A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A woman promises a crow a golden cap if her travelling husband returns safely. When he does, she gives the cap to the bird, which wears it while flying about. A falcon tears off its head for the gold. The tale does not say that the crow caused the husband’s return or possesses a protective charm; a deity’s closing verse makes the ornament an example of dangerous unnecessary possession.
Origins & earliest records
Indian Buddhist narrative preserved in Tibetan translation
Records & interpretation
Whole chapter and its footnotes directly read in the digitized1906 edition.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
XLVII, The Crow with the Golden Cap, p. 355; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 221
- 02
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — XLVII The Crow with the Golden Cap
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected XL–XLIX344–359 and all notes independently read. Tibetan/German source-language originals not collated; footnoted comparisons not promoted to separately inspected works.
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
Schiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources (London, 1906)
XLVII, The Crow with the Golden Cap. XLVII, The Crow with the Golden Cap, p. 355; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 221
Complete chapter and all notes read. Translation’s canonical locator retained; original Tibetan not independently inspected. Actual endings, explicit identities and comparative material kept separate, with no death/kinship/anatomy inferred beyond the telling.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected XL–XLIX344–359 and all notes independently read. Tibetan/German source-language originals not collated; footnoted comparisons not promoted to separately inspected works.
- A woman promises a crow a golden cap if her travelling husband returns safely. After his return she fulfils the promise, and the crow flies wearing it. A falcon tears off its head because of the ornament. The tale connects a fulfilled reward with a new danger, without asserting that the crow causes the husband’s return.
XLVII The Crow with the Golden Cap, complete355; note Kah-gyuriv.f221
Historical German-mediated English rendering; Tibetan originals and footnoted comparative works not independently collated. Page labels from hosted transcription. Religious/moral assertions remain narrative framing. No verse, ritual, prayer, medical preparation or modern adaptation copied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translation of Buddhist narrativeSchiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales (1906), XLVII, The Crow with the Golden Cap, p. 355; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 221Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.