Many centuries ago, there lived a fowler in the Kingdom of Banaras. He wielded a bow with poisoned arrows. One day he went out of his village on a hunting expedition in search of antelopes.
In a dense forest he saw a drove of antelopes and shot his arrow at one of them. It missed the aim and instead pierced a powerful forest tree.
The tree, pierced with that arrow covered with deadly poison, withered away, shedding its leaves and fruits,
A parrot with his mate, having lived in a hollow of its trunk all his life, however, did not leave his nest out of love for the majestic tree.
Motionless; starving, silent and sorrowful, that grateful and virtuous parrot along with his lady, withered away along with the tree. The thousand-eyed God Indra was filled with wonder upon seeing that great and generous bird and his wife thus uninfluenced by misery or happiness and possessing extraordinary resolution.
THE TEST
Indra thought and thought, "How could this bird and his wife come to possess such humane and generous feelings which cannot be seen in any other of the lower animal creations?"
Then, in order to test the parrot, Indra assumed the shape of a Brahman and came down on earth and said to the bird : "O Shuka, O! best of the birds, the grand-daughter of Daksha has become blessed (by having you as her offspring}! I ask you, why do you not leave this withered tree with your mate and go elsewhere to live happily?"
Thus accosted, the parrot (Shuka) and his wife bowed to him and replied, "Welcome to thee, O King of the Gods, I have recognised you by the merit of our austere penance, particularly of my wife."
"Well done, "How wonderful wife possess!" Said the thousand eyed god “How power is the knowledge which you and your possess!”
Although Indra knew the parrot and his wife to be virtuous and meritorious in action, he still inquired of them about the reason of their immense love for that particular tree. "This tree is withered and it has become leafless and fruitless, and it is unfit to be the refuge of birds. Why do you then cling to it? There are many good trees in this forest, whose hollows are covered with leaves and which you can choose freely to be your home I ask you, therefore, to leave this old, old tree, that is dead, and useless and shorn of its leaves and glory."
HOW CAN I LEAVE ?
The parrot heaved a deep sigh and sorrowfully replied, "O Chief of the gods, here within this tree I was born. Here in this tree thousands of my friends lived with me. We played. We laughed. We quarreled. We made love and courted our respective mates and I got my beloved after a fierce quarrel with another parrot arid at last I won and thus she granted her favours to the winner. Here in this tree all the good traits of my character have been developed. Here in this tree I was protected in my infancy from the attacks of my enemies. Here in this tree my father and mother taught me and showered their blessings and affection on me. Why are you, O Sinless one, interfering with the principles of my conduct of life? I am merciful and devoutly intent on virtue and firm in the way of life. You should not, O thousand-eyed one, advise me now to leave this tree for good How can I leave it now like others who have fled this tree?"
"I am pleased with your humane and merciful disposition." God Indra said to the parrot. "You ask a boon of me."
"Let this tree revive, and this is the boon I crave for," the parrot replied.
REVIVED
Knowing the great attachment of that parrot to the tree and his great and noble character, Indra was pleased and caused the tree to be quickly sprinkled with nectar.
The bare and naked tree, as if magically, warmed up again. Suddenly there was a stir and an air of mystery surrounded it and little bits of green peeped out all over and within the twinkling of an eye it became leafy and full of fruits. It was a gay and cheerful sight to see the tree revive and it glistened and bathed in the rays of the Sun and played with gentle breeze.
The parrot and his wife flew round and round over the tree. Both of them were overjoyed and were overwhelmed with the bounty of the great God.
The parrot and his wife, at the end of their lives, acquired the friendship of the God by virtue of that act of kindness. Both of them accepted the gifts of fortune as they came in, rough or smooth when that was in store for them and the pleasures of the celestial regions when at last Indra gave them to them.
Prof. Vaman H. Pandit
INDORE CITY (Madhya Pradesb)
Topic: A GRATEFUL PARROT (Read 3070 times)