The Pañcatantra is a widely read and very popular Indian collection of stories and fables of which there are several extant versions. The Fall of the Indigo Jackal concentrates on the compilation made by Pūrṇabhadra at the end of the twelfth century ce, and uses one of its stories, “The Blue Jackal,” as a guide for analyzing some of the ideas, ideals, and ideologies (p. 38) that McComas Taylor views as central to the collection. Taylor considers a “discourse of division” as a fundamental ideological tenet of the Pañcatantra. This means the division of society into social classes defined by birth and occupation. The discussion thus revolves around varṇa, the system of four social classes composed of Brahman priests, rulers, and warriors (kṣatriyas); the productive class (vaiśyas); and those who are meant to serve these three upper classes, the śūdras. It also revolves around the concept of jāti (caste), which refers to the many subdivisions of the varṇas into specific occupations defined by birth. Taylor is careful to explain that it is not his intention to describe the reality of Indian society, but rather the idealized version of it portrayed in brahmanical literature, particularly in the Pañcatantra (p. 37–38). He shows that the term jāti is used in the Pañcatantra to refer to animal groups or species that are a reflection of the varṇas in human society (pp. 38, 184).
The book draws on Michel Foucault for establishing a theoretical framework, and Taylor consequently coins phrases such as “the brahmanical archive” to refer to brahmanical Sanskrit literature (p. 38). He also uses the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu, and combines them with Louis Dumont's description of a vertical social hierarchy in order to suggest the image of a “social maṇḍala” as a more comprehensive way of describing the society depicted in the narratives. At the center of the maṇḍala would be those connected to prestige, power, and auspiciousness, while moving toward the periphery would imply an increasing distance from these characteristics (pp. 54–55). For the Sanskrit literary tradition in particular, Taylor relies on Sheldon Pollock for theoretical background.
Chapter 1 has an extremely useful survey of the history of the Pañcatantra and its different recensions, as well as an overview of the text's worldwide travels through influential translations into different languages, ranging from the sixth-century translation into Pahlavi, to later renderings in Arabic, Greek, Spanish, Hebrew, Latin, German, Czech, French, and other European languages, and from a version in Nepalese to those in Laotian, Thai, and Javanese. Taylor discusses issues such as the core stories, the use of embedding, and the structure of the narratives.
The second chapter focuses on jāti as it appears in the animal stories of the Pañcatantra, and how birth determines three aspects of the characters' being: their essential nature (svabhāva), their social status, and their relationships with others in terms of natural enmity or amity. Taylor's meticulous and perceptive analysis shows that characters that attempt to escape their true nature and move toward the center of the “social maṇḍala” are ultimately discovered and must suffer the consequences.
Chapter 3 seeks to discern a “regime of truth” by establishing what makes the discourse of division in the Pañcatantra appear as truthful to its audience. The discussion is detailed and well argued, and it offers interesting insights, although some of its elements are not entirely convincing. A case in point is the insistence on the authority conferred on the Pañcatantra as a written text as opposed to an oral one.
The fourth and last chapter of the book provides a useful analysis of several Sanskrit texts that describe the varṇas, and looks into how they could support the major themes of essential nature, social status, and enmity/amity.
Taylor tends to repeat himself, although the fact that the book is very well written and clear makes up for this. He seems to feel the need to repeatedly justify his methodology and findings, to the point of talking of a preemptive defense of them (p. 183). This might be attributable to the fact that the book is based on a dissertation, but the book has many merits and stands on its own without the need for such excessive justifications. There are two valuable appendices that list the core stories and summarize all of the stories included in Pūrṇabhadra's version. A more detailed index would have been useful for locating terms such as “Rudra” or “potter,” which are not included.
Despite minor problems, The Indigo Jackal is a welcome addition to the study of the Pañcatantra. It is a well-written, well-argued and stimulating contribution that will be useful not only to indologists but also to folklorists and to anyone interested in traditional fables and their cultural background.
