised they had no chance to catch the mouse when he had such a formidable ally. They went away.

Immediately, Palita began to gnaw at the net strings that held Lomasa captive. Yet, he was slow at his work, as if he were planning something. The cat grew impatient and asked Palita to cut the strings quickly and release him. Palita asked the cat to be patient and reassured him that he would be free.

Palita decided to be honest and told Lomasa his plan. He would cut the last string only when the hunter was near. Both of them would be in great fear then, and as a result, when the hunter approached and the last string cut simultaneously, both would run for their lives. The fear of the moment was Palita’s insurance policy to ensure Lomasa did not try to catch him when he was free.

Lomasa was no less intelligent and clever. He understood the mouse’s fear and ingenuity. Yet, he tried to persuade the mouse to cut the net open before the hunter arrived. He even asked for Palitha’s forgiveness for the wrongdoings of the past. He reasoned with the mouse that such last-minute escape plans could go wrong and put Palitha’s life also in danger.

Palitha replied, “A friendship based and maintained on fear should be sustained with great caution, like the hand of the snake-charmer from the fangs of the snake.” Palitha was none the simpleton that the cat took him for.

Palitha reminded the cat that everyone served their own self-interest primarily. Nobody was anybody’s friend or well-wisher permanently. This lesson was hard-earned for the mouse who had lived in a world of predators, struggling to save one’s skin.

The mouse again reiterated that he meant to keep his promise and that only one string was left to be cut. Once the hunter was in view, he would cut that string, and both of them could run to safety- the cat to the tree and the mouse to his hole beneath the tree trunk.

When the day broke, the hunter appeared accompanied by a pack of dogs and a weapon, which was a frightful sight. Palita cut the last string. Lomasa jumped on the tree and fled for his life. The mouse also leapt into his hole in time to escape the hunter.

What Palita Said After the Hunter Left

After the hunter left, disappointed at losing his prey, the cat addressed the mouse from a low tree branch. He thanked the mouse for saving his life and pledged a life-long friendship. Then, he tried to coax Palita to come near him to enjoy the sweetness of a rare friendship.

Lomasa even reminded the mouse that those who forget friendship are wicked. He promised the mouse that even his friends and kinsmen, the other cats, would now become friends with the mouse. Lomasa showered praise on Palita for his wisdom and even asked him for advice in future as a father would give.

The mouse was equally sweet in his reply. However, he told the cat that the world was full of friends who disguise themselves as enemies and foes who pretend they are real friends. It was difficult for both parties to know whether the other person acted in love or spite. Only circumstances made friends and enemies. Interest and gain played a role in deciding who was a friend to whom. He who would put blind trust in friends and always be suspicious of one’s enemies would face an unsafe life.

The mouse explained that self-interest often drives people's decisions. He added that someone who cannot protect themselves can never protect others. The friendship between them, the cat and the mouse, had arisen from a sufficient cause. Otherwise, there was no reason for the cat to think of the mouse as someone dear to him unless as prey.

The affection that the cat was showing him now was ill-timed. The circumstances under which people made peace or war could change as quickly as clouds changed their form. Once the reason for their friendship passed, so did the friendship. He was, after all, food, and the cat was the eater of that food. Similarly, he was weak, and the cat was stronger. The entire relationship between them was nothing but unequal.

The mouse added that he believed the cat planned to eat him. If the cat wanted to do some good to him, what he could do was let go. Living near a strong person was never a good thing. Those who understand these facts would never be in danger, concluded Palita.

The cat tried to convince the mouse otherwise and swore that his friendship, gratitude, and intentions were pure. The mouse expressed his gratitude again but told the cat that the weaker individuals should never trust the stronger ones. The mouse also revealed to the cat that, in his opinion, mistrust produced the greatest good. He advised the cat, reminding him to keep away from the hunter in a similar approach.

Once the mouse mentioned the hunter, the cat fled the low branch in fear. Palita went back to his hole.

This was how Palita the mouse baffled all his enemies with his intelligence and profound understanding of life.

The details of human psychology and behaviour, the power of self-interest upon us, the many sides of friendship and enmity, and the circumstances that drive people’s decisions are depicted thoroughly in this story of Mahabharata. This text is full of such stories that have gems of life lessons in them.