Note 17 — VIII. MAHAUSHADHA AND VIŚĀKHĀ.1

After a while, the king of Panchāla sent a messenger to his daughter, and asked for information as to who it was by whose coming the matter had been found out, and who it was who had brought about the dissensions. She sent word back that it was Mahaushadha’s parrot named Charaka, which, being endowed with human speech, had spied the matter out. Then the king of Panchāla desired that it should at any rate be delivered up to him. So with great difficulty she contrived to catch it in a net, and she sent it to her father. The king flew into a passion, upbraided the bird in divers ways, and then ordered it to be killed. The parrot Charaka fell at the king’s feet, and besought him to allow it to die as its father and grandfather had died. The king gave his consent, and asked in what manner its father and grandfather had been put to death. When its tail had been wrapped in cotton and drenched with mustard-oil, and when all this had been set on fire, and the bird was let go to fly up into the air, it set the whole of the royal palace in a blaze,17 and then dived under water. When it had returned home, and King Janaka and Mahaushadha asked it whence it came, it gave them a full account of everything which had taken place, whereat they rejoiced. But the king of Panchāla, being full of wrath, sent a letter to say that as the parrot had after such a fashion brought about injury, it must be again sent to him without fail. His daughter laid hands on the bird and sent it. The king of Panchāla in his rage plucked it quite bare, made a mere lump of flesh of it, and with the words, “Go and get eaten,” flung it out of the window. Thereupon a falcon snapped it up. But it besought the falcon, saying, “If you eat me, you will have food for one day only; but if you will let me go, I will take care that you shall receive every day much food and whatever else you need.”