THE WAR OF CROWS AND

OWLS
ANALYSIS
(ABEL106: Afro-Asian Literature)

Group 2 (III – ABEL B):

John Villanueva, Jr.

Aileen Mae Cayabyab

Harjie Cruz

Paul Andrew Soliven

Mary Joy Ignacio

Jasmin Joyce Celeste

April Portem

Ms. Christine Iñez B. Aquino

(Instructor)
THE WAR OF CROWS AND OWLS
Panchatantra Story

ANALYSIS:

I. PLOT

• Exposition
There are two kings of birds, Meghavarana was the king of the crows, their home was a
huge Banyan tree near a city called Mahilaropyam and Arimaranada was the king of owls,
and their home was a cave. The owls regarded the crows as their enemies, so if they caught
any crows, they attack and kill them.

• Complication / Rising Action

As the time went by, many had been killed, Maghavarana, the king of crows had a
council of five ministers to hear all their suggestions of what they would do to their enemies
but the king of was not satisfied with the suggestions and sought the advice of one of the
ministers, Sthirajeevi, and he suggested that the king should send spies to find their weak-
points to outwit the enemy then, the king agreed.

• Climax / Crisis
Sthirajeevi began to caw feebly that Aramiradana heard the sound and was surprised to
see Sthirajeevi. Sthirajeevi started praising Arimaradana as much as he cursed
Maghavarana but one of Aramiradana’s minister, Raktasha, did not trust Sthirajeevi.

• Falling Action / Reversal

Raktaksha and few of his followers left the cave while Sthirajeevi had gathered a lot of
twigs at the entrance of the cave on pretending to build a nest and he reported to
Meghavarana that his task was finished.

• Denouement / Resolution
The crows followed Sthirajeevi to the owl’s cave and dropped the pieces of burning
wood they were carrying on the entrance of the cave and the twigs gathered outside caught
fire and the owls perished inside due to fire and smoke. The crows fearlessly returned to
their Banyan tree, and with the help of Sthirajeevi, Meghavarana ruled justly thereafter.

II. CHARACTERS

 Meghavarana – the king of the crows.

 Arimaranada – the king of the owls who easily gives his trust to others.

 Sthirajeevi – one of the five ministers of Meghavarana, and a clever spy.

 Raktaksha – one of the five ministers of Arimaranada that never trust Sthirajeevi.

III. POINT OF VIEW

• Third-Person Point of View

The narrator is not part of the story and she gives us the information about the situation
happened in the story and insight on a certain characters thought and feelings.

IV. THEME

• “Never trust your enemy, and don’t allow a foe into your home”
This must the owl king did. Because of giving his trust to the one of their enemy, they all
ended up nothing.
V. CONFLICT

• Man vs. Self

As the king of the owls, Arimaranada, gave his trust to their enemy, he did not think
twice and continued to trust Sthirajeevi.

VI. ATMOSPHERE / MOOD

• The mood of the story is tragic wherein the kingdom of the owls vanished through fire by
the crows, and at the same time festive due to that the crows won against the owls.

VII. Imagery

• As the story goes on, we absolutely feel sorry for both of the two kingdoms especially the
owls for losing in an unequal way.

VIII. CRITICAL APPROACHES

• Formalism / Formalistic Approach

The story was presented comprising with the literary elements and devices on it.

• Moralistic Approach
The story tells us that we must never easily put or give our trust on somebody else
speacially if that somebody is one of your enemies. It also tells us that must think twice, or
thrice if needed to secure our safety.