Shloka 30
Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra
बाज बोला--धर्मज्ञ नरेश! मैं इन्द्र हूँ और यह कबूतर साक्षात् अग्निदेव हैं। हम दोनों आपके धर्मकी परीक्षा लेनेके लिये इस यज्ञशालामें आपके निकट आये थे ।। यत् ते मांसानि गात्रेभ्य उत्कृत्तानि विशाम्पते । एषा ते भास्वती कीर्तिलोकानभिभविष्यति,प्रजानाथ! आपने अपने अंगोंसे जो मांस काटकर चढ़ाये हैं, उससे फैली हुई आपकी प्रकाशमान कीर्ति सम्पूर्ण लोगोंसे बढ़कर होगी
śyena uvāca — dharmajña nareśa! ahaṃ indraḥ, ayaṃ ca kapotaḥ sākṣād agnidevaḥ. āvām ubhau tava dharmaparīkṣārthaṃ asyāṃ yajñaśālāyāṃ tava samīpam āgatāv. yat te māṃsāni gātrebhya utkṛttāni viśāmpate, eṣā te bhāsvatī kīrtiḥ lokān abhibhaviṣyati prajānātha.
The hawk said: “O king, knower of dharma! I am Indra, and this dove is Agni himself. We both came near you in this sacrificial hall to test your righteousness. The flesh you cut from your own limbs and offered—O lord of the people—will become a radiant fame for you, surpassing that of all others.”
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True dharma is demonstrated through costly compassion and steadfast protection of the vulnerable, even when it demands personal loss; such integrity becomes enduring kīrti (renown).
The hawk reveals that it is Indra and the dove is Agni; they had come to the king’s sacrificial hall to test him. Indra praises the king’s act of cutting flesh from his own body to uphold his promise and protect the dove, declaring that this sacrifice will make his fame shine above all.