The Maxim of the Crow and the Cocoanut

This story has been well-known in India for thousands of years. It is the story of a crow landing on a branch of a palm-fruit (cocoanut) tree. At just the instant the crow lands, in a very unexpected and accidental occurrence, a ripe fruit falls from above the branch and lands upon the head of the crow, killing it.

In India, the mention of the crow and the cocoanut denotes any very unexpected, coincidental occurrence, whether it be positive or negative; welcome or unwelcome.

For Western readers who do not know this story as part of their cultural heritage, the many references to the crow and the cocoanut in the Yoga Vasistha can be misleading. The story is usually told with extreme brevity, as simply as 'the crow lands, the cocoanut falls'. Most Western readers envision the crow landing on a branch with a cocoanut on it, which is dislodged by the crow. This feels very much like cause and effect, which is the opposite of the meaning of the story.