Mahabharata 3.131: ekatriṃśadadhikaśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ

3.131.1

śyena uvāca |
dharmātmānaṃ tvāhurekaṃ sarve rājanmahīkṣitaḥ |
sa vai dharmaviruddhaṃ tvaṃ kasmātkarma cikīrṣasi || 1 ||

"The hawk said, 'All the kings of the earth represent thee as a pious ruler. Wherefore, O prince, has thou then stopped to perpetrate a deed not sanctioned by the ordinance? I have been sore afflicted with hunger. Do thou not withhold from me that which hath been appointed by the Deity for my food,--under the impression that thereby thou servest the interests of virtue, whereas in reality, thou wilt forsake it, (by committing thyself to this act). Thereupon, the king said, 'O best of the feathered race, afflicted with fear of thee, and desirous of escaping from thy hands, this bird, all in a hurry, hath come up to me asking for life. When this pigeon hath in such a manner sought my protection, why dost thou not see that the highest merit is even in my not surrendering it unto thee? And it is trembling with fear, and is agitated, and is seeking its life from me. It is therefore certainly blameworthy to forsake it. He that slayeth a Brahmana, he that slaughtered a cow--the common mother of all the worlds--and he that forsaketh one seeking for protection are equally sinful.' Thereat the hawk replied, 'O lord of earth, it is from food that all beings derive their life, and it is food also that nourisheth and sustaineth them. A man can live long even after forsaking what is dearest to him, but he cannot do so, after abstaining from food. Being deprived of food, my life, O ruler of men, will surely leave this body, and will attain to regions unknown to such troubles. But at my death, O pious king, my wife and children will surely perish, and by protecting this single pigeon. O prince, thou dost not protect many lives. The virtue that standeth in the way of another virtue, is certainly no virtue at all, but in reality is unrighteousness.

3.131.2

vihitaṃ bhakṣaṇaṃ rājanpīḍyamānasya me kṣudhā |
mā bhāṅkṣīrdharmalobhena dharmamutsṛṣṭavānasi || 2 ||

3.131.3

rājovāca |
saṃtrastarūpastrāṇārthī tvatto bhīto mahādvija |
matsakāśamanuprāptaḥ prāṇagṛdhnurayaṃ dvijaḥ || 3 ||

3.131.4

evamabhyāgatasyeha kapotasyābhayārthinaḥ |
apradāne paro'dharmaḥ kiṃ tvaṃ śyena prapaśyasi || 4 ||

3.131.5

praspandamānaḥ saṃbhrāntaḥ kapotaḥ śyena lakṣyate |
matsakāśaṃ jīvitārthī tasya tyāgo vigarhitaḥ || 5 ||

3.131.6

śyena uvāca |
āhārātsarvabhūtāni saṃbhavanti mahīpate |
āhāreṇa vivardhante tena jīvanti jantavaḥ || 6 ||

3.131.7

śakyate dustyaje'pyarthe cirarātrāya jīvitum |
na tu bhojanamutsṛjya śakyaṃ vartayituṃ ciram || 7 ||

3.131.8

bhakṣyādvilopitasyādya mama prāṇā viśāṃ pate |
visṛjya kāyameṣyanti panthānamapunarbhavam || 8 ||

3.131.9

pramṛte mayi dharmātmanputradāraṃ naśiṣyati |
rakṣamāṇaḥ kapotaṃ tvaṃ bahūnprāṇānnaśiṣyasi || 9 ||

3.131.10

dharmaṃ yo bādhate dharmo na sa dharmaḥ kudharma tat |
avirodhī tu yo dharmaḥ sa dharmaḥ satyavikrama || 10 ||

[paragraph continues] But O king, whose prowess consisteth in truth, that virtue is worthy of the name, which is not conflicting. After instituting a comparison between opposing virtues, and weighing their comparative merits, one, O great prince, ought to espouse that which is not opposing. Do thou, therefore, O king, striking a balance between virtues, adopt that which preponderates.' At this the king said, 'O best of birds, as thou speakest words fraught with much good, I suspect thee to be Suparna, the monarch of birds. I have not the least hesitation to declare that thou art fully conversant with the ways of virtue. As thou speakest wonders about virtue, I think that there is nothing connected with it, that is unknown to thee. How canst thou then consider the forsaking of one, seeking for help, as virtuous? Thy efforts in this matter, O ranger of the skies, have been in quest of food. Thou canst, however, appease thy hunger with some other sort of food, even more copious. I am perfectly willing to procure for thee any sort of food that to thee may seem most tasteful, even if it be an ox, or a boar, or a deer, or a buffalo.' Thereupon the hawk said, 'O great king, I am not desirous of eating (the flesh of) a boar or an ox or the various species of beasts. What have I to do with any other sort of food? Therefore, O bull among the Kshatriyas, leave to me this pigeon, whom Heaven hath today ordained for my food, O ruler of earth, that hawks eat pigeons is the eternal provision. O prince, do not for support embrace a plantain tree, not knowing its want of strength.' The king said, 'Ranger of the skies, I am willing to bestow on thee this rich province of my race, or any other thing that to thee may seem desirable. With the sole exception of this pigeon, which hath approached me craving my protection, I shall be glad to give unto thee anything that thou mayst like. Let me know what I shall have to do for the deliverance of this bird. But this I shall not return to thee on any condition whatever.'"

