Jaritā

Jaritā was a female śāraṅgaka bird. She became the wife of Mandapāla, the ṛshi who was reborn as a bird, and she was the mother of his four sons. They were Jaritāri, Sārisṛkka, Stambamitra and Droṇa.

Mandapāla left her for a second bird-wife, Lapitā, and Jaritā raised her four nestlings alone. When the Khāṇḍava forest burned, she could carry only one nestling to safety, and she had four. The nestlings told her to fly away and save herself, and she did not want to leave them. Her youngest son Droṇa sang a brahma-stotra (a hymn in praise of the Absolute) to Bhagavān Agni. It moved Bhagavān Agni to spare the nest, and all four sons lived. When Mandapāla came back, Jaritā did not hide her grief at being left.

Wife of Mandapāla

Jaritā was the first wife of Mandapāla in his life as a śāraṅgaka bird. She bore his four sons and raised them faithfully. She is known for her devotion to her children. When Mandapāla left, she did not cry out or rage. She gave all her care to the welfare of the nestlings.

The choice before the fire

When the Khāṇḍava forest burned, the four nestlings, Jaritāri, Sārisṛkka, Stambamitra and Droṇa, were too young to fly. Jaritā could carry only one of them. She grieved openly over this and spoke her pain plainly to her sons.

The nestlings answered her calmly. They told her to go. They said that their father’s spiritual nature lived in them, and that she must not die with them.

In the end Jaritā flew away. She did not go happily or without grief, but because her sons pressed her to go. She reached safety.

The reunion

When the fire died down, Jaritā came back and found all four sons alive. Bhagavān Agni had spared them after Droṇa’s brahma-stotra. Her reunion with her sons was one of great joy and relief.

Mandapāla returned after being with Lapitā, and meeting him was different. Jaritā did not hide her grief or her sense that he had left her. The account does not settle this between them.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 228–234
• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapter 228 (wife of Mandapāla)
• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 229–230 (the choice before the fire)
• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 232–234 (the reunion)