Chapter 196

“Markandeya said, ‘One day it was resolved by the gods that they shoulddescend on the earth and try the goodness and virtue of king Sivi, theson of Usinara. And addressing each other,–‘Well’–Agni and Indra cameto the earth. And Agni took the form of a pigeon flying away from Indrawho pursued him in the form of a hawk, and that pigeon fell upon the lapof king Sivi who was seated on an excellent seat. And the priestthereupon addressing the king said, ‘Afraid of the hawk and desirous ofsaving its life, this pigeon hath come to thee for safety. The learnedhave said that the falling of a pigeon upon one’s body forebodeth a greatdanger. Let the king that understands omens give away wealth for savinghimself from the danger indicated.’ And the pigeon also addressed theking and said, ‘Afraid of the hawk and desirous of saving my life I havecome to thee for protection. I am a Muni. Having assumed the form of apigeon, I come to thee as a seeker of thy protection. Indeed, I seek theeas my life. Know me as one possessed of Vedic lore, as one leading theBrahmacharya mode of life, as one possessed also of self-control andascetic virtues. And know me further as one that has never spokendisagreeably unto his preceptor, as one possessed of every virtue indeed,as one that is sinless. I repeat the Vedas, I know their prosody; indeed,I have studied all the Vedas letter by letter. I am not a pigeon. Oh, donot yield me up to the hawk. The giving up of a learned and pure Brahmanacan never be a good gift.’ And after the pigeon said so, the hawkaddressed the king, and said, ‘Creatures do not come into the world inthe same particular order. In the order of creation, thou mayst, in aformer birth, have been begotten by this pigeon. It is not proper forthee, O king, to interfere with my food by protecting this pigeon (eventhough he might have been thy father).’ And thus addressed, the kingsaid, ‘Hath any one, before this, seen birds thus speak the pure speechof man? Knowing what this pigeon sayeth, and this hawk also, how can weact to-day according to virtue? He that giveth up an affrighted creatureseeking protection, unto its foe, doth not obtain protection when he isin need of it himself. Indeed, the very clouds do not shower rainseasonably for him, and the seeds though scattered do not grow for him.He that giveth up an afflicted creature seeking protection unto its foe,hath to see his offspring die in childhood. The ancestor of such a personcan never dwell in heaven; indeed, the very gods decline to accept thelibations of clarified butter poured by him into the fire. He that givethup an affrighted creature seeking protection, unto its foe, is struckwith the thunder-bolt by the gods with Indra at their head. The food thathe eateth is unsanctified, and he, of a narrow soul, falleth from heavenvery soon. O hawk, let the people of the Sivi tribe place before thee abull cooked with rice instead of this pigeon. And let them also carry tothe place where thou livest in joy, meat in abundance.’ And hearing this,the hawk said, ‘O king, I do not ask for a bull, nor, indeed, any othermeat, nor meat more in quantity than that of this pigeon. It hath beengiven to me by the gods. The creature, therefore, is my food today inconsequence of its death that hath been ordained. Therefore, O monarch,give it up to me.’ Thus addressed by the hawk, the king said, ‘Let my mensee and carefully carry the bull to thee with every limb entire. Let thatbull be the ransom of this creature afflicted with fright and let it becarried to thee before my eyes. Oh, slay not this pigeon! I will yield upmy very life, yet I would not give up this pigeon. Dost thou not know, Ohawk, that this creature looketh like a sacrifice with the Soma juice? Oblessed one, cease to take so much trouble for it. I cannot, by anymeans, yield up the pigeon to thee. Or, O hawk, if it pleases thee,command me to do some such thing which I may do for thee, which may beagreeable to thee, and upon doing which the men of the Sivi tribe may yetin joy bless me in terms of applause. I promise thee that I will do whatthou mayst did me do.’ And at this appeal of the king, the hawk said, ‘Oking, if thou givest me as much flesh as would be equal to the weight ofthe pigeon, cutting it off thy right thigh; then can the pigeon beproperly saved by thee; then wouldst thou do what would be agreeable tome and what the men of the Sivi tribe would speak of in terms of praise.’And the king agreed to this and he cut off a piece of flesh from hisright thigh and weighed it against the pigeon. But the pigeon weighedheavier. And thereupon the king cut off another piece of his flesh, butthe pigeon still weighed heavier, and then the king cut off pieces offlesh from all parts of his body and placed them on the scale. But thepigeon still weighed heavier, and then the king himself ascended thescale and he felt no grief at this and beholding this, the hawkdisappeared there saying–(The pigeon hath been) Saved,–And the kingasked the pigeon saying, ‘O pigeon, let the Sivis know who the hawk is.None but the lord of the universe could do as he did. O Holy One, answerthou this question of mine!’ And the pigeon then said, ‘I am thesmoke-bannered Agni called also Vaiswanara. The hawk is none other thanSachi’s lord armed with the thunder-bolt. O son of Suratha, thou art abull among men. We came to try thee. These pieces of flesh, O king, thatthou hast cut off with thy sword from thy body for saving me have causedgashes in thy body. I will make these marks auspicious and handsome andthey will be of the colour of gold and emit a sweet perfume, and earninggreat fame and respected by the gods and the Rishis thou shall long rulethese subjects of thine, and a son will spring from thy flank who shallbe called Kapataroman. O king, thou shalt obtain this son of the name ofKapataroman from out of thy own body and thou wilt behold him become theforemost of the Saurathas, blazing with renown, possessed of bravery andgreat personal beauty!”