Birds in Sanskrit Literature Grackle, but as a bird of ill omen, or a noisy one, it is the Common Myna. To cite but one example of each from the रामायण - 82 “नूनं हि लालप्यते सीता पञ्जरस्थेव शारिका" - 5.13, 16 "वीचीकूचीति वाश्यन्तः शारिकावेश्मसु स्थिताः पतन्ति ग्रथिताश्चापि निजिताः कलहैषिणः" 6.35.33 The second passage is a perfect picture of the कलहप्रिया सारिका, the noisy or quarrelsome Common Mynas often given to fighting with their own kind. 6. The beautiful Grackle learns to speak with great facility and accu- racy and was naturally a favourite cage bird of the ancients. The gerar शारि of वाज. संहिता the Grackle, “सरस्वत्यै शारिः पुरुषवाक" 24.33 Classical literature is full of references to its power of speech. One, for example, is represented as preaching to her Parrot-friend about the great- ness of God Siva: “पठन्ती सारिका सारं शुकं सम्बोधयत्यहो अपारावारसंसारसिन्धुपारप्रदः शिवः” स्कन्दपुराण, काशीखंड, 1.8.72 It was also taught to repeat didactic and religious catch phrases: “शिक्षापदोपदेशदोषोपशमशालिनीभिः सारिकाभिरपि धर्मदेशनां दर्शयन्तीभिः..." हर्षचरित, उच्छास, 8 f For another example, see Art. 38. The enfant af of the drama of is made to play an exaggerated role and is represented as possessed of an extraordinary memory and able to repeat a long conversation overheard by her but once all of which is simply poetic fiction. Lexicons have perhaps borrowed the name anfft for a Grackle from this work. 7. Another bird of this group is the Spotted-winged Stare, resembling the Mynas in shape and habits. It occurs in flocks and associates with the Grackles and other Mynas, the birds of a flock keeping up a constant chattering twitter. They are very restless and are always on the move. They breed in the lower and outer Himalayas as far east as Nepal and visit the adjacent plains in the winter. This Stare is known as ge or gfer in Hindi. It is the पुलीका ( v. 1 पुलिका) of मैना. संहिता, 3.14.5 and पूली (मूली appears to be a misprint) and writ of the wer. The name is probably derived from the Dravidian gfa (cf geeft, Panther देशीनाममाला) because of its spotted plumage, and it is from this sense that I holdt (we, a tiger) Grackles or Hill-Mynas 83 to be another but later name for it. Being a noisy bird it has been very properly named for the female relations of the gods implying a subtle satire upon their garrulous, fidgety and quarrelsome habits: - “पुलीका देवजामिभ्यः" -मैत्रा. संहिता, 3.14.5. The बाज संहिता, 24.24 reads कुलीका in place of पुलीका and as कुलि also means a Panther or Tiger in another South-Indian language (the Kannada) too must mean the Spotted-winged Stare.
