Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.1777

c8.1777

Hearing this Damanaka said "To go to war without knowing the strength of the enemy is wrong. Once upon a time a water-fowl quarrelled with the ocean. The water-fowl was living happily on the shores of an ocean with his mate. They ate the worms that lived on the shores. The she-fowl got pregnant and when it was time to lay her eggs she asked her mate to show her a safe place to lay the eggs. The male mate asked her to lay the eggs on the shore itself. But the she-fowl said that the waves would carry away the eggs and so it was not wise to do so. The male fowl assured her that the ocean was not bold enough to do anything against his interests. But the she-fowl still hesitated.