Droṇa the Śāraṅgaka Bird

Droṇa was the youngest of the four sons of the ṛshi Mandapāla and Jaritā. They were śāraṅgaka birds, and as nestlings they lived in the Khāṇḍava forest. This Droṇa is a different person from Droṇācārya, the teacher of the Kuru princes.

When the Khāṇḍava forest burned, all four nestlings faced death, for they could not yet fly. His elder brothers were frightened, but Droṇa stayed calm. He told them not to be afraid. He then sang a brahma-stotra (a hymn in praise of the Absolute) to Bhagavān Agni, with true knowledge of Agni’s nature and without fear. Bhagavān Agni was moved by the purity and spiritual depth of the hymn and made the fire go around the nest. All four nestlings were spared. Droṇa’s wisdom from his birth reflects the inheritance from his father, the ṛshi Mandapāla.

Calm in the fire

The Khāṇḍava forest blazed on every side. The four nestlings could not fly and could not flee, and they faced certain death. The elder brothers were afraid. Droṇa alone was calm. He told them not to be afraid, for he had the knowledge that was needed.

The brahma-stotra to Agni

Droṇa sang a stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Agni. It was not a recitation by rote. It came from real understanding of Agni’s nature: his place as the mouth of the devas in the yajña (fire ritual), his work in sustaining all life through the cycle of offerings, and his link to the whole cosmos. Droṇa sang it with complete fearlessness and devotion.

Bhagavān Agni received the hymn and was deeply moved. He saw the spiritual quality of the nestlings, who were sons of a ṛshi and carried their father’s inheritance. He told the fire to go around their place. The flames burned everything on every side, but the nest was not touched.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 231–232