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ne day Indra, the King of
At that very instant, a hawk flew heavenly gods, praised into the King's court. He said to the King, the bravery and mercifulness of King *This pigeon is my food. Let me have him." Megharath on Earth during an assembly The King was dumbfounded to hear a of demigods. He mentioned that King bird talk! However, he replied, "It is true Megharath would not hesitate to give his that this pigeon is your food, but now it is own life to protect those who came to him under my shelter. I will not give you this for shelter. Two demigods doubted pigeon, but I can give you some other Indra's statement. So Indra asked food."He ordered his servants to them to go to Earth and see for bring a basket of fruits and themselves. Since they
vegetables. However, could not appear on the hawk said, Earth in their
"I am not a heavenly human
AVA
King MEGHARATH
STORIES PRECEDING BHAGWAN MAHAVIR
forms; one of them decided to take the form of a pigeon, and the other took
the form of a hawk. Down on Earth, King Megharath was sitting in his court surrounded by his courtiers. Suddenly a pigeon flew in through an open window and started circling the hall. To the King's surprise, it landed on his lap. It was shaking uncontrollably. The King realized
that the pigeon was shaking with fear and 102 had flown into the palace to seek refuge.
being, and I am not a vegetarian. I need meat (flesh) for my food." The King said, "Let me give you my own flesh instead of this pigeon's flesh"Upon hearing this, one of courtiers said, "Your Majesty, why should you give your own flesh? Let's get the meat from a butcher.
The King replied, "No, because the butcher will have to kill another animal in order to supply us the meat.
