7th Standard, English First Language,
Supplementary Reading 1.
Suvarnasiddhi and Chakradhara
Glossary:
strange: out of the ordinary.
wander: move about aimlessly or without any destination.
mumbled: talk in an unclear manner; usually in a low voice.
delicious: very tasty.
beloved: someone who is loved dearly.
revenge: action taken in return for an injury or offence.
companion: a friend who is frequently in the company of another.
determined: strongly motivated to succeed.
backyard: the gardens at the back of a house.
camphor: a resin obtained from the camphor tree.
hollow: a cavity or space in something.
emerge: come out into view from hiding.
fragrance: a pleasant odour.
heed: pay attention to or listen to.
Comprehension
i. Answer in one or two sentences each.
1. Who narrated Berunda’s story to whom?
Answer: Suvarnasiddhi narrated Berunda’s story to his friend Chakradhara.
2. Where did the big strange bird live?
Answer: The big strange bird, Berunda, lived on the banks of a lake called Sangama.
3. What did the bird find one day?
Answer: The bird found a fruit one day, which was delicious as ambrosia.
4. How did the first head describe the fruit?
Answer: “Oh! What a fruit, I am sure the heavens have sent it for me. I am so lucky.” That is how the first head described the fruit.
5. What did the first head decide to do with the fruit?
Answer: The first head decided to give the fruit to his beloved wife Tatillatha.
6. How did the second react to the first head’s decision?
Answer: The second head was disappointed to the first head’s decision. He was waiting for a chance to take revenge.
7. Who narrated Brahmadatta’s story?
Answer: Chakradhara narrated Brahmadatta’s story.
8. Who was Brahmadatta and where did he live?
Answer: Brahmadatta is a small boy. He lived in a city called Varanavarta with his old mother.
9. What were Brahmadatta’s travel plans?
Answer: Brahmadatta was planning to travel to another village.
10. Who was Brahmadatta’s travel companion?
Answer: The Crab was Brahmadatta’s travel companion. The boy then put the crab into a camphor box, took the box in a vessel, and set out on his journey.
ii. Answer in three or four sentences each.
- Describe Berunda.
Answer: Berunda was a big strange bird, lived with his wife Tatillatha on the banks of a lake called Sangama. He had two heads and single body. The Gandaberunda (also known as the Berunda) is a two-headed mythological bird of Hindu mythology thought to possess magical strength. It is used as the official emblem by the Karnataka government and it is seen as an intricately sculptured motif in Hindu temples.
- Describe the first head’s decision.
Answer: One day Berunda was found a fruit, which was delicious as ambrosia. His first head praised the fruit and said he was lucky because it was send for him from the heaven. The second head said that let him also taste the fruit. But the first head decided to give the fruit to his beloved wife Tatillatha because both the two heads have a same stomach.
- Why was the second head disappointed at the first head’s decision?
Answer: The second head wants to eat the fruit which was as delicious as ambrosia. The first head praised the fruit that it was send from the heaven. Hearing the first head’s praise the second head wants to taste the fruit. But the first head decided to give the fruit to his beloved wife Tatillatha because both the two heads have a same stomach. That is why the second head disappointed at the first head’s decision.
- How did the second head have its revenge?
Answer: The second head was waiting for a chance to take revenge. One day, the second head found a poisonous fruit and told the first head, that he will eat the poisonous fruit and take revenge first head’s insult. The first head warned that if he eat that fruit, then both of them will die because both have same stomach. Ignoring the first head’s warning, the second head ate the poisonous fruit and both of them died.
- What advice did Chakradhara give Suvarnasiddhi?
Answer: Chakradhara gave advice to Suvarnasiddhi that do not go home and anywhere alone. It is better to take a companion with him in travelling.
- Who was Brahmadatta? What was his mother’s advice to him?
Answer: Brahmadatta is a small boy. He lived in a city called Varanavarta with his old mother. One day, when Brahmadatta was planning to travel to another village. His mother advices him not to travel alone, but take someone along with him.
- How did the mother help Brahmadatta in his travel?
Answer: Knowing that Brahmadatta was determined to go, the mother went to the well in the backyard and took out a crab and asked her son to keep the crab with him during the travel.
- How did the crab save Brahmadatta’s life?
Answer: The day was very hot and middle of his traveling, the boy halted and took rest under a big tree. From the hollow of the tree, a snake emerged, and attracted by the fragrance of camphor, swallowed the box containing the crab. The crab came out of the box and killed the snake. The boy woke up to find the dead snake and the open camphor box. When he saw the crab alive beside the open camphor box, he at once realized that the crab saved his life.
iii. Answer in five or six sentences.
- Describe how Berunda met his demise.
Answer: One day Berunda was found a fruit, which was delicious as ambrosia. His first head praised the fruit and said he was lucky because it was send for him from the heaven. The second head said that let him also taste the fruit. But the first head decided to give the fruit to his beloved wife Tatillatha because both the two heads have a same stomach. The second head was waiting for a chance to take revenge. One day, the second head found a poisonous fruit and told the first head, that he will eat the poisonous fruit and take revenge first head’s insult. The first head warned that if he eat that fruit, then both of them will die because both have same stomach. Ignoring the first head’s warning, the second head ate the poisonous fruit and both of them died.
- Describe how heeding his mother’s advice saves Brahmadatta.
Answer: One day, when Brahmadatta was planning to travel to another village. His mother advices him not to travel alone, but take someone along with him. Knowing that Brahmadatta was determined to go, the mother went to the well in the backyard and took out a crab and asked her son to keep the crab with him during the travel. The boy then put the crab into a camphor box, took the box in a vessel. The day was very hot and middle of his traveling, the boy halted and took rest under a big tree. From the hollow of the tree, a snake emerged, and attracted by the fragrance of camphor, swallowed the box containing the crab. The crab came out of the box and killed the snake. The boy woke up to find the dead snake and the open camphor box. When he saw the crab alive beside the open camphor box, he at once realized that the crab saved his life.
Additional Questions and Answers:
- Who was the two friends in the story?
Answer: The two friends of the story was Suvarnasiddhi and Chakradhara.
- He found a fruit, which was delicious as ambrosia.
- Berunda, lived on the banks of a lake called Sangama.
- Berunda thus gave the fruit to his wife Tatillatha.
- How is the Berunda bird different from other birds?
Answer: Berunda had two heads and single body. That make him different from other birds.
- Brahmadatta lived in a city called Varanavarta with his old mother.
- The crab came out of the box and killed the snake.
- Chakradhara concluded his story telling Suvarnasiddhi how important it is always to have a companion.
Notes:
- Panchatantra – The Panchatantra is an ancient collection of animal fables in verse and prose. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century B.C. is attributed to Vishnu Sharma.
- Vishnu Sharma was an Indian scholar and author who is believed to have written the Panchatantra fables.
- Berunda – The Gandaberunda (also known as the Berunda) is a two-headed mythological bird of Hindu mythology thought to possess magical strength. It is used as the official emblem by the Karnataka government and it is seen as an intricately sculptured motif in Hindu temples.
