“Markandeya said, ‘One day it was resolved by the gods that they should
descend on the earth and try the goodness and virtue of king Sivi, the
son of Usinara. And addressing each other,--‘Well’--Agni and Indra came
to the earth. And Agni took the form of a pigeon flying away from Indra
who pursued him in the form of a hawk, and that pigeon fell upon the lap
of king Sivi who was seated on an excellent seat. And the priest
thereupon addressing the king said, ‘Afraid of the hawk and desirous of
saving its life, this pigeon hath come to thee for safety. The learned
have said that the falling of a pigeon upon one’s body forebodeth a great
danger. Let the king that understands omens give away wealth for saving
himself from the danger indicated.’ And the pigeon also addressed the
king and said, ‘Afraid of the hawk and desirous of saving my life I have
come to thee for protection. I am a Muni. Having assumed the form of a
pigeon, I come to thee as a seeker of thy protection. Indeed, I seek thee
as my life. Know me as one possessed of Vedic lore, as one leading the
Brahmacharya mode of life, as one possessed also of self-control and
ascetic virtues. And know me further as one that has never spoken
disagreeably 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, do
not yield me up to the hawk. The giving up of a learned and pure Brahmana
can never be a good gift.’ And after the pigeon said so, the hawk
addressed the king, and said, ‘Creatures do not come into the world in
the same particular order. In the order of creation, thou mayst, in a
former birth, have been begotten by this pigeon. It is not proper for
thee, O king, to interfere with my food by protecting this pigeon (even
though he might have been thy father).’ And thus addressed, the king
said, ‘Hath any one, before this, seen birds thus speak the pure speech
of man? Knowing what this pigeon sayeth, and this hawk also, how can we
act to-day according to virtue? He that giveth up an affrighted creature
seeking protection, unto its foe, doth not obtain protection when he is
in need of it himself. Indeed, the very clouds do not shower rain
seasonably 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 person
can never dwell in heaven; indeed, the very gods decline to accept the
libations of clarified butter poured by him into the fire. He that giveth
up an affrighted creature seeking protection, unto its foe, is struck
with the thunder-bolt by the gods with Indra at their head. The food that
he eateth is unsanctified, and he, of a narrow soul, falleth from heaven
very soon. O hawk, let the people of the Sivi tribe place before thee a
bull cooked with rice instead of this pigeon. And let them also carry to
the 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 other
meat, nor meat more in quantity than that of this pigeon. It hath been
given to me by the gods. The creature, therefore, is my food today in
consequence 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 men
see and carefully carry the bull to thee with every limb entire. Let that
bull be the ransom of this creature afflicted with fright and let it be
carried to thee before my eyes. Oh, slay not this pigeon! I will yield up
my very life, yet I would not give up this pigeon. Dost thou not know, O
hawk, that this creature looketh like a sacrifice with the Soma juice? O
blessed one, cease to take so much trouble for it. I cannot, by any
means, 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 be
agreeable to thee, and upon doing which the men of the Sivi tribe may yet
in joy bless me in terms of applause. I promise thee that I will do what
thou mayst did me do.’ And at this appeal of the king, the hawk said, ‘O
king, if thou givest me as much flesh as would be equal to the weight of
the pigeon, cutting it off thy right thigh; then can the pigeon be
properly saved by thee; then wouldst thou do what would be agreeable to
me 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 his
right thigh and weighed it against the pigeon. But the pigeon weighed
heavier. And thereupon the king cut off another piece of his flesh, but
the pigeon still weighed heavier, and then the king cut off pieces of
flesh from all parts of his body and placed them on the scale. But the
pigeon still weighed heavier, and then the king himself ascended the
scale and he felt no grief at this and beholding this, the hawk
disappeared there saying--(The pigeon hath been) Saved,--And the king
asked 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, answer
thou this question of mine!’ And the pigeon then said, ‘I am the
smoke-bannered Agni called also Vaiswanara. The hawk is none other than
Sachi’s lord armed with the thunder-bolt. O son of Suratha, thou art a
bull among men. We came to try thee. These pieces of flesh, O king, that
thou hast cut off with thy sword from thy body for saving me have caused
gashes in thy body. I will make these marks auspicious and handsome and
they will be of the colour of gold and emit a sweet perfume, and earning
great fame and respected by the gods and the Rishis thou shall long rule
these subjects of thine, and a son will spring from thy flank who shall
be called Kapataroman. O king, thou shalt obtain this son of the name of
Kapataroman from out of thy own body and thou wilt behold him become the
foremost of the Saurathas, blazing with renown, possessed of bravery and
great personal beauty!”