Shibi was a king who was noteworthy for his piety and large-heartedness.
According to an Indian mythological story, once the gods deputed Indra and Agni to put his generosity to the test.
Agni took the form of a pigeon and Indra appeared as a hawk. While the king was sitting in his court the pigeon flew into the hall and hid in his lap. The hawk too followed him, and while the pigeon sought his protection against the hawk, the latter insisted that the pigeon was its lawful spoil and should be made over to it.
The king, who knew his duty, resolved to save the pigeon's life at all costs, for as a true Kshatriya he could not betray one who had sought shelter with him. At the same time he recognized the validity of the hawk's claim and did not want to rob it of food which it had fairly won and without which it could die of starvation.
The king offered the hawk anything else that it chose to name, but the hawk would be satisfied with nothing short of an equal weight of the king's own flesh. Scales were accordingly brought, and while the pigeon was put in one balance the king chopped his flesh with his own hands and put it in the other. However, even though the monarch hacked and hewed large pieces of flesh from his muscular body, the pigeon outweighed them all. The king at last bodily mounted the balance and was just going to sever his head when Indra and Agni appeared in their own celestial forms, and interposed. They blessed the king and made him whole again.
According to an Indian mythological story, once the gods deputed Indra and Agni to put his generosity to the test.
Agni took the form of a pigeon and Indra appeared as a hawk. While the king was sitting in his court the pigeon flew into the hall and hid in his lap. The hawk too followed him, and while the pigeon sought his protection against the hawk, the latter insisted that the pigeon was its lawful spoil and should be made over to it.
The king, who knew his duty, resolved to save the pigeon's life at all costs, for as a true Kshatriya he could not betray one who had sought shelter with him. At the same time he recognized the validity of the hawk's claim and did not want to rob it of food which it had fairly won and without which it could die of starvation.
The king offered the hawk anything else that it chose to name, but the hawk would be satisfied with nothing short of an equal weight of the king's own flesh. Scales were accordingly brought, and while the pigeon was put in one balance the king chopped his flesh with his own hands and put it in the other. However, even though the monarch hacked and hewed large pieces of flesh from his muscular body, the pigeon outweighed them all. The king at last bodily mounted the balance and was just going to sever his head when Indra and Agni appeared in their own celestial forms, and interposed. They blessed the king and made him whole again.