Mandapāla
Mandapāla, simply known as Mandapala, Sanskrit: मन्दपाल, Telugu: మందపాలుడు, Hindi: मंदपाल.
Droṇa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Droṇa.
Mandapāla was a ṛshi who lived a life of dharma. After his death he was refused entry to svarga (heaven) because he had left no children. He was reborn as a śāraṅgaka bird so that he could have children. He married the bird Jaritā, and they had four sons: Jaritāri, Sārisṛkka, Stambamitra and Droṇa. Then he left Jaritā and took a second bird-wife, Lapitā. When the Khāṇḍava forest caught fire, he flew to Agni and begged him to spare his sons. His story is told in the Śāraṅgaka Upākhyāna, which is part of the Khāṇḍavadāha Parva.
Denied entry to svarga
Mandapāla had done all the duties of a good life: tapas (austerity), yajña (fire ritual), study and right conduct. When he died and came to svarga, he was refused. The reason given was that he had left no children. Both the world of the ancestors (pitṛloka) and svarga need a man’s line to continue after him. The pitṛs (ancestors) depend on the remembrance of their descendants in ritual. Mandapāla had not met this need.
He decided to put this right quickly. He reasoned that birds have young most quickly, and so he took birth as a śāraṅgaka bird. The Ādi Parva, Chapter 228, tells this.
Marriage to Jaritā and the four sons
As a śāraṅgaka bird, Mandapāla married Jaritā, a female bird of fine character. They had four sons: Jaritāri, Sārisṛkka, Stambamitra and Droṇa. The four young birds were still helpless and could not yet fly when their father left them.
Desire drew Mandapāla toward another bird, Lapitā. He left Jaritā and their sons and lived with Lapitā elsewhere in the Khāṇḍava forest. The Ādi Parva, Chapter 228, tells this.
Pleading with Agni
The Khāṇḍava forest began to burn. Mandapāla became very anxious for his four helpless sons. He flew straight to Agni and begged him to spare them. He told Agni who he was and where in the forest the sons were.
Agni told him that his sons were safe. They had the spiritual power of their father. He told Mandapāla to go back. Agni’s word proved true. The youngest son, Droṇa, sang a brahma-stotra (a hymn of praise to Brahman) to Agni, and Agni spared the nest. This is in Chapter 231.
The divided heart
While Mandapāla pleaded for his sons, Lapitā was jealous that he was so taken up with Jaritā and the young birds. His duty brought him back to one family, and his desire kept him bound to the other. When the fire died down and his sons were found safe, he went back to Jaritā, but the reunion was not warm. This is in Chapters 232–234.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 228–234