Śibi Auśīnara

Śibi, also called Auśīnara (“son of Uśīnara”), was the greatest cakravartin (universal emperor) of his age. He was famous in all the worlds for his dāna (giving) and his abhaya-dāna (the gift of fearlessness).

The Mahābhārata tells of three famous events in his life. Nārada declared him better than the king Suhotra. The devas Agni and Indra, in the form of a pigeon and a hawk, tested him, and he cut flesh from his own body to protect the bird. Brahmā, as a brāhmaṇa, tested him again, and Śibi killed his dearest son at the guest’s request. In each test he held to his resolve. He is the father of the Śibi tribe, and the Kāpotaromu line comes from a son born from his body.

Who he was

Śibi was the son of King Uśīnara and the ruler of the Auśīnaras. He ruled with the highest dharma and gave help to every being that came to him. His fame spread through the three worlds, among devas, ṛṣis and men. People knew him as the very form of perfect dāna and of keeping the śaraṇa pledge, which is the promise of protection to one who seeks refuge. This is told in the Vana Parva, Chapters 194, 197 and 198.

The meeting on the road and Nārada’s word

Even the devarṣi (ṛṣi among the devas) Nārada said that Śibi was greater than all other kings of his time. This came from a meeting on a narrow road. Śibi’s chariot met the chariot of the righteous king Suhotra. Each king saw the greatness of the other. Dharma asks the lesser to give way to the greater, and both agreed that the other was the better man, so neither could decide who should give way.

Nārada came and settled the matter. He said clearly that Śibi was the foremost, and that his virtues were above those of any king of his day. Suhotra accepted this gladly and walked round Śibi in respect. This is in the Vana Parva, Chapter 194.

The pigeon and the hawk

The best known event of Śibi’s life is the Śibi Carita, told in full in the Mahābhārata. A pigeon flew into Śibi’s court in terror and asked him for refuge. The pigeon was really the deva Agni in disguise. A hawk, really the deva Indra in disguise, chased it. The hawk argued that the pigeon was its food by right. Śibi could not protect the bird that had come to him and also refuse the hawk its meal.

Śibi found a way. He offered his own flesh. He would cut flesh from his body, weigh it on a scale against the pigeon, and give it to the hawk in the pigeon’s place. But however much he cut, the pigeon was heavier than the flesh. At last Śibi stepped onto the scale himself and offered his whole body.

When he gave himself like this, the devas showed themselves and praised him. His wounds healed. Where the cuts had been, his flesh shone with a golden light, as a lasting sign of honour. This is in the Vana Parva, Chapter 197.

The son given to a brāhmaṇa

The third test was the hardest. Brahmā himself came in the form of a brāhmaṇa and asked for Śibi’s hospitality. The “brāhmaṇa” asked Śibi to kill his dearest son, Bṛhaddarbha, cook his flesh, and serve it as the guest’s meal.

Śibi did it without delay. He killed his son and cooked the food with his own hands. He put the vessel on his head and went to look for the brāhmaṇa. When he found him and offered the food, the brāhmaṇa told Śibi to eat it himself. Neither disgust nor grief overcame Śibi’s resolve, and he got ready to eat. Then Brahmā showed himself and stopped Śibi. He gave the son back his life, and he said that Śibi was the greatest of all who had ever given dāna in any form.

His ministers asked him why he had done such a thing. Śibi answered that he had not acted for fame, or for wealth, or for his own bhoga (enjoyment). He had acted because it is right to give whatever is asked, whatever it costs oneself. This is in the Vana Parva, Chapter 198.

The son Kāpotaromu and his line

After the event of the hawk and the pigeon, Agni gave a blessing and foretold that a son would come from Śibi’s jaṅghā (thigh), the very part from which so much flesh had been cut. The son would be called Kāpotaromu (“with feathers like a pigeon”) and also Audbiḍu (“born by piercing upward through the thigh”). He would be a righteous king, praised in all the worlds, and he would carry on Śibi’s noble line. This is in the Vana Parva, Chapter 197.

With the other kings in svarga

In Chapter 198, Śibi goes up to svarga (heaven) with three other great kings. They are Aṣṭaka, son of Viśvāmitra, Prātardana, and Vasumanas. Nārada named a small fault in each of the four. For this reason, he said, the others would one day fall back to earth before their puṇya (merit) was fully used up. Nārada declared that of all the kings there, Śibi’s puṇya was the deepest and the truest.

In the Anuśāsana Parva

In Chapter 115 of the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma lists the great rājarṣis (royal ṛṣis) who gave up māṃsa (meat). He names Śibi of the Auśīnaras among them. They reached svarga and Brahmaloka.

In Chapter 137, Bhīṣma lists the kings who gave dāna, and he starts the whole list with Śibi. Śibi, son of King Uśīnara, gave up his own dear son and his own prāṇas (life breath) for the good of a brāhmaṇa, and he went to svarga. This is the same act that the Vana Parva tells at length in the test by Brahmā.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 194, 197, 198
• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 115, 137