against thy wishes, thou mayst establish thy rule over them. Thy rule,
however, does not extend over the birds that range the sky. Indeed, if
thou hast been desirous of earning merit (by protecting this pigeon), it
is thy duty to look at me also (and do what is proper for enabling me to
appease my hunger and save my life)!'"

"'Bhishma continued, "Hearing these words of the hawk, the royal sage
became filled with wonder. Without disregarding these words of his, the
king, desirous of attending to his comforts, replied unto him saying the
following words.

"'"The king said, 'Let a bovine bull or boar or deer or buffalo be dressed
today for thy sake. Do thou appease thy hunger on such food today. Never
to desert one that has sought my protection in my firm vow. Behold, O
bird, this bird does not leave my lap!'

"'"The hawk said, 'I do not, O monarch, eat the flesh of the boar or the ox
or of any of the diverse kinds of fowl. What need have I of food of this
or that kind? My concern is with that food which has been eternally
ordained for beings of my order. Hawks feed on pigeons,--this is the
eternal ordinance. O sinless Usinara, if thou feelest such affection for
this pigeon, do thou then give me flesh from thy own body, of weight
equal to that of this pigeon.'

"'"The king said, 'Great is the favour thou showiest me today by speaking
to me in this strain. Yes, I shall do what thou biddest.' Having said
this, that best of monarchs began to cut off his own flesh and weigh it
in a balance against the pigeon. Meanwhile, in the inner apartments of
the palace, the spouses of king, adorned with jewels and gems, hearing
what was taking place, uttered exclamations of woe and came out, stricken
with grief. In consequence of those cries of the ladies, as also of the
ministers and servants, a noise deep as the roar of the clouds arose in
the palace. The sky that had been very clear became enveloped with thick
clouds on every side. The Earth began to tremble, as the consequence of
that act of truth which the monarch did. The king began to cut off the
flesh from his flanks from the arms, and from his thighs, and quickly
filled one of the scales for weighing it against the pigeon. In spite of
all that, the pigeon continued to weigh heavier. When at last the king
became a skeleton of bones, without any flesh, and covered with blood, he
desired to give up his whole body and, therefore, ascended the scale in
which he had placed the fle