Shloka 23
Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra
श्येन उवाच उशीनर कपोते ते यदि स्नेहो नराधिप । आत्मनो मांसमुत्कृत्य कपोततुलया धृतम्
śyena uvāca | uśīnara kapote te yadi sneho narādhipa | ātmano māṁsam utkṛtya kapota-tulayā dhṛtam ||
श्येन उवाच— उशीनर कपोते ते यदि स्नेहो नराधिप । आत्मनो मांसमुत्कृत्य कपोततुलया धृतम् ॥
श्येन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True dharma is tested under pressure: compassion and the duty to protect a supplicant must be upheld without injustice to others, even if it requires personal sacrifice. The hawk’s demand frames a ‘fair exchange’ so the king’s mercy does not become partiality that ignores another being’s rightful need.
A pigeon has sought refuge with King Uśīnara, and a hawk pursuing it demands its prey. The hawk proposes a condition: if the king insists on saving the pigeon, he must offer an equal weight of his own flesh on a scale. This sets up the king’s moral ordeal and demonstrates the seriousness of granting asylum.