A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

After trying to steal the last fowl at a palace, a jackal finds himself trapped by daylight in open country. He persuades a passing Brāhmaṇa seeking a livelihood to carry him away under his outer garment, objecting when the man initially slings him by his legs. Near wild date bushes, the jackal tells his carrier to stare toward the sun and then look for coins in the bushes. In the narrative the dazzled man sees everything yellow and searches while the jackal escapes.

No actual coins or magical treasure are produced. Parker records the telling from a Durayā narrator in the North-western Province and interprets its reversed forms of address and burden-carrying as social satire. That interpretation is attributed to him, without endorsing the caste hierarchy in his language. His Jātaka comparison has a different false-treasure task and is not inserted into this version.

Speaking jackal who escapes by promising nonexistent wealthDurayā narrator attribution
01

Origins & earliest records

Sri Lankan narratives collected and translated by H. Parker

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale and all its printed variants/comparative notes read; relevant introduction passages on collection and translation directly read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

    H. Parker (collector and translator) · 1910

    No. 65, The Jackal and the Brāhmaṇa, pp. 347–348 and comparison

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

Volume I; No. 65. No. 65, The Jackal and the Brāhmaṇa, pp. 347–348 and comparison

Complete tale with all printed comparisons and notes read. False coins and claimed giant lizards not actual creatures or magical events; mud coating not bodily growth. Historical narrator attribution retained without caste rankings.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon I — No. 65, The Jackal and the Brāhmaṇa, pp. 347–348 and comparisonResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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