Previous
11. Toomai of the Elephants
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Jungle Book, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Laws of Nature
Human and Animal Relationships
Loyalty
British Imperialism
Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
This is a song about Shiv—also called Shiva the Preserver—“who poured the harvest and made the winds to blow.” Shiv always made sure everyone was fed and had a job no matter how rich or poor they were. One time, Shiv’s wife, Parbati, hoping to tease Shiv, takes a grasshopper and hides it in her bosom, thinking Shiv will forget to feed it. However, when she pulls the grasshopper out from its hiding place, she sees it is chewing on a leaf.
The purpose of this story is to illustrate the Shiv’s omniscience. Even when Parbati tries to fool Shiv, he sees through the trick and feeds the grasshopper. Shiv and Parbati are real figures in Hinduism, though Kipling makes up this particular story.
Themes
