Śāraṅgaka Upākhyāna

The Śāraṅgaka Upākhyāna is the account of Mandapāla, a ṛshi (seer) who lived a life full of good acts but was turned away from svarga (heaven) after death because he had no children. He was born again as a śāraṅgaka bird, a kind of forest bird, and had four sons with the bird Jaritā. Later he left her and lived with another bird, Lapitā. When Agni burned the Khāṇḍava forest, Mandapāla flew to Agni to plead for his sons, and the youngest son, Droṇa, sang a brahma-stotra (a hymn of praise) to Agni. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Ādi Parva, Chapters 228 to 234.

Mandapāla is turned away from svarga

Mandapāla was a ṛshi who had lived a full life of dharma, yajña (fire ritual), tapas and good conduct. When he died and his ātmā (soul) came to the gate of svarga, he was refused entry. The keepers of the gate told him: you have done much that is good, but you have left no children. Svarga is not open to one who has not carried on the line of his ancestors. Go back and have children.

Mandapāla thought about the quickest way to have children. He saw that birds breed fast and have many young with ease. So he was born as a śāraṅgaka bird.

(Ādi Parva, Chapter 228)

Marriage to Jaritā and the leaving of her

As a bird, Mandapāla found Jaritā, a female śāraṅgaka of fine character, and made her his wife. She became pregnant and bore him four sons: Jaritāri, Sārisṛkka, Stambamitra and Droṇa. The four young birds had only just come out of their eggs. They could not fly and could hardly move when their father’s attention turned elsewhere.

Mandapāla had now done what he had set out to do, which was to have children. Another bird, Lapitā, drew him away. He left Jaritā and went to live with Lapitā in another part of the Khāṇḍava forest.

Jaritā raised her four sons alone and fed them with great effort. She was devoted to her children and grieved deeply over Mandapāla’s leaving.

(Ādi Parva, Chapter 228)

The Khāṇḍava fire comes near

When Agni began to burn the Khāṇḍava forest, the four young birds could not fly. Jaritā was in an impossible position. She could carry only one child to safety, and she had four. She was torn. Should she carry one and leave the others? She could not bear to choose.

The four young birds, though so small, stayed calm. They told their mother to fly away and save herself. They said her life mattered more than theirs, that she would have other children, and that she must not stay and die with them. They spoke with a wisdom that was unusual for birds still in the nest.

Jaritā answered in anguish: your father is a great ṛshi, and you were born with his spiritual nature. You are not ordinary birds. But I cannot leave you. How can a mother leave her children?

The young birds urged her again: go, find a safe place, we will manage.

(Ādi Parva, Chapters 229–230)

Mandapāla pleads with Agni

Mandapāla watched the fire spread through the Khāṇḍava forest from a distance. Fear for his sons suddenly gripped him. He flew toward Agni and begged: spare my sons. I am Mandapāla the ṛshi. I have done great tapas. My sons are in the nest near a certain ant-hill in the forest. Let the fire go around that place. I will praise you.

Agni answered with respect: I know who you are. Go back. Your sons are safe. They have spiritual power in them.

(Ādi Parva, Chapter 231)

Droṇa’s brahma-stotra

In the roaring fire, the four young birds were surrounded by advancing flames. The three eldest were afraid. But Droṇa, the youngest, was calm. He told his brothers: do not be afraid. I know the right stotra (hymn) to address Agni.

He began to chant a brahma-stotra in praise of Agni. It was made with true knowledge of Agni’s nature, of his place in the order of the world, and of his work in yajña and in keeping all life going. The stotra was pure and well made, and it was sung with full devotion and without fear.

Agni was deeply moved. He heard the stotra, saw the spiritual quality of these young birds, and made the fire go around their place. The flames raged on every side, but the nest of Jaritā’s four sons did not burn.

(Ādi Parva, Chapters 231–232)

Jaritā returns and Mandapāla’s two homes

Jaritā had flown to safety. When the fire died down she came back and found her four sons alive and unhurt. There was great joy and relief. The sons told her what had happened: the fire coming near, their calm, Droṇa’s stotra and Agni’s mercy.

Meanwhile Mandapāla was with Lapitā in a distant part of the forest. Lapitā was jealous of his concern for Jaritā and the four young birds, and pressed him about it. Mandapāla was caught between two families. He gave Lapitā reassurances and put her off, while his heart was with his sons. When the news reached him that his sons were safe, he flew back to Jaritā.

Jaritā did not welcome him back after he had left her. Dharma toward his children had brought him back, but the breach of trust remained.

(Ādi Parva, Chapters 232–234)

The four bird-sons survive

The four sons, Jaritāri, Sārisṛkka, Stambamitra and Droṇa, are named among the very few who lived through the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest. The text gives their names and traces their survival to Droṇa’s stotra and to the spiritual inheritance from their father Mandapāla. They belong to the small group of beings who came out of the fire alive.

(Ādi Parva, Chapter 234)

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 228–234