Haṃsa-Kāka Upākhyāna

The Haṃsa-Kāka Upākhyāna is a parable. Śalya told it to Karṇa on the seventeenth day of the Kurukshetra war, in Chapter 41 of the Karṇa Parva. A pet crow, fed on the leftover food of a rich household, grows fat and proud. It challenges a swan (haṃsa) from Lake Mānasa to a flying race across the ocean. It nearly drowns and is saved by the very bird it mocked. Śalya uses the parable to warn Karṇa that one true excellence beats a hundred empty boasts, and that Arjuna’s single mastery will overcome Karṇa’s proud claims.

The setting

On the seventeenth day of the war, Śalya was Karṇa’s charioteer (sārathi). He was driving the chariot towards Arjuna. The two had been arguing all the way. Śalya kept warning Karṇa of the unmatched power of Arjuna and Kṛshṇa, and Karṇa waved his words away with scorn.

After Karṇa had spoken harshly to him, Śalya replied that he too came of a noble warrior family and knew his duty as a charioteer. Then he said, “I will tell you the story of the crow. Listen. Then do as you please.”

The crow in the vaiśya’s house

By the shore of the ocean there lived a rich vaiśya. He performed yajñas (fire rituals) and gave freely in dāna (charity). He was patient, faithful to his kula-dharma (the duty of his family), and pure in conduct. He had many sons and raised them with great love.

In his house lived a pet crow. The boys fed it with meat, curds, milk, pāyasa (sweet milk-rice), honey and ghee. Stuffed with their leftovers, the crow grew fat and began to look down on the other birds.

The challenge

One day swans from Lake Mānasa came to that land. They were very swift, as swift as Garuḍa, and they roamed freely and happily. When the vaiśya’s boys saw them, they praised the crow: “O our beloved bird! You are the greatest of all birds. Who are these lesser birds that do not honour you?”

The crow was foolish and swollen with pride. It took the boys’ flattery as true. It went up to the swans and challenged one of them to a flying race across the ocean.

The swans heard the challenge without anger. One of them said simply, “We are swans. Mānasa is our home. We travel the earth. Among birds, all know us as excellent in flight. How can you, a crow, challenge a swan to a race? Tell us, how will you fly against us?”

The crow answered with great boasting. It named its one hundred and one modes of flight: uḍḍīna, avaḍīna, praḍīna, ḍīna, niḍīna, saṇḍīna, tiryagḍīna, viḍīna, pariḍīna, parāḍīna, sunḍīna, abhiḍīna, mahāḍīna, nirḍīna, atiḍīna and many more. It said they were used in forward, returning and sideways patterns. “Watch my strength,” it cried. “None of you can match me.”

The swan answered quietly, “You know one hundred and one modes of flight, crow. But every bird knows one mode, which is why I know only that one. Fly in whatever mode you like. I will keep pace with you.”

The other crows who were watching burst into loud laughter. They were sure their friend would crush the swan with his hundred modes.

The race

The race began. The crow flew out over the open ocean, darting and wheeling in its many modes, while the crows on the shore cheered. The swan flew in its one steady, unhurried mode. For a while the crow seemed to be ahead.

Then, over deep water, far from any shore or tree, the crow’s lively boasting turned to tiredness. Its many modes failed one by one. Its wings began to weaken. There was no ground below it and no branch to rest on, only the endless ocean full of great creatures of the deep. The crow cried out in fear, “This water has no bottom! I will drown in this sea!”

The rescue

The swan was still flying steadily ahead. It looked back and saw the crow, barely conscious, brushing the waves with its beak. In compassion, which was the swan’s own nature (svabhāva), it did not fly on to win. It turned back, called to the crow, and told it to remember its hundred modes of flight now.

The crow gave itself up completely. It said, “We are crows. We can only say kā, kā. I give my life to you. Carry me back to the shore.” Shaking and nearly drowned, the crow sank into the water. The swan lifted it with its feet, set it gently on its back, and carried it quickly to the place where the race began. It put the crow down on dry land and let it recover. Then it flew away at the speed of the mind.

Śalya’s lesson for Karṇa

Śalya drew the lesson plainly for Karṇa. The crow grew up on the leftover food of a generous house, as Karṇa grew up in the house of the sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra. The crow looked down on its own kind and on its betters, as Karṇa looked down on his equals and his superiors.

Śalya reminded Karṇa of his past defeats. At Virāṭanagara, Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpa, Bhīshma and all the Kauravas together could not kill Arjuna. At Dvaitavana, Karṇa ran from the gandharvas while Arjuna freed Duryodhana. He also reminded Karṇa that Rāma himself, and the ācāryas Droṇa and Bhīshma, had said before all the kings that Arjuna and Kṛshṇa could not be defeated.

Śalya said, “Arjuna is like the sun; Kṛshṇa is like the moon. They light all the worlds with their glory. And you are like a firefly beside them. O sūtaputra (son of a charioteer)! Do not make these great ones small. Stop praising yourself and be silent.”

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Karṇa Parva, Chapter 41