3.131.11

virodhiṣu mahīpāla niścitya gurulāghavam |
na bādhā vidyate yatra taṃ dharmaṃ samudācaret || 11 ||

3.131.12

gurulāghavamājñāya dharmādharmaviniścaye |
yato bhūyāṃstato rājankuru dharmaviniścayam || 12 ||

3.131.13

rājovāca |
bahukalyāṇasaṃyuktaṃ bhāṣase vihagottama |
suparṇaḥ pakṣirāṭkiṃ tvaṃ dharmajñaścāsyasaṃśayam |
tathā hi dharmasaṃyuktaṃ bahu citraṃ prabhāṣase || 13 ||

3.131.14

na te'styaviditaṃ kiṃciditi tvā lakṣayāmyaham |
śaraṇaiṣiṇaḥ parityāgaṃ kathaṃ sādhviti manyase || 14 ||

3.131.15

āhārārthaṃ samārambhastava cāyaṃ vihaṃgama |
śakyaścāpyanyathā kartumāhāro'pyadhikastvayā || 15 ||

3.131.16

govṛṣo vā varāho vā mṛgo vā mahiṣo'pi vā |
tvadarthamadya kriyatāṃ yadvānyadabhikāṅkṣase || 16 ||

3.131.17

śyena uvāca |
na varāhaṃ na cokṣāṇaṃ na mṛgānvividhāṃstathā |
bhakṣayāmi mahārāja kimannādyena tena me || 17 ||

3.131.18

yastu me daivavihito bhakṣaḥ kṣatriyapuṃgava |
tamutsṛja mahīpāla kapotamimameva me || 18 ||

3.131.19

śyenāḥ kapotānkhādanti sthitireṣā sanātanī |
mā rājanmārgamājñāya kadalīskandhamāruha || 19 ||

3.131.20

rājovāca |
rājyaṃ śibīnāmṛddhaṃ vai śādhi pakṣigaṇārcita |
yadvā kāmayase kiṃcicchyena sarvaṃ dadāni te |
vinemaṃ pakṣiṇaṃ śyena śaraṇārthinamāgatam || 20 ||

3.131.21

yenemaṃ varjayethāstvaṃ karmaṇā pakṣisattama |
tadācakṣva kariṣyāmi na hi dāsye kapotakam || 21 ||

3.131.22

śyena uvāca |
uśīnara kapote te yadi sneho narādhipa |
ātmano māṃsamutkṛtya kapotatulayā dhṛtam || 22 ||

"The hawk said, 'O great ruler of men, if thou hast conceived an affection for this pigeon, then cut off a portion of thine own flesh, and weigh it in a balance, against this pigeon. And when thou hast found it equal (in weight) to the pigeon, then do thou give it unto me, and that will be to my satisfaction.' Then the king replied, This request of thine, O hawk, I consider as a favour unto me, and, therefore, I will give unto thee even my own flesh, after weighing it in a balance.'

3.131.23

yadā samaṃ kapotena tava māṃsaṃ bhavennṛpa |
tadā pradeyaṃ tanmahyaṃ sā me tuṣṭirbhaviṣyati || 23 ||

3.131.24

rājovāca |
anugrahamimaṃ manye śyena yanmābhiyācase |
tasmātte'dya pradāsyāmi svamāṃsaṃ tulayā dhṛtam || 24 ||

3.131.25

lomaśa uvāca |
athotkṛtya svamāṃsaṃ tu rājā paramadharmavit |
tulayāmāsa kaunteya kapotena sahābhibho || 25 ||

"Lomasa said, 'Saying this, O mighty son of Kunti, the highly virtuous king cut off a portion of his own flesh, and placed it in a balance, against the pigeon. But when he found that pigeon exceeded his flesh in weight, he once more cut off another portion of his flesh, and added it to the former. When portion after portion had been repeatedly added to weigh against the pigeon, and no more flesh was left on his body, he mounted the scale himself, utterly devoid of flesh.

3.131.26

dhriyamāṇastu tulayā kapoto vyatiricyate |
punaścotkṛtya māṃsāni rājā prādāduśīnaraḥ || 26 ||

3.131.27

na vidyate yadā māṃsaṃ kapotena samaṃ dhṛtam |
tata utkṛttamāṃso'sāvāruroha svayaṃ tulām || 27 ||

3.131.28

śyena uvāca |
indro'hamasmi dharmajña kapoto havyavāḍayam |
jijñāsamānau dharme tvāṃ yajñavāṭamupāgatau || 28 ||

"The hawk then said, 'I am Indra, O virtuous king, and this pigeon is Agni, the carrier of the sacrificial clarified butter. We had come unto thy sacrificial ground, desirous of testing thy merit. Since thou hast cut off thy own flesh from thy body, thy glory shall be resplendent, and shall surpass that of all others in the world. As long as men, O king, shall speak of thee, so long shall thy glory endure, and thou shalt inhabit the holy regions.' Saying this to the king, Indra ascended to heaven. And the virtuous king Usinara, after having filled heaven and earth with the merit of his pious deeds, ascended to heaven in a radiant shape. Behold, O king, the residence of that noble-hearted monarch. Here, O king, are seen holy sages and gods, together with virtuous and highsouled Brahmanas."

3.131.29

yatte māṃsāni gātrebhya utkṛttāni viśāṃ pate |
eṣā te bhāsvarī kīrtirlokānabhibhaviṣyati || 29 ||

3.131.30

yāvalloke manuṣyāstvāṃ kathayiṣyanti pārthiva |
tāvatkīrtiśca lokāśca sthāsyanti tava śāśvatāḥ || 30 ||

3.131.31

lomaśa uvāca |
tatpāṇḍaveya sadanaṃ rājñastasya mahātmanaḥ |
paśyasvaitanmayā sārdhaṃ puṇyaṃ pāpapramocanam || 31 ||

3.131.32

atra vai satataṃ devā munayaśca sanātanāḥ |
dṛśyante brāhmaṇai rājanpuṇyavadbhirmahātmabhiḥ || 32 ||