King Shibi, a descendant of King Bharata of the lunar dynasty, was famous for his truthfulness, justice, and keeping his word. The king of righteousness, Dharmaraj, himself decided to test the strength of character of Shibi Rana.
The Dove Seeks Refuge
Once, when the king was alone on the terrace of his palace, he saw a dove coming towards him with great speed. An eagle was after him, and to escape from the clutches of the chasing eagle, the dove made a frantic effort to hide somewhere. Seeing the king on the terrace, the frightened dove took shelter in his lap. The dove said, “O king, save my life, I have come under your shelter.”
The King’s Dilemma
The king had vowed to protect anyone who took his shelter, ensuring that the weak and deprived could not be exploited by the rich and strong. However, this was a new experience for Shibi Rana. Was he in any way obliged to protect a bird who seeks his refuge? Contemplating for a while, the king decided that even trees, animals, and birds require protection and help as do human beings.
Therefore, the king said, “Have no fear, my son. That eagle will not be able to touch even your feather. Relax in peace, have no worries.” So saying, the king readied himself to face the rapidly approaching eagle.
The Eagle’s Demand
The eagle landed in front of the king and said, “O king, you have hidden my prey. Please release him so that I can appease my hunger.”
The righteous king saw the point in the eagle’s demand. He faced a peculiar dilemma of protecting the dove while not depriving the eagle of his rightful prey. He decided to resolve the issue by offering the eagle an equal amount of meat from his kitchen. But the eagle insisted on having his prey—the dove—as his food. After some discussion, the eagle agreed to set the dove free on two conditions.
The Conditions
The eagle said, “O King, I shall let the dove go if you offer me an equal weight of flesh from your body as food.”
Shibi Rana was quite pleased with the adjustment. He thought that a pound (or two) of flesh from his body would not kill him and the life of the dove in his shelter would also be saved. Thus he was happy that he was saved from a great sin of ‘inability to protect the weak.’
The eagle then put his second condition, saying, “O king, if a single tear drops from your eye, I shall be constrained to accept your flesh as my food.”
The Sacrifice
The king agreed and called for the knives and the balance. In one pan of the balance, the dove was kept, and on the other side, a large chunk of flesh from the right thigh of Shibi Rana. But strange as it might seem, the pan with the dove always weighed more, even as additional flesh was added! Thus, almost the whole of the right half of the king’s body was cut, still the weight could not be equaled.
The Tear of Joy
At this juncture, a drop of tear appeared in the left eye of the king. The eagle objected to this, saying, “O king, I cannot accept the food given in distress. The tear in your eye shows that you are unhappy. So give me my prey back, and you shall regain your normal health.”
With a faint smile on his lips, Shibi Rana said, “Behold, O eagle, the left eye is not crying out of grief; this is a tear of joy. Now my left half of the body will also be used to honor the word I have given to you. Otherwise, if only the right had satisfied you, the left half of the body would have been denied this great opportunity of sacrifice! Therefore, my dear friend, the left eye cries out of joy!”
Divine Revelation
This ultimate sacrifice of Shibi Rana was unparalleled in history. The eagle and the dove disappeared and in their places stood the King of righteousness—Dharmaraj and the king of heavens—Indra. Gods from the heavens showered flowers, perfumes, and praise on the king. They granted many boons to this noble king.
The Reward of Dharma
The king Shibi had passed the ultimate test to uphold Dharma, the true duty of every king. It is said that this king ruled for many years and after his death went directly to heaven to enjoy the fruits of his righteous karma.
Moral
From this wonderful story, we learn the value of sacrificing our body for the good of others. We also learn how we should not refuse anyone who needs shelter and help.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
PS:
I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share these moral/instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefited by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.
