Śyena-Kapotīya

This account is told in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata (Chapters 130 and 131). Lomaśa tells it to Yudhishṭhira. It is the famous test of King Uśīnara, a righteous ruler who was ready to give his own flesh to protect a pigeon that had come to him for refuge. A hawk was chasing the pigeon. Uśīnara offered flesh from his own body, equal in weight to the pigeon, but the scale never balanced until he stepped onto it himself.

A second version, with Uśīnara’s son Śibi, is told by Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi in Chapter 197. It is given at the end.

The pigeon asks for refuge

A pigeon, tired and full of fear, flew in haste and threw itself into the lap of King Uśīnara as he sat in his royal court. It shook hard, its eyes wide with fear. It pressed itself against the king’s body and begged in a small voice for protection: “O king, save me! A hawk is chasing me to kill me.” (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 130)

Uśīnara was known for the highest kind of protection of the one who seeks refuge. Once anyone takes shelter with a righteous king, that life becomes the king’s own duty. He at once put his hand over the pigeon and said: “You are under my protection. Fear nothing.”

A hawk came down at once and settled in front of the king. The hawk said: “O king, I see that you are protecting this pigeon. But the pigeon is my prey and my food, meant for me by the dharma of my nature. You are standing in the way of that dharma. If you give the pigeon to me, you follow dharma. If you refuse, you starve me unjustly.”

The dilemma of dharma

Uśīnara was caught between two duties. One was the duty to honour a śaraṇāgata, one who has sought refuge. The other was the duty not to take away any living being’s food. He could not hand over the pigeon, because he had given his word of protection. But simply saying no to the hawk’s real need for food also went against dharma. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 130)

The king thought for a long time. Then he said: “I cannot give you this pigeon, who has come to me for protection. But I can give you flesh from my own body, equal in weight to the pigeon, freshly cut and just as good as food. Will that satisfy you?”

The hawk agreed. Scales were brought. The pigeon was put on one side. On the other side Uśīnara began to cut flesh from his thighs, his arms and his sides, piece by piece, and add it to the scale. However much he cut, the scale showed the pigeon’s side to be heavier. He cut and cut until almost no flesh was left on his body. Still the pigeon weighed more. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 131)

Uśīnara on the scale

At last, with no flesh left to cut, Uśīnara himself stepped onto the scale. He offered his whole self in place of the pigeon. At that moment the hawk and the pigeon showed their true forms, which were divine. This was a divine test of the king’s firmness in two things: śaraṇāgata-rakshaṇa (protecting one who seeks refuge) and his readiness to give of himself beyond all counting. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 131)

Uśīnara had passed the test fully. The devas showered flowers from the sky. His body was made whole at once and all his wounds healed. He was taken up in a divine vimāna (a heavenly vehicle) to the highest realm of svarga (heaven). Through his own flesh he had shown the highest form of kshatriya dharma, that of the king who gives himself completely to protect those in his care.

What Lomaśa teaches Yudhishṭhira

The account is given to Yudhishṭhira as the best example of the dharma of śaraṇāgati-rakshaṇa, protection of those who have sought refuge. A king’s first duty, above any plan or gain, is to protect whoever has taken shelter with him. Uśīnara was ready to give his own body, and finally himself, rather than break his word of protection. This shows the ideal of righteous kingship in the Mahābhārata.

The Mārkaṇḍeya version: Śibi Carita (Vana Parva, Chapter 197)

The story of a righteous king, a hawk and a pigeon is told in two forms in the Vana Parva. The first, given above, is about Uśīnara, the father of Śibi. Lomaśa tells it to Yudhishṭhira during the tīrtha-yātrā (the journey to holy places) in Chapters 130 and 131. In it Uśīnara himself steps onto the scale.

The account is also told in Chapters 197 and 198. Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi tells it to the Pāṇḍavas in the Mārkaṇḍeya Samāsyā Parva. In the Chapter 197 version the righteous king is Śibi Cakravartin, the son of Uśīnara. The pigeon is Agni in disguise, and the hawk is Indra in disguise. The king faces the same clash of duties, offers flesh from his thigh on a scale that never balances, and at last offers himself. The Śibi version ends with the foretelling of a son, Kāpotaromu, who is born from Śibi’s own thigh. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 197)

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 130–131
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 197