Namaste,
Usinara is one of the Hindu kings from ancient times
(Dwapara Yuga). He was known as a fair ruler and a yagna performer. One day, he
was participating in a massive yagna that surpassed even Indra’s attempts. Indra
and Agni wanted to test Usinara to check if he was his dedication to justice
and dharma was true.
Indra became a hawk, and Agni turned into a dove.
The dove flew towards Usinara and asked for his protection as the hawk swooped
behind. Unisara shielded the dove with his hands.
The hawk said to Usinara that he was acting against
dharma by preventing him from eating his food (the dove). The dove trembled in
Usinara’s lap in response.
Usinara replied that his dharma was to offer
protection to the dove that took shelter in his arms. The hawk retorted that
eating its food was its dharma and that it would die without food. It asked
Usinara to do the right thing.
The king said he would offer as much meat as the
hawk wanted to consume. He gave the hawk options like ox meat, boar meat,
buffalo meat, etc. The hawk didn’t want any other meat, as doves and pigeons
were its food.
King Usinara said he would offer all his wealth and
anything the hawk asked except for the dove, which was under his protection.
The hawk demanded a portion of the king’s flesh in the same weight as the dove.
The king readily agreed.
The guards brought a scale. Usinara cut a piece of
his flesh and placed it on the scale. The dove was heavier. This happened a few
times. At last, the king stepped on the scale and asked the hawk to consume
him.
The hawk and the dove transformed into Indra and
Agni. They praised him for his dedication to dharma and healed his body. Indra blessed Usinara that his glory would be sung forever and that he would find a
place in heaven after his demise.
The same story is also attributed to King Sibi,
Usinara’s son. Both can be found in Aranyaka Parva of Mahabharata. It is a popular story
in the folklore and has been retold in many ways over the years.
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The AI images are made on Bing.
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