"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!"'"