Indian Fairy Tales · Chapter
XV: The Gold-Giving Serpent explained
A Brahmin discovers a snake in his field and, believing it to be the field's tutelary spirit, offers it milk each day.
What happens
A Brahmin discovers a snake in his field and, believing it to be the field's tutelary spirit, offers it milk each day. The snake rewards him with a piece of gold. When the Brahmin sends his son to make the offering, the son, greedy for the snake's supposed treasure, tries to kill it but is fatally bitten. The Brahmin mourns but attempts to resume the offerings; the snake refuses reconciliation, stating that neither can forget the injuries done. The chapter traces the fable's transmission from Indian sources to Latin and Greek versions, arguing for the Indian original's completeness.
Themes in this chapter
Greed and Its Consequences
The son's greed for the snake's treasure leads him to attack the snake, resulting in his own death and the end of the friendship.
Justice and Karma
The snake refuses to forget the blow, and the Brahmin cannot forget his son's death; the cycle of injury prevents reconciliation.
Cultural Transmission and Borrowing
The chapter highlights how the Indian fable was borrowed and adapted into Latin and Greek traditions, with the Indian version being the most complete.
Characters to notice
- Bidpai
The Brahmin who offers milk to the snake and receives gold, then loses his son to the snake's bite.
- Sthuladatta
The son of the Brahmin who, driven by greed, strikes the snake and is killed.
Key passages
“Bidpai A Brahmin once observed a snake in his field, and thinking it the tutelary spirit of the field, he offered it a libation of milk in a bowl. Next day he finds a piece of gold in the bowl, and he receives this each day after offering the libation.”
A Brahmin, believing a snake in his field is its guardian spirit, gives it milk daily and finds a gold coin in the bowl each morning.
Establishes the initial trusting relationship and the snake's reward.
“One day he had to go elsewhere, and he sent his son with the libation. The son sees the gold, and thinking the serpent’s hole full of treasure determines to slay the snake. He strikes at its head with a cudgel, and the enraged serpent stings him to death.”
When the Brahmin sends his son to offer the milk, the son, greedy for more gold, tries to kill the snake with a club but is bitten and dies.
The son's greed leads to violence and his own death.
“The serpent appears after a long delay at the mouth of its lair, and declares their friendship at an end, as it could not forget the blow of the Brahmin’s son, nor the Brahmin his son’s death from the bite of the snake.”
The snake refuses to renew the friendship, saying neither can forget the harm done: the blow and the death.
The snake's refusal underscores the theme of irreparable injury.